BTS at UNGA Draws In Millions of Watchers as They Address Serious Issues⁠—Here's What They Talk About

The seven members of BTS officially returned this year as they appeared as Presidential Special Envoys for Future Generations and Culture in the United Nations General Assembly "SDG Moment" held the morning of September 20.

RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook appeared in their most dashing suits as they delivered their speech in the General Assembly Hall, as they got introduced by the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.

Throughout the speech, each member had their turns as they spoke in the podium, talking about global goals touching on poverty, inequality, injustice, and climate change in the annual UN gathering.

The group also promoted the "#YouthToday" and "#YourStories" tag where their fans "express the precious things that make up your world or show who you are now." This, later on, became the basis of the group to share the voices of the youth in the assembly.

They also encouraged their followers through a series of tweets that the members posted on their official Twitter account, attaching handwritten letters and photos they made themselves.

BTS UNGA Speech

Based on a report by Washington Post, the Livestream of the whole event garnered 1 million views as soon as the septet appeared.

The group made their fans proud as they addressed numerous issues the youth is suffering. Many were in awe as they left the podium with inspiring messages, including one from V, where he said, "I hope we just don't consider the future as grim darkness."

"There's still many pages left in the story about us and I thought we shouldn't talk as though the ending's already been written," he added. The group further praised the resilience of youth in their speech, saying they were not "COVID's lost generation."

And as the oldest member, Jin, stated, "Instead of the 'lost generation' a more appropriate name would be the 'welcome generation' because instead of fearing change, this generation says 'welcome' and keeps forging ahead."

Historical 'Permission To Dance' In General Assembly Hall

Another remarkable moment for the group is the great performance of their track released on July 9, "Permission to Dance," roaming around the General Assembly hall and to its garden.

They became the first-ever Korean act to sing and dance in the New York headquarters and one of the biggest acts that used the venue as their "concert grounds."

BTS followed singer-songwriter Beyoncé where she visited the UNGA in 2012 and performed "I Was Here." Besides Queen Bey, Shakira also had her own appearance in 2015 UN, where she performed John Lennon's "Imagine."

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