BTS’ Jung Kook Frets About Being Accepted as Solo Act in First ‘I Am Still’ Doc Trailer: ‘I’m Suddenly Nervous’

The first official trailer for Jung Kook‘s upcoming documentary, JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL finds the BTS member fretting about whether fans will accept him as a solo artist as he steps outside of the K-pop supergroup’s massive shadow.

“I’m suddenly nervous, I’ll do my best guys,” he says in Korean at the outset of the one-minute preview of the film that is slated to open in theaters worldwide on Sept. 18. Amid footage of thousands of fans gathered in arenas and on streets to greet him, he frets, “Without the power of BTS, just on my own, will I be able to receive recognition?”

Reflecting on the success of his debut solo album, 2023’s Golden, which entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 2 and featured collabs with Jack Harlow, Latto and Major Lazer, among others, he says, “with all these achievements I gained more self-confidence.” Mixing in footage of JK dancing and rehearsing dance moves in the studio, the preview promises to provide “eight months of golden moments.”

With a vow from the singer to “keep going forward,” the trailer then cuts to a run-down of some of JK’s solo chart success and footage from his videos cued to his single “Standing Next To You,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. “I’ve never though of myself as a genius,” Jung Kook says at one point, admitting that he’s well-aware of his artistic blind spots, which only push him to get better.

“I just follow my own compass,” he says as the screen fades to black before zooming back in on a clip of JK bounding through a backstage area and shouting out the group’s legendarily fervent ARMY fan group. “It’s always more fun with the fans.”

The promo materials promise that the film will capture JK’s development as a solo act, beginning with his No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Seven” (featuring Latto) in July 2023, followed by the release of Golden three months later via never-before-seen video, interviews and concert performance footage. The doc was directed by Junsoo Park and produced by Jiwon Yoon and is set to premiere in limited screenings worldwide in more than 120 countries and regions on Sept. 18, with tickets on sale today here.

Watch the trailer for JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL below.


Gil Kaufman

Billboard