When I introduced read.cash to my friends and colleagues, majority of them asked: “What is Whalien52?”.
It was a song of the same title Whalien 52 by the male group of artists from South Korea that goes by the name of Bangtan Sonyeondan (English translation: Bulletproof Boy scouts) or most popularly known worldwide as BTS (Do you know BTS? ✌🏻).
Just for a brief introduction for its members for those who doesn’t know them yet, BTS is composed seven multitalented members who knows how to sing, dance, act, compose and produce their own music. Their music is not just limited to “K-Pop”. They are under the label Big Hit Entertainment which was just a small thriving company back in the days that they were still starting. Now company’s net worth is around 5 Billion USD! Thanks to the unstoppable success and recognition that the BTS received around the world.
Members include (3 Rappers and 4 Vocalists):
1. RM (26, Kim Namjoon) - Main rapper, songwriter, producer
2. Jin (28, Kim Seokjin) - Sub vocalist, songwriter, producer
3. Suga (27, Min Yunki/ Yoongi) - a.k.a. Agust-D, Lead rapper, songwriter, producer
4. J-Hope (26, Jung Ho Seok) - Main dancer, sub rapper, sub vocalist, songwriter, producer
5. Jimin (25, Park Jimin) - Main dancer, Lead vocalist, songwriter, producer
6. V (25, Kim Taehyung) - Lead dancer, sub vocalist, songwriter, producer
7. Jungkook (23, Jeon Jungkook) - Main Vocalist, Lead dancer, sub-rapper, songwriter, producer.
They debuted last June 13, 2013 after 3 years of intensive trainings. Since they came from a small company, not much attention was given to them and went on like this for years to the point that their company went to a brink of bankruptcy and they almost got disbanded. But they didn’t give up.
Whalien 52 was released on November 2015. It was inspired by a type of Whale 🐋 that has an unusual frequency of 52 Hertz. This frequency is too high and out of tune for the other whales to perceive or understand that’s why this type of whale travels alone and tagged as “The Loneliest Creature in the world”. The lyrics of the song Whalien 52 (Whale + Alien or being alienated) deals with the struggle and loneliness of not being heard or recognized no matter how hard you try but at the same time never giving up.
Excerpts of the song (English translated):
Lonely lonely lonely whale
Sing alone like this!
Will I ever shine so brightly like a remote island?
Lonely lonely lonely whale
Like this, try calling once again
Until this song that doesn’t have a response reaches tomorrowAn endless signal will reach someday
Everywhere, even to the other side of the earth
And their hard work paid off. It is in the same year, 2015 when they finally won their very first major award for Best Album of the year in South Korea. From there, they started to become more recognized not just in South Korea, but also around the world.
One of the key factor that helped them to be known outside South Korea is their use of various social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, etc. They don’t own individual account for public, they’re using only one account for their group so fans can focus on one account to follow. They’re posting video logs (Vlogs) of their everyday life and journey as BTS which helps their fans to know them more behind the stage. They’re openly and actively interacting with their fans who are collectively called as A.R.M.Y. which stands for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth.
They already received various major awards and recognitions to date. On October 24, 2018, each member has been awarded by the President of South Korea the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit, youngest recipients of the award, for their commendable contribution in introducing/promoting South Korean language and culture around the world. (Their songs are all in Hangul - South Korean language with only minimal English inclusions). Also one of the highlights in their career was when they joined hands with the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Funds) to launch the “Love Yourself” campaign: a two-year fundraising campaign to #ENDviolence against children last November 2017 that was successfully completed. And on September 24, 2018, they we’re given the privilege to deliver speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly - urging the youth to “Find their voice”, “speak yourself” and believe in their own convictions and voices.
And just recently, they expressed their support for antiracism, anti-violence, etc in their official Twitter account (@BTS_twt) and reported to have donated $1 Million for the Black Lives Matters Movement. Reaching out their around 26.5 Million Twitter followers to date, and their dedicated ARMYs matched the donation with another $1 Million in less than 24hrs. 😳
With this, their worldwide influence can be seen. From being nobodies- striving rookies to one of the most-renowned and influential artists which have the power to reach out to millions of people from around the globe for the span of 7 years in their career is really awe-inspiring.
And just like them, I will strive hard and never give up in everything that I do so that one day my own frequency will resonate others and will finally be heard. 😊💜