BTS delivered a speech and a performance at the 76th United Nations General Assembly Monday.
The K-pop group addressed the U.N. as youth representatives during the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals Moment. Ahead of their speech, BTS posed a question on social media to young people across the world, asking, “What were the past 2 years like for you, and what’s your world like today?” They then presented some of those answers in their speech, touching on climate change, the pandemic and more.
BTS rejected the notion of calling today’s youth “COVID’s lost generation,” saying, “We think that instead of the ‘lost generation,’ a more appropriate name would be the ‘welcome generation.’ Because instead of fearing change, this generation says, ‘Welcome!’ and keeps forging ahead.”
They ended their speech with a hopeful message, saying, “We believe that every choice we make is the beginning of change. We hope that in this nascent new world we can all say to each other, ‘Welcome!’”
To accompany their address, BTS shared a pre-recorded performance of “Permission to Dance,” filmed inside the General Assembly Hall.
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