RM: The Modern Cultural Diplomat

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit begins tomorrow in South Korea. The forum represents “40 per cent of the world’s population and more than half of global goods trade”. Ahead of the formal start of the summit is the APEC CEO Summit, a gathering of global business leaders. It was there that RM, aka Kim Namjoon, aka the leader of BTS, gave the keynote address. 

During this speech, cultural diversity and inclusion was the centerpiece of RM’s remarks. And also the importance of culture, period. He urged the business community to invest in the arts, because it's through culture that we can appreciate our differences but also discover our similarities. Art is the expression of humanity, as Joon said, “Culture and art are a powerful force that moves hearts. They are the fastest messengers that carry diversity and resonance.” And he used K-pop, of which he is one of its most prominent ambassadors, as an example of that ideal:

"Culture is like a river. It flows freely, different strains sometimes coming together in harmony just like K-pop.”

This is not the first time RM has stepped into the spotlight on this kind of stage – not concert, but a conference. The best example of this is the United Nations, twice. But it’s not just that he’s a great communicator, and multilingual, he’s not a puppet out there spitting out another person’s words, it’s that this is part of his purpose as an artist. Those who’ve been following BTS from the beginning are well aware of the fact that its leader is deeply thoughtful, with a spectacularly wide range of interests, and most importantly, he’s a student – not just of music and art in general, but of multiple disciplines. 

I say this, I know, as a fangirl, a proud member of ARMY, but this is why BTS has defied expectation and convention. It may not happen as much anymore but there still is an assumption that the band is one dimensional, formulaic, manufactured. The misconceptions are silly and derivative but they’re also uninformed. BTS is uniquely individual because of the individuals who make up its whole – one of them being this leader who is truly a renaissance man, as comfortable in an art gallery in community with curators and collectors as he is in front of a soundboard in a music studio; as engaged in a one-on-one with philanthropists as he is at a fan-meet with his most ardent supporters; as energised on stage during a concert as he is talking global policy with business leaders; and still charmingly goofy on a livestream from his living room. 

Over and over again, for over a decade, he has demonstrated that he, and BTS, are the real thing.