Kim Taehyung, known more widely as V, has spent much of his career as one of the most recognisable faces in global pop. But during BTS’ temporary pause in 2022, the singer found himself confronting a different question: who is he without it?
As the group stepped away for military service, Taehyung—known to fans as V—describes a period defined less by absence, and more by intention. For the first time in years, he wasn’t performing, promoting, or moving at the relentless pace that had come to define BTS’ rise. Instead, he made a conscious decision to step back from the identity he had built.
“Well, while we’re in the military, we can’t perform even if we want to,” he recalled in a recent interview. “So I did really yearn to perform. I wanted to release an album, I wanted to sing and dance. I definitely felt that … desire? Let’s call it desire. But since we were needed by our country, we had to do the best with our situation at the time. So I tried very hard to forget about V of BTS for a while, so that I could concentrate on living my life as Kim Taehyung.”
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That separation became a defining thread of his time away. Rather than hold onto the momentum of his idol persona, Taehyung leaned into something quieter—rebuilding from the inside out.
“That idea was so important to me. I knew that my time in the military was going to be quite long, so I thought very hard about how to spend it well and not waste it away. First off, I considered my values and my health. I tried to organize and give a lot of thought to my inner world, looking back on myself and contemplating the kind of person I ultimately want to become.”
For Taehyung, that meant stripping things back to basics. Over the course of his enlistment, he focused on routine and reflection—working out, reading, and immersing himself in music without the pressure of output.
“So for that year and a half, I worked out a whole lot. Read a lot, listened to a lot of music. And I think that gave me the opportunity to rebuild my body and mind.”
Books, in particular, offered a form of escape—though not always clarity.
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“I asked my friend: ‘Hey, I want to read! Do you have any books to recommend?’ And they got so excited and recommended Han Kang’s and Keigo Higashino’s books. So that’s literally all I read. There was also a book called Eleven Steps. It was kind of a philosophy book. But with any of the different books, I found myself putting myself into the text. Like imagining myself as a character in a novel, for example. I was so deep in my imagination at the time. Was it helpful? I’m not sure.”
Still, the effects of that period are visible—not just internally, but outwardly too.
“It’s just that … Actually, I found that after working out, I looked and felt different from when I didn’t work out, both on the outside and inside. So I guess I have a more confident figure.”
That renewed sense of self carries into his solo work. His debut EP Layover reflects a version of Taehyung that feels deliberately unhurried, rooted in the genres he grew up with—jazz, classical, and alternative influences shaped by his childhood listening habits.
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“Layover came to me at a time when I felt the need to look back on my journey so far as V of BTS. The word ‘layover’ can mean a stop between destinations, but to me, it’s expressing that my life is not a straight path. I want to say: I can make this kind of music, but I also like many other styles.”
“I love jazz, classical music, and even more alternative music, so I wanted to share that with ARMY and our listeners. I genuinely love music with all my heart, and Layover is that representation of me.”
Even as BTS moves into a new chapter together, Taehyung’s perspective has shifted. The time apart didn’t weaken the group’s dynamic—it sharpened it.
“Right. And since all seven of us have had a solo career, everyone’s individual ego is stronger now. I thought that might change things when we got together again, but we actually amplified each other and ended up making a better album. So I get the sense that our work is more polished than before.”
For Taehyung, stepping away from “V” wasn’t about disconnecting from BTS—it was about understanding what he brings back to it.
And now, with that clarity, he’s not choosing between the two.
He’s moving forward as both.
