BTS’ new docu-series Break The Silence: Docu-Series episode 1 “Still Going On Together” shows the members on their Love Yourself tour in Asia while they reflect on everything they dealt with during 2018.
Break The Silence episode 1 begins with the members getting ready, the excitement and nervousness that comes along with it. The tour is only getting bigger in scale and yet they’re still enjoying time together behind the scenes. Jungkook boxes for real while Jimin and Jin play fight, Taehyung pretends his toothbrush is for conducting music.
Yoongi is asked, “The Most important thing on tour?” and he responds “It’s your state of mind. You can change an F1 car’s engine, but you can’t do that here.”
Jin talks about being nervous, “My face and ears go red when I’m the center of attention. It must be a condition. “
Namjoon jokes with the producers of Break The Silence that if they ask the members about the meaning and purpose of their existence it will scare them. “They’d be like what’s existence?” Namjoon laughs while a clip of him playing around with Jin and Taehyung plays.
The members fly to Tokyo for the Love Yourself Tour where they perform in front of massive crowds at the Tokyo Dome.
Hoseok talks about the experience and says, “I think there is meaning to it. Many artists who came before us performed here, and it’s a famous venue. I thought that performing here would make me feel somewhat different as an artist. That’s how it felt, so I thought ‘I wish I could perform on that stage someday.’ I think I always had that dream. I’d watch performances by Korean artists and I’d dream of performing here someday.”
He watches from high up as ARMY start to come into the dome, not knowing that their idol is already there looking at them. The Break The Silence staff films him sending hearts to the fans without them ever knowing.
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Namjoon also talks about performing at the dome in Tokyo, “I think the question of whether BTS symbolizes anything, is a difficult question to answer. Any artist actively performing in Japan would dream of performing here since it’s like the Seoul Olympic Stadium of Japan. For those who like concerts and singers, it’s a meaningful place.”
The members say goodbye to ARMY in the episode as their concert wraps up at the dome. Jimin promises the crowd that they’ll remember every single second from their performances there.
“It’s something we really wanted. It was a dream that captured our ambitions. For me, performing under this dome was something I dreamed of as a kid, so it means that much more to me,” Hoseok adds about the Tokyo Dome.
After the concert, Yoongi tells the BTS staff they did a good job and laments how exhausted he is. The other BTS members too thank the staff and also play around with flashlights.
“I think it was a lot less, especially on this tour, I didn’t feel nervous or anxious at all but maybe it’s because we have more experience now. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t take the concert seriously. I guess I’ve become more adept,” Yoongi says.
“If soccer players feel nervous and their hearts pound every time they enter a stadium they wouldn’t be able to do their best.”
The BTS members take their group photo together to be posted on social media. Hoseok compliments Jin saying he’s a great performer.
Jin says, “I think I’ve been feeling more of a fighting spirit. Although it could be just a tiny bit harder for us, we try even harder and feel that much more energy when there are more people out there. Even if it’s the same performance, if it’s at a bigger venue I feel like passing out the next day.”
Jimin talks about the group saying, “I think it’s too early to say that we’ve completed our journey. I think all the members would agree. Some of us might feel that things are tough and exhausting while we’re in the moment, but no one’s going to be thinking, ‘That’s good enough.’ And I think everyone would agree. Yes, we have a lot of ambition.”
While talking about their performance, Jungkook asks the others if there’s something new he can do with “Euphoria.” Jin laughs that he can lift up his shirt, while Yoongi mentions the remix. Jungkook talks about moving to the thrust stage after the first verse before the dancers join him. Jimin stands up to clap while the others laugh at their maknae and they all get ready to go.
Hoseok films as they get ready to leave, he’s tired but you can still hear the others in the background having fun. “What would we have become if we hadn’t become singers?” Hoseok asks. “They’re singing even after the concert.”
Taehyung and Jungkook take a car together to go back to their hotel. They listen to songs that Taehyung has been working on and Jungkook tells him he should try songwriting too. Back at the hotel, Jin complains about having to blow dry his hair.
“In books and axioms, they say, ‘those who keep trying without giving up are the ones who succeed.’ I’ve never been satisfied with my talent so I think I need to keep trying my best,” Jin says.
In his hotel room, Yoongi is working on more music. Jungkook and Namjoon hang out together, eating and playing games on their phones.
“I’ve said this several times, but it’s like the seven of us are on a boat, looking in different directions but going the same way. That’s how I describe BTS. Some might feel sad because I said we’re looking in different directions, but I think that even my parents sometimes look to different places. I think they’d look in different directions at times. I think it’s kind of like that,” Namjoon laughs.
“If you ask why we stay together, we may be good at different things and we may want to do different things to make something happen with our singing and dancing.”
Yoongi continues to work on a song and laughs about just getting to add in his part. It’s what he likes about working outside of the studio, he explains. The producers ask him what the songwriting process is like for BTS. “You have to do everything,” Yoongi laughs.
“In the past, when we would accomplish our dreams there was excitement but it’s not always like that now. Sometimes I think, ‘Am I not as happy about it as I used to be?’ But it’s not like that. I think I’ve just become calmer.”
“When I think of it as being part of my job as a songwriter, there’s nothing to be disappointed about. The work becomes interesting. I’ve been doing a lot of work as a singer, producer, and songwriter. We also did a movie recently – Burn The Stage. We’ve been doing many things, but it’s all necessary in order to do more interesting and unexpected projects,” Yoongi explains.
“’Now that we’re successful singers. I’ll use this song to top the charts.’ If I approach it in that way, it just becomes meaningless.”
