The best BTS on Disney Plus

At the beginning of their ten-year career, fans of the Korean group BTS couldn’t just turn on a Western streaming service like Disney Plus and stream concerts or behind-the-scenes documentaries featuring their favorite music artists. Not only did Disney Plus not exist in 2013, but the Bangtan Boys didn’t have the resources to easily expose themselves to the industry in Korea, let alone the other side of the planet in the world’s largest music market. Back then, BTS was an underdog group that originated from Big Hit Entertainment, a small music company, rather than one of the “Big Three” Korean music corporations (JYP, SM, and YG) that captured most of the mainstream. For this reason, most of BTS’s early interactions with fans—especially internationally—were through their own YouTube channel, where they connected with fans via vlogs even before their official “debut” as a group.

Today, BTS is the biggest band in the world – even when they take a break from group activities to focus on solo music and do their mandatory military service. And their small music company, Big Hit Entertainment, has grown into a global media corporation called HYBE. They still post most of their content via YouTube (their global popularity has also allowed HYBE to launch an entire online platform called Weverse), but they’ve made distribution deals with other platforms from time to time. The largest of these deals is for Disney Plus, which launched in late 2019 and is now available in 60 countries worldwide.

Last July, HYBE announced a partnership deal with Disney that will see the Korean music company’s “five major content titles” be distributed on the global streaming platform. Less than a year later, Disney Plus released four of the five planned BTS-centric titles. Whether you’re a BTS fan who hasn’t fully delved into BTS history yet, or just a Disney Plus subscriber who’s curious about the band that took the world by storm, here’s a guide to what you can learn about the K-pop star on the streaming platform.

BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage – LA

Photo: BIGHIT Music & HYBE

Recommended for: Every BTS fan.

Since their debut, BTS have been known in the K-pop industry for their creative, energetic, and meticulously executed live performances. BTS Permission to dance on the LA stage gives viewers at home a foretaste of experiencing one of these performances in person. The concert video, directed by Sam Wrench and Jun-Soo Park, was filmed at SoFi Stadium in late November 2022 for the group’s first live concert series in over two years.

The Permission to Dance on Stage Tour, named after the 2021 song, was scheduled to run for 11 nights at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. With over 200 songs in their discography, the band had plenty of choice in which songs and scenes would be featured on the show. Notably, for “PTD on Stage”, BTS prioritized songs that featured all seven members instead of interspersing the set list with solo songs that would allow the other members to rest. The result is over two hours of some of the world’s best performers tirelessly doing what they do best.

In Soop: Friendship

Image: Disney

Recommended for: BTS fans looking for a chill afternoon or who want to pretend to be on vacation in the Korean countryside.

In Sopot, which fully translates to “In the Forest”, is a reality show where BTS members escape to the Korean countryside to enjoy a period of rest and relaxation. (In 2021, it was the eighth most tweeted show in the world.) The original incarnation of the show gave us two seasons, released in 2020 and 2021 respectively, featuring all seven members. In Soop: Friendship is a spin-off that follows BTS member V who goes on a fraternity trip with four of his famous friends: actors Park Seo-joon (an upcoming MCU movie Miracles, Itaewon class), Choi Woo Shik (Train to Busan, Parasite) and Park Hyung-sik (heirs), as well as rapper Peakboy.

The famous friendship group was formed during the production of the 2016 K-drama Hwarang: Youth Warrior Poetand even has a name. The friends are called “Wooga Squad”, which is short for “Are we family?” in Korea. IN Friendshipgo on a four-day trip to Goseong where they eat steamed buns, fish in the ocean, sing karaoke and watch the latest episode of Choi’s Our beloved summer Together. It’s the least story-driven Disney Plus offering, but that’s about it. Four Episodes is the perfect watch for a slow, rainy weekend.

J-Hope in a box

Image: Disney

Recommended for: BTS fans who are interested in creating BTS-level performances.

At some point in J-Hope in a box, BTS rapper and dancer J-Hope remarks on camera that he has devoted his entire 20 years to BTS. This is not a comment of regret or nostalgia. It’s just Is. When BTS members announced to the world that they would be taking a break from group activities to rest, do their mandatory military service, and pursue solo projects, it was deemed necessary for the long-term sustainment of the world’s biggest band. They wanted a chance to grow, experiment, and mature outside the immediate context of BTS.

When jack in the box, J-Hope’s first solo album, released in July 2022, did it in a bold and surprising way. It continues with J-Hope in a box, which allows the artist to be the only main character in the history of the movie to a degree that wasn’t really possible during the first chapter of BTS. (It’s fascinating to see the other members appear as supporting characters – as J-Hope’s dearest friends and his oldest workmates – throughout J-Hope’s story.) This 85-minute film gives you rare access to J-Hope’s work process -Hope and family life; explores the huge preparations that took place in the preparations jack in the box and Lollapalooza; and successfully recreates the energy of his historic performance in Chicago.

SUGA: Road to D-Day

Image: Disney

Recommended for: BTS fans who are curious about what goes on in BTS’ music writing process.

If you’ve noticed BTS member Suga’s “hiatus,” you may have noticed how much of it is about seeking advice on how to sustain a lifelong artistic career. It’s been 10 years since the 30-year-old musician, producer and performer made his BTS debut, and as he looks beyond his upcoming solo tour and subsequent mandatory military service, he clearly intends to dedicate his life to making music. music.

IN Road to D-Day – a full-length documentary about the writing of Suga’s newest album, D Day – we find out why the rapper and producer does what he does, how he fights it and who inspires him. In one of the documentary’s most moving scenes, Suga travels to Japan to meet one of her musical heroes: Ryuichi Sakamoto, an Oscar-winning Japanese composer who passed away in April. (The two collaborated on a track titled “Snooze” for D Day.) While the whole documentary is fascinating, I will not forget this moment – when two generations of world-changing musicians come together and appreciate music together – in the near future.

BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star (upcoming)

Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage

Recommended for: BTS fans who want to relive the group’s rise to global superstardom.

Not released yet BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star is a documentary series that will tell the story of BTS, with “unprecedented access to a huge library of music and footage from the past nine years.” While BTS’s story has been covered in many places, Big Hit Entertainment/HYBE has yet to make an official attempt to create a documentary series that tells the story of their career. This could be it. With BTS turning 10 years old in June 2023, this summer will be the perfect time to start releasing this chronicle of their story so far…