V of BTS becomes first Korean idol to reach 9 million likes on Instagram without owning an account
BTS member Kim Tae-hyung just set the record for the first and only Korean idol to have a post surpassing 9 million likes on Instagram.
Tae-hyung, also known by his stage name V, sends off a rockstar vibe wearing leather jacket, ripped jeans and ear piercings, and posing on top of a billiard table.
Uploaded by bts.bighit, the group’s official joint account on Instagram, the photo has now reached a total of 9,123,683 likes for his Butter Concept Photo Version 1 as a promotion for their hit song Butter, which has garnered 514 million streams on YouTube.
But what is impressive is that the 25-year-old vocalist achieved this milestone without owning a personal account. The group’s Instagram account is managed by their label Big Hit Music, and members are not allowed to have individual accounts.
According to a K-pop fan on Quora, the reason is that Big Hit Entertainment, now known as Big Hit Music, wanted BTS to be united as one group, and not seven individual members as that can cause controversy on who is more popular on social media and who is not.
Aside from being a vocalist, Tae-hyung is also a songwriter and an actor. He made his acting debut as a supporting character in KBS2’s historical drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth in 2016.
Tae-hyung also released his first full solo track outside of BTS called Scenery on Jan. 30, 2019 via the group's official SoundCloud page, which broke records for the platform’s shortest time to reach 100 million streams in a span of 14 days.
In 2020, Tae-hyung participated in a song titled Sweet Night under his stage name for the soundtrack of Itaewon Class, a JTBC drama starring his friend Park Seo Joon, who was one of the leads in Hwarang.
Ever heard of the famous phrase “I purple you” used by ARMYs, the group’s fanbase? Tae-hyung coined that phrase during a BTS’ fan meeting in November 2016, which UNICEF also used for their anti-bullying campaign in collaboration with BTS.
Since then, the color purple has become a symbol of the group and their fans.