Big Hit releases 'Learn! Korean With BTS', Army calls it educational but 'too expensive'
The global phenomenon of BTS is only growing stronger. After hitting the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with their latest single 'Dynamite' and cracking Billboard Artist 100's top spot for the seventh non-consecutive week, BTS has now introduced the 'Learn! Korean with BTS' kit featuring officially licensed content of K-pop giant BTS.
Big Hit Entertainment, the South Korean entertainment company that manages BTS, recently launched the project with the aim of helping international fans of K-pop understand the Korean language. BTS has fans all over the globe called the ARMY who turn to external resources to try and decipher the words, lyrics, tweets and posts of the K-pop superstars. The Twitter account @BTS_Trans, for example, which has over 1M followers, has been the biggest free resource of translated BTS content.
The package was a huge success at the time of its launch, as tweeted by Big Hit Entertainment's official handle which stated: "As soon as it (Learn Korean with BTS) was released on the 24th of last month, it sold out in 20 minutes after the sales began in the US and in 3 hours in Japan, and immediately entered additional printing."
“As soon as it (Learn Korean with BTS) was released on the 24th of last month, it sold out in 20 minutes after the sales began in the US and in 3 hours in Japan, and immediately entered additional printing.”
— bora⁷ (@modooborahae) September 2, 2020
Oh wow @BTS_twt #BTS #방탄소년단 https://t.co/nn6XN0S9cM
The package contains four textbooks and a 'sound pen' which plays back pronunciation of words or phrases by touching symbols on the page and it costs approximately $125. A fan posted a video of how 'Learn! Korean With BTS' works with the caption, "THIS LEARN KOREAN WITH BTS BOOK IS SO AMAZING ESPECIALLY WITH THE PEN OMGGGGGG."
THIS LEARN KOREAN WITH BTS BOOK IS SO AMAZING ESPECIALLY WITH THE PEN OMGGGGGG😭😭 pic.twitter.com/U9c0F2fIN9
— junko (@jiminandchani) September 6, 2020
Another BTS Army member, who purchased 'Learn! Korean With BTS', posted a demo video of the book and wrote, "ok i’m glad i got the learn korean with bts why do i see myself just listening to their voices."
ok i’m glad i got the learn korean with bts why do i see myself just listening to their voices fhdhdhs pic.twitter.com/ZsYVsV3a26
— dary ⁷ (@jiminiereset) September 7, 2020
While most fans were excited about the new way to learn Korean, others found the offer too expensive. One fan, on seeing the price of the package, wrote, "I bought Learn Korean with BTS textbook, which was the most expensive textbook I've ever bought lol, and I'm so satisfied with it. I think this is the the best way to study Korean for armys."
I bought Learn Korean with BTS textbook, which was the most expensive textbook I've ever bought lol, and I'm so satisfied with it. I think this is the the best way to study Korean for armys. https://t.co/qCWSB5Fhro
— YUNA⁷💕 (@moon7_yuna) September 7, 2020
A disappointed fan expressed similar sentiments and said, "i'm seriously considering saving money to buy the learn korean book and use it to learn.... bc it's like seriously expensive but i want it," white another tweeted, "damn I want the learn Korean package but it's so expensive."
i'm seriously considering saving money to buy the learn korean book and use it to learn.... bc it's like seriously expensive but i want it 😭
— julia ⁷ ✨ STREAM💥#DYNAMITEbyBTS (@lvly_jjn) September 6, 2020
damn I want the learn Korean package but it's so expensive 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/2CZEQHu3m0
— magali⁷ °ᶜᵒᵐᵐⁱˢˢⁱᵒⁿˢ ᵒᵖᵉⁿ° 🎨 (@wbtete) September 3, 2020
Taking a more light-hearted stance, a BTS fan tweeted, "any sugar daddy willing to buy the learn korean with bts book package for me?"
any sugar daddy willing to buy the learn korean with bts book package for me? pic.twitter.com/UpVJYtikFl
— ᴄᴀᴇʟ⁷ ᴺᵒ¹ ⟭⟬ 🐋💜 is going thru identity crisis (@sopeglossd) September 7, 2020
On the music front, BTS released their fourth studio album in February this year titled 'Map of the Soul: 7'.