A quick warning, this episode contains discussion of suicide.

The K-pop sensation BTS will complete mandatory military service under South Korean law,

meaning they will reconvene as a group around 2025.

This break presses pause on a discography that's farther reaching than casual fans might think.

So we thought now would be a good time to revisit our episode from earlier this year,

showcasing some of the discoveries in the BTS catalog.

I'm Stephen Thompson, and in this encore episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour,

we're talking about some of our favorite BTS deep cuts.

Joining us today is Lenika Cruz. She's a senior editor at the Atlantic,

and she's the author of the forthcoming book on BTS Sensority, Pop Music, Fandom.

Welcome back, Lenika.

Thanks so much, Stephen. Glad to be here.

It's great to have you. And making her Pop Culture Happy Hour debut is Regina Kim.

She's an entertainment writer focusing on Korean Pop Culture. Welcome to the show, Regina.

Hi, thanks for having me.

Oh, it is a pleasure. So a couple of quick clarifications upfront.

BTS has recorded a lot of songs in its nine-year history,

so there's no way to really be exhaustive here. Now that said, we did want to provide a deeper look into the BTS archives.

I consider myself a casual fan of BTS. I love Dynamite and Butter and Spring Day,

and other songs, US fans commonly associate with BTS,

but I've never seen one of their concerts in person,

and I haven't dug deep into their discography.

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