RM Explains BTS Members Were in a ‘Bad Mental State’ Before Reuniting for ARIRANG Album Following Military Service

BTS endured a low point before coming back together for the group’s latest album.

In a Weverse livestream on Thursday, May 28, BTS member RM explained the group was “in a bad mental state” before coming together to make their new album, ARIRANG, following the seven members’ mandatory military service.

“When Jin-hyung was discharged from the military [in June 2024] … at that time, everyone was in a bad mental state,” said RM, 31, during the livestream, according to NME and Billboard.

The group then shed “tears” together during a dinner at Jimin’s home, explained RM, per the outlets. “We talked about a lot of things,” said the rapper and songwriter, who realized he needed “to work harder to hold this [team] together.”

RM also expressed awareness of fans’ anticipation for new music, according to NME and Billboard. “After making the album, this wait for those who’ve been waiting,” he said. “I wanted to pay back for that.”

BTS, which includes RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook, released the new album ARIRANG on March 20. The project reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, while its lead single “SWIM” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100.

The album arrived after the band members took an extended break to serve mandatory time in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

In a March interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, RM spoke about the inspiration behind the ARIRANG album title and how it relates to the band. “I think it was very natural to bring some a key word like Arirang. Arirang is like an old traditional Korean song, hundreds of years, maybe thousand,” he began.

“The [album’s title track] is about, the lyrics are quite abstract, but it’s about a longing and a nostalgia for a hometown. It could be a lover, it could be a hometown, it could be a family, it could be a friend. Lots of our ancestors have been singing it,” explained RM. “It’s very ethnic and very, very historical in Korean. So in the military we also thought about missing the times and the past and the fans, the times that we were together but we couldn’t do anything inside, and we naturally thought about where we came from and if we unite again, what do we have to do? If BTS should go on, what word could make us into a one, like a group, you know?”

He added at the time, “We want to cling to the world where we are rooted. Since we are all Koreans, and we are proud of where we came from, and I think the song has lyrics and the melodies are very, very universal. Everyone has nostalgias and their sadness and their longings, so I think a great art mostly brings a personal thing into a universal thing. So if we bring Arirang into 2026 in our own ways, we thought that we could bring it to the world.”

BTS is currently on the Arirang World Tour, continuing through March 2027, in support of the album.