During the month of Sept. popular K-Pop band BTS travelled to America to promote their new album Love Yourself: Answer. Toward the end of their visit, the group stopped by UN event to represent their country. Kim Namjoon, known as RM, is the leader of BTS who is actually fluent in English. His speech at the United Nations event on Sept. 24 in New York City focused on self-love in a world filled with negativity.

The “Love Yourself” campaign has been advertised on their most recent album series. K-Pop club founder, Jessica Lopez, 12, believes this message is important to the youth.

“The leader RM knows what the struggle is with youth; he knows that we struggle with depression and loving ourselves as much as we’re supposed to,” Lopez said. “He wrote this album to let youth know that we have to learn to love and respect and each other no matter what society says.”

When most people think of the first time they heard of K-Pop, they mention the famed Gangnam Style by Korean singer Psy. This pop song, however, is only one of the thousands of songs that exist from K-Pop artists. Groups exist in a variety of sizes, genres, and ages. To pinpoint the genre of K-Pop on a specific group would not represent the industry as a whole.

However, fans believe that the band’s presence at a worldwide level alone is an important step into more integration of minorities. BTS fan, Estrella Hernandez, 12,  believes that the message being spread by BTS is important, no matter where you are from.

“If we all take a step back and forget our backgrounds and where we come from, we are all the same, and that is what BTS is trying to show,” Hernandez said. “The presence of an international group as big as BTS is very important at the UN [event] to show that we may all look different and seem different, but we are all the same in our unique self.”

Fans are not the only ones that show their approval to BTS’ presence in the United States. Senior Edward Haro agrees that their impact lies on a deeper level correlating with an American foundation.

“I think it’s really cool that foreign bands keep leaving a big mark in the US,” Haro said. “… it  keeps the fundamental idea that anyone is accepted here [United States].”

The seven member group formed in 2013 is one of the bands that was formed in the Korean music industry, an industry that is spreading worldwide. K-Pop is a genre that is becoming mainstream in the nation, with a large number of people starting to listen and appreciate the music.  BTS is currently on their Love Yourself world tour and finish the US leg of the tour on Oct. 6. The band will continue their tour in Europe and Japan.