--- 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 > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## 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) ## Transcript I used to look up at the night sky and wonder, and I used to dream the dreams of a boy. I used to imagine that I was a superhero who could save the world. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] And in intro to one of our early albums, there is a line that says, my heart stops when I was Maybe nine or ten. Looking back, I think that's when I began to worry about what other people thought of me and started seeing myself through their eyes. There was a small voice inside of me that said, wake up man, and listen to yourself. But, it took me quite a long time to hear music calling my real name Even after making the decision to join BTS there were a lot of hurdles. Some people might not believe, but most people thought we were hopeless. And sometimes I just wanted to quit. But I think I was very lucky that I didn't give it all up, so. Let's take all one more step, we have learned to love ourselves. So now I urge you to speak yourself, no matter who you are, where you're from, your skin color, your gender identity, to speak yourself. 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