Jung Kook Talks About Solo Stardom, ARMY critiques, ‘Arirang,’ and More | Cover Story

For Rolling Stone’s eight-part May 2026 cover-story package, the seven members of @BTS met up in Seoul, South Korea in mid-February to talk with senior writer Brian Hiatt, both individually and as a group. In this one-on-one interview, #jungkook addresses #btsarmy thoughts on his wildly successful solo album, why he’s not sure he’s ready for personal songwriting, his work on #arirang, and more. #bts #jungkookbts

Jung Kook on not feeling like a solo pop star: “Honestly, I can’t really think of myself as a pop star just yet. But I’m very grateful that I get asked about it that way, and that fans think of me that way. So I want to keep doing better, so that I can feel like a star for myself. Someday.”

Jung Kook on writing “Hooligan”: “When I first heard the track, I came up with the flow immediately. I just thought of it, so I got to work. The track is so unique, so I might have just lucked into this, but… Hitman Bang and the rest of the members thought it was so fresh, and they all loved it. That felt awesome. And I didn’t know if the song would make it. But it got picked, and…That rocked!”

Jung Kook on relying on outside songwriters for his solo album: “That just happened to be my choice at the time. I could write more for my next album, if that’s what ARMY wants. But back then, I wanted something else. I really wanted to get good songs and release an album as soon as I could. That’s the whole reason.”

Jung Kook on why he might never write something deeply personal: “Actually, I might never have anything. Because I don’t keep memories in my brain for a long time. I forget things a lot, so… You know how computers have hard drives? I don’t think I have a lot of disk space.”

Jung Kook on stepping up as a songwriter on ‘Arirang’: “I did feel really great. It’s been a long time since then, we chose the songs and everything, but there’s one thing I still think about, which is… Why didn’t I do a little more? Two months is a really long time. Couldn’t I have done a bit more? I have a lot of regrets about that.”

Read the Rolling Stone interview with Jung Kook here: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jung-kook-solo-stardom-bts-writing-1235544805/

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Talent — Jung Kook
Interviewer & Senior Writer — Brian Hiatt
Director of Social & Video — Waiss Aramesh
Executive Producer & Shoot Director — Christopher Hwisu Kim
Senior Producer — Viviane Feldman
Producer & Colorist — Mitch Saavedra
Social Video Producer/Editor — Sim Tumay

Moktan Productions
Video Director of Photography — Mike Beech
Gaffer and Camera Operator — Wonman Kim
Camera Operators — Byeong Hwi Min, Churl Gwon, Hyunsuh Paik
DIT — Jiwoon Lee
Sound Operator — Min Jae Lee
Production Assistant — Seohyun Yoon

Nuhana
Executive Producer — Sooh Hwang
Producer — Sebin Park
Line Producer — Cherry Lee
Translators Alex M. Lee, Sungbin Moon

Creative Director — Joe Hutchinson
Executive Music Editor — Christian Hoard
Editors in Chief — Sean Woods & Shirley Halperin
CEO — Julian Holguin

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