BTS’s RM Politely Calls Out The Invasion Of His Privacy, Deletes Posts Of His Temple Visit

Fans had felt odd about the incident from the get-go.

On January 5, KST, multiple Korean media outlets reported about BTS RM‘s visit to the Hwaeomsa Temple in Mount Jirisan. Though he himself had posted pictures from the visit on his Instagram, fans were surprised to see that media outlets were quoting the temple’s chief monk, who had spent some time talking to RM about his personal affairs.

RM (far right) with monks of the Hwaeomsa temple and Balming Tiger member San Yawn | Korea JoongAng Daily

There were two highlights in the articles—one, that RM has been donating 500 bags every year to Good World Charity Bank, a children’s relief organization headed by Venerable Deokmun, the head of the Hwaeomsa Temple, and two, that he talked about his enlistment with monk Deokmun when he directly asked RM about BTS’s military exemption expectations.

The news spread all over the internet, and while fans were praising RM for his sincere charity work, many also raised concerns over whether his private conversation with the monk was being broadcasted with his consent. A few hours later, RM posted multiple Instagram stories, seemingly expressing his disapproval of the whole thing. In the first story, he posted a screenshot of the article with a caption stating that he didn’t expect articles to be written about this matter.

I was grateful for the time spent there, but didn’t expect an article about it…😂

— RM via Instagram

In the next story, he said that the next time he would go to some other temple to keep his visit quiet, followed by another story with the hashtag “lowkeymustbelowkey.”

Next time I’ll make a quiet visit to a different temple…

— RM via Instagram

Fans also noticed that he deleted all posts from his Instagram feed that included pictures from his visit to the temple.

All these actions combined, it is clear to ARMYs that the media reports disrespected RM’s personal boundaries, and the conversation, just like Jin’s enlistment date announcement, are not something the BTS member consented to be publicized. Since then, fans have been showing support for the artist, demanding that his privacy be left alone.

At the same time, fans have been mindful of reminding each other not to misdirect their anger at the temple or the religion itself.

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