"When the members reunite, most of them will be in their 30s. I hope you look forward to the unique messages that BTS will share in this second chapter of their journey."

Pdogg (real name Kang Hyo-Won, 40), a music producer, shared these expectations for the future of BTS in a recent interview with Yonhap News, in celebration of BTS's 10-year anniversary. He said, "The members all agree that they create a unique synergy when they perform together."

"They've become global stars but they remain unchanged, always consistent. I believe that during this break, each member will continue to grow and improve," Pdogg added.

Pdogg has produced and composed the majority of BTS's hit songs, from their debut single "No More Dream" to last year's "Yet To Come." As a result of BTS's rise to global stardom, he has topped South Korea's copyright royalties for five consecutive years, from 2019 to the present, earning him the Copyright Grand Prize hosted by the Korea Music Copyright Association.

"Members of BTS are musical comrades who walk the same path," Pdogg said. "We have a complementary relationship. I take the stories they want to tell and deliver them to the public through my music production."

Throughout the interview, he emphasized that BTS is a group that articulates their own stories and honestly expresses the sentiments reflective of their era. This authenticity is one of the reasons, he said, "why their message resonates with people in different countries worldwide."

He regards the 2019 concert at Wembley Stadium in the UK as the most memorable moment of the past decade, and the period just before the 'Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa' project as the most challenging.

"I felt that BTS really made it when we performed at Wembley Stadium. The endless singing from the audience made me think, 'Wow, we've really made it!'"

He reminisced, "Around 2014, when we were about to release our first full album, it was a challenging and worrisome time. We needed to appeal to the idol music market, but things were a bit sluggish."

BTS debuted as a hip-hop idol group in 2013 and initially focused on relaying messages from rebellious teenagers. If you listen to their early music, it's noticeably different from the popular hit songs most people are familiar with.

Pdogg shared, "When RM (then known as Rap Monster) came as a trainee, Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk proposed forming a hip-hop group centered around RM. In the early days, the parts of the songs had more rap than vocals, and even main vocalist Jungkook rapped. It wasn't an easy song for the public to digest."

"At that time, Jin was in his early 20s and the others were teenagers. So, they looked at society from the perspective of students, trying to capture the raw sentiments unique to their age group in their music."

Even after a decade, the messages from those times like 'Hey, what's your dream?' (No More Dream), 'Don't live trapped in someone else's dream' (N.O), 'What do you truly want?' (Boy In Luv) still resonate. They're straightforward but not cliché.

Pdogg explained, "The emergence of the term 'Hell Joseon' in our country and the atmosphere that defined certain occupations as 'correct' answers influenced us."

BTS made a mark in the K-pop world with their powerful messages, but it wasn't until later that they achieved top-tier status. They made their leap with the 'Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa' series, and rose to international fame with the 'Love Yourself' and 'Map of the Soul' series.

Particularly, 'I NEED U' - the beginning of the 'Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa' series - holds significant meaning as it marked BTS's first win on a music broadcast and the starting point of the 'BTS myth.' This was the point at which the group started to express more mature emotions, moving beyond anger and rebellion to love and despair.

Pdogg noted, "Around this time, the members were becoming young adults in their early 20s. They could no longer continue the stories from their school days, so we had to capture the emotions they were feeling as young adults and grow musically." He further emphasized that the change capturing the members' growth narrative was necessary and served as an opportunity for BTS to expand beyond hip-hop into different genres.

Following this, BTS went on to release a series of familiar hits including 'FIRE,' 'Blood Sweat & Tears,' 'Spring Day,' 'DNA,' 'Fake Love,' and 'IDOL.'

Pdogg stated, "We prioritized what was trending at the time rather than popular appeal, and we focused on how we could make our performances look cool." As the members moved into their mid-20s and experienced repeated successes, their messages also became increasingly sophisticated.

He added, "The members realized the weight of their messages as they experienced success. As they pondered thoughts like the emptiness felt when reaching a position higher than they initially aimed for, or whether they deserve to be in such a position, they expressed these feelings in their music. Naturally, this crafted their narrative. Given that the members write more than 90% of their lyrics, the albums inevitably reflect their real thoughts."

In 2018, BTS and Pdogg achieved their first Billboard 200 number one with 'LOVE YOURSELF: Tear,' the first for K-pop in history. Two years later, in 2020, they secured their dream Billboard 'Hot 100' number one spot with 'Dynamite.'

Upon hearing the news of their first Billboard number one, Pdogg laughingly recalled thinking, "How should we prepare for the next thing? We're in trouble."

However, he attached significance to the immense success of 'Dynamite' - a soft disco-pop song in English - saying, "It was a track that expanded our musical domain. We started as a hip-hop idol group but were imprinted as a global pop band worldwide."

After releasing 'Yet To Come' last year, BTS members started to take a break as a team due to military service and began to focus on solo activities. Pdogg continued to be actively involved in the music scene, composing some of the members' solo tracks.

"I felt that solo music activities were beneficial for the artists' growth," Pdogg shared.

He noted that even though the BTS members are facing military enlistment and seemingly should be taking a break, their passion for music continues to burn brightly. He said he admires this quality, having observed it over the past decade.

"Around the time of their debut in 2013, the only members who had a clear color were RM and Suga, and the rest felt somewhat incomplete," Pdogg explained. "But as they continued with their musical activities, they established their identities and found their color. This is one of the reasons why I highly appreciate the team BTS."

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