The trailblazing septet have reached global superstardom, with their single Dynamite entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number one last year, making them the first South Korean act to top the US chart. They are credited with generating billions for the South Korean economy, and last year their label HYBE made a high-profile stock market debut. A video released in August showed the group's 26-year-old leader RM eating a bowl of noodles with a book titled Early Death on the table next to him. The boy band's fans, who are known as ARMY, besieged the book's publisher Hyohyung Books trying to obtain copies, and within days the firm announced a re-publication. Sales have soared and it was the bestselling book in the art category last week, according to South Korea's largest bookstore chain Kyobo Book Centre.

Source: The Star September 01, 2021 12:56 UTC