BTS leader RM is once again making headlines – not for his music, but for his unfiltered take on marriage, parenthood and the pressures facing millennials and Gen Z in South Korea.
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During a live broadcast on the group’s global fan platform Weverse on Sunday, the 31-year-old K-pop star spoke openly about his current state of mind, revealing that he has been reflecting deeply on relationships and life choices while working on a new album.
“I’ve been feeling some anxiety and depression again recently,” RM said. “It always happens when I’m preparing for an album. I spend a lot of time alone, and I’m not good at handling loneliness. As you get older, you’re supposed to become friends with yourself and learn how to spend time alone – but I still can’t stay home by myself.”
Even though he has decorated his home beautifully, RM said he rarely spends time there except to sleep. “I feel like I still haven’t become an adult,” he said. “I guess that’s why people get married – to find a partner, a lifelong friend to share things with.”
RM, who was born in 1994, said that his parents’ generation followed a very different life timeline. “When my parents were my age, I was already three years old,” he said. “But I still feel like a child. Thinking about how they got married, had me and raised me at that age – it’s incredible. Now that I’m in my 30s, I realise how hard it is to raise a child and build a family.”
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While some of his friends have married – “maybe two or three out of ten”, he said – many have chosen not to, reflecting a broader social shift. “If you meet the right person at the right time, you might get married. But if not, you might live alone. There’s no correct answer.”