Jungkook on solo stardom and writing for BTS: ‘I’m just a carefree and open person’

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Even after a huge solo success and a long list of standout moments in BTS songs, 28-year-old Jeon Jungkook still doesn’t fully understand who he is. “I’m still forming my sense of self,” he says. It’s hard to blame him. He has been in BTS since he was 15 years old, meaning he has spent almost half of his life as a global pop star growing up within the group. He admits that his incredibly smooth tenor has strengthened, but he’s still growing confident in his writing skills, even though he’s stepped up as a songwriter. Arirang more than he did on his own solo album. In a way, he was the first BTS fan, choosing then-small BigHit Music over many other offers because RM was “really, really cool and great,” but Jungkook still seems in awe of everything they’ve accomplished together.

Did it mean a lot to you to establish yourself as a solo pop star?
To be honest, I still don’t consider myself a pop star. But I’m very grateful that people ask me questions like that, and that my fans think of me that way. So, I want to work harder so that I can feel like a star. someday!

What do you need to feel that way?
So I actually know exactly what I need. You will need to improve your English to at least be able to have small talk and small talk. I think that will be a breakthrough. But English is really difficult!

Duolingo!
From Duolingo to Malhaeboka…I think I’ve tried every English learning app out there. But the most important thing is to keep doing it.

Even if they don’t necessarily feel comfortable speaking English, everyone says that their pronunciation when singing is very, very good.
At least I’m glad to have that.

Do you do it syllable by syllable or is your ear suited for that?
Well, I guess my ears are better suited for that sort of thing. But as it turns out, it’s not Korean. It’s a foreign language to me. And I never want native speakers to feel uncomfortable or dislike hearing me speak their language. So personally, I’ve been working really hard.

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How has your solo success influenced the way you work towards the new album and the way the other members work with you?
I’m a very easy-going and open person, and I don’t think about it much in my daily life unless it’s really necessary. So when it comes to my work process and choosing songs…I express myself, for sure. I speak up and share my opinion, but I don’t stress about it. Well, I don’t know about the others. I think the other members were pretty stressed out, but I just thought it was fun. It was fun! I did what I wanted to do.

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RM said that the members now have different lifestyles and different boundaries. Maybe we can expand on that a little more. What does that mean?
Well, all the members have completely different backgrounds. And ever since we met, we’ve all been doing things at our own speed, at our own tempo, and on our own timelines. Additionally, we like different types of music and we also like different types of food. The seven of us are very different, but we work together, sing together, and perform together. And when we collaborate, of course it’s different there too. Perhaps that’s why he said that.

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I feel like I stepped up as a songwriter with this new album. Was there a memorable moment when you felt satisfied with your contribution?
It certainly felt very good. I don’t know if you can call it pride? But it felt really great. A long time has passed since then. We chose the songs and everything ourselves, but there’s one thing I still think about…why couldn’t I have tried a little harder? Two months is a really long time. Couldn’t you have done something a little more? I regret that very much.

But are there any moments that stand out? Are there any songs that were good to you?
Well, I worked on “Hooligan” a lot. And the song itself…I don’t know. When I first heard this song, I immediately thought of the flow. So I got to work, and…this track is so unique that maybe I just got lucky with it, but Hitman Bang and the rest of the guys thought it was very fresh, and they all loved it. It felt great. And I didn’t know if the song was going to work or not. But when it was chosen, it became a big deal.

And it’s cool that the lyrics are written in English!
Well, I haven’t written everything. I received a lot of help.

Your voice will feel stronger than ever. Is that something you continue to work on?
yes. Before I went to the military, after I returned to the military, and up until now. I’m slow as a turtle, but I’m always doing something. Try things out.

ARMY, of course, loved your solo works. If you look at the reviews, I think they say they wish they had written more, that the solo album was very Western, for better or for worse. Have you heard of it? What do you think about that idea?
It just happened to be my choice at the time. ARMY can write more for the next album if they want. But at the time, I wanted something different. I wanted to collect good songs and release an album as soon as possible. That’s the whole reason.

I also think that the types of stories I can tell are quite limited. So I think that if there are more things I want to do and say in the future, it will happen naturally.

I think their dreams are personal. But are you saying you have nothing to offer them at the moment in that regard?
Maybe you don’t really have anything. This is because memories don’t stay in your brain for long. I’m forgetful a lot, so… You know how computers have hard drives? I don’t think they have a lot of disk space.

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You were a member of BTS from a young age. The only real time off you’ll have as an idol is probably a little while during the pandemic and then military service. How does growing up like that affect your sense of self?
We’ve been very busy during the pandemic. So the only time I was completely away from music was when I was in the military. During that time…it wasn’t so much understanding my sense of self, because I think it’s always changing…what I really felt was that I really wanted to act. I want to sing. “ah, I can’t wait to leave! I want to go outside and dance! ‘ That’s all I thought.

George Harrison was the youngest Beatle. He felt that he was always being treated as a junior and was frustrated. I wonder if you have that aspect as well.
No, I love being the youngest. Because even though we are adults now, we have always been the youngest in our family, the youngest in our group, and we have always been the youngest on staff at work. Now that I’m used to it, I always feel like the youngest child when I’m in a group and I feel very comfortable. That’s how I feel now.