June is a special month for BTS fans.
The tradition of spending some weeks of the month celebrating the band’s anniversary, known as “Festa” is as old as BTS itself. The band and their team usually prepare new music, special content, family portraits, a dinner party, and, when the stars align, a concert or fan event.
In 2024, six out of seven BTS members are temporarily retired from public life while they complete their mandatory military service, but the eldest member Jin was discharged just in time (literally, a day before BTS’ anniversary) to make sure this wouldn’t become ARMYs first year without seeing BTS during their birthday.
What is BTS’ anniversary?
BTS celebrate their anniversary on June 13, the day of their official debut back in 2014 with the single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, which included nostalgic hits such as “No More Dream” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt.2.”
They have come a long way over the past 11 years. Beyond their enlistment, which has, for better or worse, become a defining moment in their careers, RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, have topped charts, been nominated for Grammys, won Billboard Music Awards, MMAs, and MAMAs, were award South Korea’s Order of Cultural Merit, been declared special presidential envoys, and sold out stadiums globally. But, when they started on their journey, the youngest, Jungkook, was still in middle school.
Initially designed to be a hip-hop group centered around RM (then called Rap Monster), the band’s line-up slowly shifted as more talented singers and dancers joined label BigHit Music as trainees. Jimin was the last to win a spot on BTS’ final configuration, but the members maintain to this day that the band would not have worked or enjoyed the success it did if it had one more or one less person.