How BTS’ art-loving leader RM is energising Korea’s culture scene for his 27th birthday

Sep 17 , 2020

BTS’ RM is a notorious art lover – as his recent birthday donation proves. Photo: @btsnamjoon/Instagram

BTS leader RM is an art aficionado – generous donations and social media posts are just 2 of the ways he’s supporting South Korea’s modern and contemporary art scene – lately shelling out for catalogues of works by artists including Kim Whan-ki, Lee Jung-seob, Varlen Pen, Yoo Young-kuk and Lee Seung-jio

K-pop sensation RM of BTS has donated US$84,000 to Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Foundation to support the printing of rare and out-of-print art books.

According to the museum, RM donated the money on his 27th birthday on September 12. It will be used to print and reissue books on Korean modern and contemporary art and distribute them to about 400 public libraries and schools throughout the country.

The books printed with support from RM include catalogues of seven Korean artists Kim Whan-ki, Lee Jung-seob, Varlen Pen, Yoo Young-kuk, Park Nae-hyeon, Yun Hyong-keun and Lee Seung-jio as well as exhibition catalogues, Birth of the Modern Art Museum: Art and Architecture of MMCA Deoksugung and The Modern and Contemporary Korean Calligraphy.

RM visited both aforementioned Korean modern art exhibitions in 2018 and 2020, as well as other exhibitions at the state-run MMCA including avant-garde artist Lee Seung-jio's retrospective “Advancing Columns” in August.

MMCA director Youn Bum-mo said he was pleasantly surprised when RM expressed his wish to encourage young people to read art books and nurture their artistic sensibilities through reading as he also received inspiration and spiritual comfort from art.

“We appreciate RM's positive influence in the art field as he visits museums despite his busy schedule, and will do our best with him to encourage a culture of reading art books,” Youn said in a statement.

The K-pop star is a well-known art aficionado who visits museums and galleries regularly even amidst his international tours and promotional events, posting photos of himself with artworks on his social media accounts. The art institutions he’s visited have become popular among BTS fans, who follow in RM’s footsteps and tour the venues after seeing his social media posts.