What Has RM Been Up To?

With one member out of the Korean military, ARMY patiently (but not silently) waits as the other six members return to the stage as a whole. However, the wait hasn’t been as painful as one would think as there is always fresh content being released, whether it be a new album, variety show, Instagram posts, or partnership announcements.

Since their military hiatus, the members have taken this time to explore the different facets of their personal identities and interests. RM, the grounded and dependable leader of BTS, is no stranger to using his various platforms to build relationships with like-minded peers and sharing his current life reflections through his music. Catching up to what he’s been up to for the past year has been a rich, plentiful, and essentially very RM-esque journey.

Since March of 2023, RM has been featured in a couple of musical projects such as So!YoON!’s Smoke Sprite and Colde’s Don’t ever say love me. He also traveled to Spain for inspiration for his next solo album, now released under the name Right Place, Wrong Person. So far, he had decided that he wouldn’t join any more collaborations for the time being, as his schedule would become restricted due to his impending military service. In 2023, his previous collaborations won several awards, notably Korean Hiphop Awards’ Collaboration of the Year and MV of the Year for Balming Tiger’s Sexy Nukim title track. 

In addition to the musical projects, he also ventured into the fashion industry, becoming the first and currently only celebrity brand ambassador for Bottega Veneta, a luxury fashion label. Vogue Korea highlighted this ambassadorship in its June 2023 issue, which touched on his constant passion for art, its influence on his life, and his influence on the art community. 

Bottega Veneta was not RM’s only partnership. At the beginning of summer 2023, RM was appointed the PR ambassador for South Korea's Ministry of National Defense Agency Remains Excavation and Investigation Team, whose mission is “to find and identify remains of war veterans from the Korean War.” Summer also wrapped up SUGA’s Agust D “D-Day Tour”, with SUGA hosting 3 days of encore concerts at the KSPO Dome in Seoul's Olympic Park. RM made a surprise guest appearance on the final concert day. He performed Strange with SUGA and an unreleased track, now released as Come back to me. 

Summer eventually passed into September, RM’s birth month. RM became busy during this month, starting with renewing his contract with Big Hit Music alongside his fellow band members. On the night of September 11 Korean time, RM posted a bittersweet birthday letter on Weverse, starting it with “this is the last birthday of my twenties.” He expressed his love for his fans, wishing to tell everyone that he loved them “as the best version of [himself]” and showing his appreciation for the love he had received in return. 

With the love he received, he gave back tenfold. News would later reach ARMY’s ears of the frontman of BTS donating 100 million won to the restoration and preservation of a Korean bridal costume and the National Forensic Service of South Korea for the development and advancement of forensic studies. Coupling his love for the arts and for his country to do good for his community, this was very much in line with his ambassadorship with South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense Agency Remains Excavation and Investigation Team. 

As the leaves fell to give way to colder weather in Korea, news of RM and the youngest three members of BTS’ enlistments were underway; RM would officially enter the military on December 11. On that same day, RM had linked an alternate Instagram account named @rpwprpwprpwp, which slowly unveiled various stills capturing moments in the studio or filming what was probably a music video. This would become the soft launch for RM’s latest album, Right Place, Wrong Person. The album, consisting of eleven tracks, debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Rap Albums chart. The MV for its title track, Come back to me, ended up being directed by Lee Sung Jin, the creator of the Netflix original series “Beef”. 

More content is still slowly flowing out from RM’s treasure box through his social media and a possible upcoming message around September 12. At present, ARMY eagerly awaits the BTS leader’s military release on June 10, only 10 months away, but really, who’s keeping track? 

Written by: Rei

Edited by: Ren

Designed by: Achan

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