In his hotel room, Jin gets ready for bed as he puts away his laptop for the night. He shuts off the lights but practices his speech for the next show in Osaka.
“Although we didn’t realize it in the past, we came together under the same goal of seeing how far we could go with our singing and dancing. I think that’s why we’re still together,” Namjoon says.
“To be totally honest, we formed a brotherhood when we didn’t know any better. If anyone of us complained, I’d say ‘Too bad, we have to keep going.’ That’s how…I think it’s usually like that. You usually go into things blind. For instance, with bungee jumping, if I had known it would be that scared I wouldn’t have done it.”
A clip shows Jin giving his speech at Osaka and then the members performing “Magic Shop” together.
“When I’m standing on the lift below the stage, it’s still hard to believe. But once the lift goes up and the concert begins, that’s when I get the feeling, ‘They’re all here. They’re all here to see us.’ It makes me want to perform in new and better ways, not in the way we usually do, so that there are more things for ARMY to see,” Taehyung says.
Jin talks about the group saying, “We all love music, the stage, and our fans. Because we all feel the same way, we haven’t had conflicting opinions or anyone leaving the group. I think we’ll be able to make good music and give good performances for a long time.”
Jungkook looks back at everything they’d deal with in the previous year, “A lot of things happened in 2018. There were moments that were really tough, but still a lot of good things happened as well. I think we’re re-evaluating our position, our actions, and things like that every year. So looking back at what happened in 2018, it made me think ‘what kind of path will I be on in 2019?’ thought about it a lot that year and my concerns doubled as well.”
Yoongi also reflects on the previous year, “I think it’s because things got really hard at the start of the year. There were a lot of things to think about at the time, and there was a lot of doubt about this work. That was on all of our minds that year, since this job demands that you constantly be on a rollercoaster ride. It turned out to be a year where we could reflect on ourselves. That’s what I think.”
Break The Silence episode 1 then shows Hoseok getting ready to go on stage for his solo song, “Just Dance.”
“In 2018, I think a lot of unexpected things happened that year. Honestly, it felt a bit scary, because we never expected so many things that came our way and we were actually doing them,” Hoseok says.
“2018 was the best. It was especially great for me as j-hope because my mixtape was released in 2018. It was the year I accomplished my dream, so for myself and for BTS it was one of our best years. It was the year I achieved my dream.”
After the concert was done the BTS members got to enjoy a meal together. They talked about the highlights and complimented Namjoon on his song as well as what he’d said. As well as how they learned to work around the challenges of performing in a dome.
They also talked about the choreography for “Mic Drop” and some things that needed to be tweaked, but they managed to still be light-hearted while doing so.
Yoongi says, “It’s great if you’re close like we are. Now we can overlook each other’s weaknesses. We’ve become closer than family, in a way. We can put everything else aside and talk freely about how we can move forward and improve.”
“We also respect each other, so if someone said that they can’t do this anymore because of certain reasons…of course we’d try to persuade that person, to think it over together and overcome difficulties. But if that’s still not enough we can say…’We understand. It’s your life, so we respect that.’ We have to respect the fact that we all think differently in order to work as one.”
Meanwhile, a clip shows that Jungkook is busy taking some chicken and pickled radish to enjoy by himself in his hotel room. He listens to old songs and talks about how he had to learn how to rap for some of their earlier songs and he’s not sure if he can still do it.
“Later, when I am not as famous as I am now, and turn into an old man…I wonder who’ll still be around when I’m an old man. But I’d really like to have a conversation with ARMY and ask ‘How were we back then?’ ‘Were we amazing then?’ ‘What were we like as individual and ordinary people?’”
Jungkook continues to listen to old tracks, discusses recording as a kid when he was a trainee.
“We always stayed in line. But once we debuted and entered the industry, we realized it was a lot more difficult than we thought. Looking around, we realized our team was really special. In the beginning, we argued a lot while living together when we were trainees, and I think that helped a lot to define the group,” Namjoon says.
Hoseok talks about the group’s bond, “I think the key to companionship is trust. Once the trust is broken, I think the companionship is no longer there. In the sense, that seven of us have spent a long time together, and I think our faith in each other has helped us come this far. If we weren’t supportive and trusting of one another, we wouldn’t have come this far.”
ARMYs sing “For You” while they wait for BTS to come on stage. The sound of the crowd singing fills the dome, “Everything is for you, everything is alright, even if there is no answer, everything is inside your smile. Truth, even if we are apart, our hearts are connected to each other, forever with you. everything is for you.”
Break The Silence also shows their infamous MAMA 2018 acceptance speech, the moment where Jin admitted that the group had talked about disbanding. Some of the members surround him in tears as the oldest member is thankful for the members and to ARMY. They come together for a group hug.
“Seeing them there, and seeing their sincere expressions of love on their faces…when things get hard, seeing their faces gives us more strength. So even when things get tough, it doesn’t feel that bad. Even though it’s tough, we can endure it and keep going,” Taehyung says.
In his speech, Jimin talks about how their first showcase was held in a small venue in Tokyo. Even then he was surprised that so many ARMYs in Japan knew who they were and went to see them. It took them a while to get to the dome but they’re happy to be with ARMY.
“We’re so different, in personality and in the smallest ways. Regardless, we’ve been able to stay together for so long without clashing. When I thought about it, I realized that it was possible because we share the same end goal,” Jimin finishes off Break The Silence episode 1.
BTS Break The Silence can be purchased exclusively through Weverse! New episodes of Break The Silence will be released every Tuesday and Thursday, as the series follows the 351-day journey on the Love Yourself tour.