Jungkook of BTS. Photo courtesy of|BigHit Music
Jungkook of BTS abruptly hosted a live broadcast while drinking ahead of the group returning in full formation, sparking controversy. It is a long-awaited comeback, yet whenever it seems easy to forget, various disputes keep surfacing, as if facing another giant mountain beyond the last.
From 3:42 a.m. on the 26th, he went live for about 1 hour and 30 minutes through a fan communication community. That day, he drank with a friend he lives with and his older brother, sharing a range of stories.
Jungkook Weverse screenshot.
When a friend lit a cigarette, Jungkook chided him, saying, “We are on a live; why are you smoking,” then added, “I do not know either. I do not know what I should be careful about when doing a live. I just want to do it comfortably. I used to smoke a lot but worked hard to quit.” He went on to reveal his feelings: “The moment I say this, the company will go crazy” “I am someone who wants to be honest. If there is something I did wrong, I am someone who wants to admit it.”
Jungkook also voiced dissatisfaction with his agency, HYBE. He said, “I am just annoyed. I am human too. I just want to have fun” “How many people in the world can be honest. I wanted to be honest with ARMY, and if it were not for the company, I would have said everything” “If I were solo, if I were someone who makes music alone, I would have said it without caring” “I will live the way I want. I do not know. I do not even know about the company,” while also continuing with immature remarks like, “It may be controversial, but that is me, so what can you do.”
During the live broadcast, Jungkook gave a middle-finger gesture to a friend and even hurled English profanity toward the camera. He said, “Do not make me annoyed. Will the company have a lot to say to me?” “Why should I turn off the live. Please do not tell me what to do,” continuing his drunken candor.
After Jungkook did the live broadcast, ARMY (the fandom) once again stirred noisily. While some said they could understand his feelings, others poured scorn, asking why he was throwing cold water on the full-unit comeback due next month.
Jungkook of BTS and Winter of aespa, rumored to be dating.
Controversies big and small have erupted one after another around BTS ahead of the comeback. Previously, Jungkook was swept up in dating rumors with Winter of aespa due to several signs such as tattoos of the same design, causing a stir, and last year RM said, “I wish our company would show us a bit more affection. I wish it would look after us and embrace us a bit more,” even mentioning possible team disbandment and startling ARMY.
Afterward, the dating rumors were met with silence, and RM’s disbandment remarks seemed to be papered over with an apology, but this time, ahead of the BTS comeback concert, lodging prices soared so high that even the government stepped in. President Lee Jae Myung on the afternoon of the 25th announced measures to eradicate price gouging at the ‘Expanded National Tourism Strategy Meeting’. As the ‘K-gouging’ controversy grew amid the surge in lodging prices following the BTS Busan concert, the president criticized it as an “anachronistic bad practice”. In response, measures spanning lodging, transportation, and food are set to be prepared.
BTS V, Suga, Jungkook, J-Hope, RM, Jin, Jimin (from left). Photo provided by=BigHit Music
With the comeback inching forward step by step under difficulty, Jungkook has dropped another ‘drinking live-stream controversy’. Attention now turns to how HYBE will pick up the pieces of the words he let slip while drunk.
Meanwhile, BTS will release its fifth full-length album, ‘Arirang (ARIRANG)’, on March 20 and return as a full unit. The new album contains 14 tracks that can show “the BTS of now”. Following the release, they will begin a large-scale world tour spanning 34 cities and 82 shows, starting at the main stadium of Goyang Sports Complex on April 9~11.
