--- title: BTS Is Inspiring a New Viral Challenge About Personal Growth description: The "Persona Challenge" was inspired by the 'Map of the Soul: Persona' teaser released by BTS's RM, and sees fans sharing stories of growth. canonical: https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-28T15:28:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:08.441Z og:title: BTS Is Inspiring a New Viral Challenge About Personal Growth og:description: BTS's fans are sharing their stories of personal growth thanks to a new song og:url: https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: BTS Is Inspiring a New Viral Challenge About Personal Growth twitter:description: BTS's fans are sharing their stories of personal growth thanks to a new song twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # BTS Is Inspiring a New Viral Challenge About Personal Growth ## Video: In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves [Watch (HLS stream): In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/050xEdBJ.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2018-09-25. In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 28, 2019 3:28 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 28, 2019 3:28 PM UTC After [surprise-releasing](http://time.com/5559673/bts-comeback-trailer/) a “comeback trailer” for their upcoming album _Map of the Soul: Persona_ on Wednesday, fans of K-pop [supergroup BTS](http://time.com/collection-post/5414052/bts-next-generation-leaders/) are running with the themes presented in the rap-forward track performed by leader RM. The fans’ response: creating a [viral challenge](http://time.com/5549019/trashtag-interview/) called the “Persona Challenge,” which sees them sharing throwback photos and stories of their personal growth. In the new song and video, [rapper RM](http://time.com/4833807/rap-monster-bts-interview/), also known as Kim Namjoon, references eras past of both the seven-person musical group as well as his own challenges in the spotlight, from dealing with [cancel culture](http://time.com/5534842/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-billionaires-michael-scott/) to finding self-worth. (The group formed in 2013.) With that in mind, the fans — who call themselves ARMY — have decided to put their own stories to the “Persona Challenge” test. Some discuss past insecurities that they have worked to overcome, while others make sure to thank the [boys of BTS](http://time.com/5521769/famous-bts-armys/) (that’s RM, J-Hope, Suga, Jin, Jung Kook, Jimin and V) and their music for helping them move forward. BTS [has long made it](http://time.com/5405422/bts-k-pop-united-nations-address/) a priority to discuss social issues and anxieties in their mostly Korean-language lyrics and complex videos, which fans eagerly dissect. Their next album is set for an April 12 release. > [](https://twitter.com/naija0329/status/1111051029800538112) > [](https://twitter.com/ouimandie/status/1111060056160849931) > [](https://twitter.com/Chaching1201/status/1111063202240974848) > [](https://twitter.com/BTdeS%5Ftwt/status/1111002888426475520) > [](https://twitter.com/eclipseoks/status/1111003032806981643) > [](https://twitter.com/fairybunhun/status/1111012566657105920) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/"},"headline":"BTS Is Inspiring a New Viral Challenge About Personal Growth","datePublished":"2019-03-28T15:28:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:08.441Z","description":"It's called the \"Persona Challenge\"","url":"https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/","keywords":["Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/","name":"BTS Is Inspiring a New Viral Challenge About Personal Growth"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves","description":"In United Nations Address, K-Pop Group Singer Urges Young People To Love Themselves","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/050xEdBJ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-09-25T04:11:08.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/050xEdBJ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```