On September 12, Jin posted a photo of himself with RM on his personal account, accompanied by the simple caption: “Happy Birthday Bro”. In the photo, Jin and RM pose with their faces close together, both looking toward the camera. RM showed off his charismatic, laid-back appeal by pairing a black hat with a silver chain necklace. The two also radiated positive energy with their signature bright smiles.

Following Jin, V, j-hope, and Jungkook also celebrated RM’s 32nd birthday with similarly fun photos taken while they were on the ARIRANG tour together, delighting fans.

Meanwhile, as usual on this day each year, RM held a live broadcast with fans around the world to celebrate, while also taking the opportunity to share some personal thoughts as he entered another year of his life. Notably, during his latest livestream, RM opened up about a deep realization about himself and also shared a noteworthy message with his fans.

Specifically, RM looked back on the early days of his career, when he was still using the stage name Rap Monster. Namjoon said that at the time, he tried hard to separate Rap Monster from Kim Namjoon. However, at some point, he realized that there was not really much meaning in trying to separate the two names.

Now, however, RM says he is once again trying to create a boundary between these two identities. He openly shared: “Because my work is my work.” According to RM, “I mean, this might actually sound really naive, but RM & Kim Namjoon aren’t truly the same person. So I’m really trying to think of the two as separate again. To think of music as music & work as simply work”.

In particular, he also offered a reminder to some fans who may be experiencing soмєтнing similar to him: “And if any of you ever feel like your work is consuming too much of your life, I think it might be good to remind yourself that it’s just work. In the end, I’ve sort of come back around to that”.

Behind what may seem like a simple reflection is RM’s struggle with the boundary between his true self (Identity) and his artistic/work persona (Persona/Work). It is a deeply personal psychological journey that he has gone through in three stages.

In the early stage, he tried to force himself to separate the two names in order to maintain a sense of balance, but was constantly torn and conflicted inside. In the middle stage, he realized that both were parts of who he was and accepted them as one so that he could fully devote himself to BTS and his career. Now, he has returned to separating the two, but with a more mature, intentional, and calm mindset. He is no longer conflicted, but instead sees it as a smart way to manage his life: music is his pαѕѕion and profession, but it does not represent the entirety of Kim Namjoon’s value as a person.

RM realized that when “RM” — the artist persona and global icon — takes over the entire life of “Kim Namjoon” — the person behind the public figure — the pressure of work can slowly eat away at and drain him mentally. Therefore, he has learned to let go of the pressure to be perfect and create a healthy boundary — “work is simply work”. This allows him to preserve his own private space, protect his mental well-being, and maintain his sense of peace without being swept away by public expectations.

This also reminded fans of the “a human” tattoo on his arm — perhaps the clearest visual representation of the life philosophy he is pursuing: after all the fame, pressure, and the title of “RM”, he is first and foremost still a human being. The “a human” tattoo, together with this philosophy, serves both as a shield protecting his mental well-being and as a guiding principle that helps him avoid losing his way and losing himself in the life of an idol.

At the same time, fans also loved the sincere advice drawn from his own personal experience: Don’t let your work consume your life. No matter how pαѕѕionate or dedicated you are to your work, remember that you still have a life and an identity of your own that deserve to be valued beyond the pressures and professional labels of everyday life.

Fans could not help but marvel at RM’s IQ and EQ, commenting: "Oh Namjoon tysm for saying that", "This is soмєтнing we all have to remind ourselves too", "He’s talking about work life balance people!!!", "Very important advice .. if u r working.. specially in toxic work environment", "Love this so much. Such an important reminder.", "god everything he says is so fcking profound. how does he walking around with a brain so big all the time", "Mom, this is exactly what I needed", "I just absolutely love how reflective Joon is and the way he adapts his own thoughts to what makes more sense for him at the present. I knew my introspective Joon would love long drives with music",...