BTS Jin Reveals the ‘Arirang’ Credits Directly… “There Are Always Opportunities”

[SBS Entertainment News | Reporter Kang Kyung-yoon] BTS Jin directly explained the background behind being left out of the credits for the 5th full-length album 'Arirang' and calmly said, "There are plenty of opportunities."

On the 15th, in a Rolling Stone YouTube interview with the U.S. music media outlet, Jin looked back on the album-making process, saying, "During my military service, I missed the members a lot. Working together again felt like filling in that time, and I realized once more that I feel most at ease when I'm with the members."

He also shared more specific behind-the-scenes details about being excluded from the credits. Jin said, "About 100 songs were prepared for this album, and by the time I arrived, most of the work was already in progress. I spent about a week to ten days participating in selecting and testing songs among them," adding, "At the time, my solo tour schedule had been set months in advance, and the timing didn't work out," expressing regret.

Jin continued, "The members were serving in the military, and while we were continuing activities for the fans, the songwriting was almost finished. It would be a lie to say I had no regrets, but if I had pushed the session back out of greed, the album release would have been delayed too," and said calmly, "Considering how long the fans were waiting, it was the best choice at the time. It's not just now; there will be plenty of opportunities in the future as well."

Previously, BTS members had revealed during a full-group live broadcast that Jin joined the song-writing session in Los Angeles, United States, late because of his solo tour schedule.

When asked about the concerns of being a 35-year-old idol, Jin said, "My body is more tired than before, but that's just a personal issue," adding, "Since I always have to show my best performance, I'm working harder. I recognize on my own the areas where I fall short compared to the members, and I practice earlier or stay late to make up for them. Seeing how much the members really want to tour made me feel that I need to work even harder too."

He also emphasized, regarding concerns about the group's identity, "Although my thoughts were not exactly the same as the members', through many conversations we reached the conclusion that 'what we do is our identity.' In the end, what's important is telling the story we want to tell."

Finally, Jin said about his future goal, "Meeting fans is more important than my solo career. Over the next five years, I want to travel through more countries and meet fans in person."