"BTS Dance Has a Sacredness That Drives Out Evil"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] "I consider BTS expressing themselves through dance to be sacred. BTS's music and dance seem to drive away the evil forces of the world."

Paulo Coelho (74, pictured), a Brazilian author well known in Korea for his worldwide bestselling novels, served as the keynote speaker at the 'BTS International Academic Conference.' He is the author of globally beloved works such as The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die.

On the first day of the four-day event held from the 14th at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Seoul Campus, he delivered a video message as an ARMY (BTS fan).

Coelho, who has repeatedly revealed his fandom for BTS through social media, is known for avoiding media interviews. However, recently he retweeted a message saying, "I was invited to attend the BTS academic conference" and "I will attend." The post received over 100,000 comments and likes.

According to the organizers, Coelho said, "Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I have declined book signings, similar academic conference invitations, and film participations. At 74 years old, I decided to do only what I want," but added, "I was truly delighted to be invited as the keynote speaker for the BTS academic conference."

In the discussion, Coelho highly praised BTS's music and dance. He said, "Once I started listening to BTS songs, I couldn't stop. I grew to love them so much," and shared that he watched their concert DVDs multiple times. He compared BTS's dance to the sacred dances related to religious rituals described in his book The Alchemist, giving high praise.

Coelho expressed regret, saying, "You can't imagine how hard BTS works. Life wasn't easy with dance practice and all, but people don't want to see the difficult process behind it."

He also shared his views on criticism against BTS. Coelho said, "I thought BTS was being unfairly attacked online. I have experienced such attacks myself. I know well that an individual's success inevitably invites criticism," adding, "Some followers unfollowed me asking why I support a Korean boy band. But I don't mind."

Coelho is also known as a Hallyu fan who publicly praised the drama My Mister and the film Oldboy. He expressed his affection, saying, "I really like (Korean content). I've watched it so many times that I could find my way around Seoul and Busan without a map right now."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.