Boy band BTS to become first K-Pop group to address the United Nations

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 9/24/2018, 10:27 a.m.
Korean boy band BTS will make history this week as the first ever K-Pop group to speak at the United …
Korean boy band BTS will make history next week as the first ever K-Pop group to speak at the United Nations.

By Cat Wang, CNN

(CNN) -- Korean boy band BTS will make history this week as the first ever K-Pop group to speak at the United Nations.

The septet will deliver a three-minute speech during the launch ceremony of UNICEF's global partnership Generation Unlimited at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, a representative confirmed to CNN.

In attendance will be diplomats and leaders including South Korean first lady Kim Jung-sook.

Formed in 2013, BTS is one of the most popular Korean bands in the world, with more than 13.3 million followers on Instagram.

In August, the group broke Taylor Swift's YouTube record for biggest music video debut, with more than 45 million views of "Idol" in its first 24 hours.

In May, the album "Love Yourself: Tear" became the first from a K-Pop group to top the US Billboard 200 chart, earning BTS the congratulations of South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.

The group previously worked with the UN on awareness and fundraising campaigns. In 2017, BTS joined with the Korean Committee for UNICEF to establish Love Myself, which works with UNICEF's global #ENDviolence against violence toward youth.

Sales from the band's album of the same name go toward the campaign, which has raised more than $1 million, according to its website.