BTS leader RM is once again making headlines — not for his music, but for his unfiltered take on marriage, parenthood, and the pressures facing millennials and Gen Z in South Korea.

During a live broadcast on the group's global fan platform Weverse, Oct. 5, the 31-year-old rapper spoke openly about his current state of mind, revealing that he has been reflecting deeply on relationships and life choices while working on a new album.

“I’ve been feeling some anxiety and depression again recently,” RM said. “It always happens when I’m preparing for an album. I spend a lot of time alone, and I’m not good at handling loneliness. As you get older, you’re supposed to become friends with yourself and learn how to spend time alone — but I still can’t stay home by myself.”

Even though he has decorated his home beautifully, RM said he rarely spends time there except to sleep. “I feel like I still haven’t become an adult,” he said. “I guess that’s why people get married — to find a partner, a lifelong friend to share things with.”

‘I still feel like a kid’

RM, who was born in 1994, said that his parents’ generation followed a very different life timeline. “When my parents were my age, I was already three years old,” he said. “But I still feel like a child. Thinking about how they got married, had me, and raised me at that age — it’s incredible. Now that I’m in my 30s, I realize how hard it is to raise a child and build a family.”

While some of his friends have married — “maybe two or three out of ten,” he said — many have chosen not to, reflecting a broader social shift. “If you meet the right person at the right time, you might get married. But if not, you might live alone. There’s no correct answer.”

RM also commented on the societal pressure surrounding marriage and motherhood, especially for women. “It feels like society and the media keep pressuring women about childbirth and parenting,” he said. “But I hope people just live life their own way. If you can’t handle being alone, getting married won’t fix that. And once you’re married, you might end up wanting more time alone. Choosing marriage as an escape from loneliness doesn’t make sense.”

‘We’re the first generation to treat marriage as a choice’

RM admitted that he has doubts about becoming a parent himself. “It’s hard enough raising myself. Raising another life — that’s something I might not be capable of,” he said. “When I think about how much trouble I caused my parents growing up, I imagine how frustrated I’d feel. Again, there’s no right answer. But I think people born in the 1990s are the first generation in Korea to see marriage as an option, not a requirement. Everyone should follow their own choices.”

His comments — particularly his view that “marriage is an option” and that solitude is something to accept rather than escape — quickly spread across Korean social media, resonating with many younger people while sparking debate among older generations still holding more traditional views.

Meanwhile, RM is preparing for his next major project — a collaborative exhibition with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Scheduled to run from October 2026 to February 2027, the exhibition will feature more than 200 works, including pieces from his personal art collection. The BTS leader will also serve as the show’s curator.