BTS’ RM made everyone cry with a heartfelt letter days before enlisting in the military on December 11. The idol enlisted along with his fellow member V and their fans, better known as the ARMY, couldn’t hold tears. However, a new controversy around RM’s letter has just begun.
The touching letter was instantly translated by numerous media outlets who wanted to know what RM wanted to say before leaving. However, the inaccurate translations led to numerous debates because it was highly nuanced in the original version. This reason was enough for the ARMY to ask Anton Hur, BTS’ official translator in the English version of BTS’ memoir “Beyond The Story: 10-Year-Record of BTS” for a translation.
However, Hur completely refused to translate RM’s letter in a detailed thread on “X” formerly known as Twitter. The translator emphasized he doesn’t align with the conscription in general, as he classified it as “incredibly ambivalent” based on his real-life experiences.
Hur voiced his discontent as the letter collected painful experiences at the time he was in service, where he was severely injured. He stated that a construction accident led to two of his vertebrae and all his heel bones being destroyed. The doctor said it was a miracle he survived without suffering further physical repercussions.
After he gave context to his refusal, he criticized South Korean politicians for not respecting Korean artists and recognizing the country’s real “soft power” referring to BTS and their refusal to exempt the members.
Anton Hur ended his threat by saying he felt too ashamed and angry at this state of division to translate RM’s letter. He strongly believes it is not fair for him to translate something that caused so much trouble in the past. Fortunately, ARMY completely understands Hur’s position.
I'm not ignoring the (very respectful 💜) requests to translate Namjoon's letter—I just feel incredibly ambivalent about military conscription in general because of my own experiences in serving in the Korean army and my own political very non-mainstream beliefs.
— Anton Hur (@AntonHur) December 12, 2023
