Photo Courtesy of NPR
The 76th annual session of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly began on Tuesday, Sept. 14. After last year’s virtual session, this year’s proceedings will be done through a hybrid series of in-person and online addresses. While the opening session on Tuesday had more than 100 world leaders and representatives in attendance, the proceedings truly kicked off with a bang the day before, as global music sensation BTS attended the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals Moment with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The members of BTS were designated as Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture for their third appearance at a U.N. General Assembly. They even received diplomatic passports to travel to the United States for the event. On the floor, Moon and BTS spoke in the live-streamed event to help promote the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, ranging from topics such as climate change and racism to gender and education inequality. BTS’ group leader, RM, said that the Sustainable Development Goals are necessary to achieve “equal benefits for all.”
In their speech and in a later interview with the U.N.’s Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming, the members of BTS brought up thoughts and concerns that young people around the world had about the past two years. They also brought up young people’s impact on the world and their futures at large while advocating for ways to implement positive change.
Introduced by Moon as “probably the [artists] that [are] most loved by people around the world,” BTS members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, Jungkook and V explained how the youth of the world coped with recent hardships. “During these few years they’ve found dear the time they’ve experienced and cared for nature,” Jimin stated. In response, J-Hope elaborated on the generation’s view of climate change, saying, “Maybe because we feel an encroaching sense of dread that our time on this earth is limited, we just talk about things we mourn,” but that he “shudders” to think about actually mourning the Earth. Jungkook sympathized with the younger generation’s drive and desire to create meaningful change, saying, “Sometimes the world seems stuck in place even if you’re ready to go.”
Concerning COVID-19, RM began, “I’ve heard that people in their teens and 20s today are being referred to as COVID’s ‘lost generation,’ that they’ve lost their way at a time when they need the most diverse opportunities and must try new things, but I think it’s a stretch to say they’re lost just because the paths they tread can’t be seen by grown-up eyes.” Jin added, “A more appropriate name would be ‘the welcome generation,’ because instead of fearing change, this generation says ‘Welcome’ and keeps forging ahead.”
Advocating for the COVID-19 vaccine, J-Hope said, “What is important are the choices we make when we’re faced with change … all seven of us, of course we received vaccinations.”
When asked why he chose BTS to accompany him to the U.N., Moon explained that the future is “held in the hands of future generations” and that it is the older generation’s responsibility to implement sustainable development to lessen the negative impact on future generations. He believes the members of BTS are the perfect people to “represent and speak up for younger generations,” as they are “the greatest artists, the best artists of our time, and they have been conveying this message of unity and hope through their music even to the younger people grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In a further attempt to convey that message, BTS performed their hit song “Permission to Dance” at the U.N. complex, dancing through the assembly hall and throughout the grounds as seen in a video that premiered during the Sustainable Development Goals Moment livestream.Fleming thanked them, saying the video was “going to really bring the world into the United Nations.”
