'Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS' book to be released on July 9

Boy band BTS [BIGHIT MUSIC]

An autobiography detailing the megahit boyband BTS's 10-year-long history will be released on July 9.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that an English translation of the autobiography, titled “Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS,” will be published in the United States through Flatiron Books. It reported that the book was written by Kang Myeong-seok, music critic and the editor of Weverse Magazine, together with the seven members.

The English translation was done by Anton Hur, in collaboration with Clare Richards and Slin Jung.

"'Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS' will be an official book published by BigHit Music to celebrate the boy band's 10-year anniversary, which will be released on July 9 in Korea," HYBE, parent company of BigHit Music, told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Friday.

The New York Times had reported that the Korean book would also be released on July 9.

Listed at $27 for a hardcover, the book is available for pre-order and currently ranks at No. 1 in Amazon’s book category.

On Monday, publisher Flatiron Books posted about an unrevealed book that it called “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023,” explaining that it is a “major nonfiction book [to be released] this summer, with the title and author to be announced on June 13.”

Some had initially suspected that the book in question might be an autobiography of the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, as June 13 is related to the singer’s lucky number. This resulted in the book landing at No. 8 and No. 1 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s bestseller list this week.

BTS is a boy band with members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook that debuted in June 2013 under HYBE, then called Big Hit Entertainment, and is recognized as the most successful K-pop band. The band has recorded many firsts in Korean history, becoming the first K-pop band to be nominated for the Grammys, the first K-pop band to speak at the UN General Assembly, the first K-pop act to win at the Billboard Music Awards and the American Music Awards, the most-streamed K-pop band on Spotify and more.

As Jin started his compulsory military service in 2022 and J-Hope earlier this year, the band is taking a break from its group activities to focus more on individual activities and music releases. Following the release of J-Hope’s first solo full-length album “Jack In The Box” in July 2022, Jin, RM, Suga and Jimin have also released official solo albums.

"The Planet," the original soundtrack for the SBS animation "Bastions" (2023) that features all seven members of BTS will drop on Friday.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]