Why I am even writing about BTS member’s Enneagram types?

There are several reasons I am even writing blogs on BTS members’ types, particularly in light of the fact that I fully believe we can’t accurately type other people. We don’t know what really occurs within them, and Enneagram type is about the inner dynamics of thinking, feeling, and behaving and is most closely linked to a person’s motivational structure. In addition, I also believe and teach that typing someone we don’t know, and especially public figures, is problematic because what we think they may be like from how they appear in public may be substantially different from what they are truly like as people.

As an Enneagram teacher of nearly 30 years and author of nine Enneagram books, several of which are best sellers and translated into multiple languages, I’ve become increasingly adept at accurately typing people and teaching others how to do so. One of my books, The Art of Typing, has become a major resource for Enneagram professionals worldwide. Still, typing someone else is not necessarily accurate. When I do help people identify their type through my certification programs or in organizational settings, I take into account a multiplicity of factors and try to be as objective, non-judgmental and non-interpretative as possible. In other words, I try to stick to observable and verifiable facts.

My sources and resources

I know I do not know BTS members personally, so my take on their Enneagram types could be misinformed. My sources are varied: “Beyond the Story” (2023), a 496-page book reviewing the 10 year-history of BTS with numerous direct quotes from all seven BTS members; “BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star,” (2023), an eight-episode Disney+ release that shows members describing their everyday lives, what goes on behind the scenes at concerts, sharing their vulnerabilities and greatest satisfactions; endless reels of BTS video clips doing just about everything; and lots of online sleuthing.

My explanations for why I think a certain Enneagram type best fits each BTS member focuses on what they say about themselves, the patterns of their reactions to a variety of situations, and my direct observations from watching them on reels, videos, “BTS Monuments,” plus a bit of my intuition. In addition, I rigorously searched the internet for commentary on their speaking styles by people who understand Korean because I do not. Speaking style involves patterns of words used and sentence structure, but it also includes the rhythm, tone and melody of a person’s voice, and that I understand in almost any language because of my behavioral science background. Speaking style and non-verbal patterns offer a glimpse into a person’s type, but these are only two factors.

What is the Enneagram: an overview

The Enneagram is a powerful and multi-layered system that some refer to as “personality,” but I believe is better described as our ego structure; the Enneagram illuminates nine ego structures or types. These nine ego structures are the nine different human architectures, each with a specific pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving. The Enneagram shows you who you are or, better said, who you think you are. The beauty of the Enneagram is that the purpose of identifying your type is not to know your type number. The purpose of knowing your type number is to show you specific ways to develop beyond your type to help you to not identify with your ego structure and to relax its hold on you through precise developmental activities specific to your Enneagram type.

There is much more to the Enneagram than a person’s type number, although accurately discovering your type number One through Nine is the essential first step. As an Enneagram teacher and author of nearly three decades, some may wonder why I do not include additional aspects of this dynamic system – for example, wings, arrows, instincts, subtypes, level of self-mastery –  in these blogs, especially since I obviously must know them. The reason is simple. I did not need to get overly complicated in order to explain what I believe might be the BTS member’s types and why.

Speculative summary of BTS member’s Enneagram types

Below is a summary of what I think are the Enneagram types of BTS members. The blogs that follow this blog explore my reasoning for this speculation or hunch, and I know I could be incorrect in this. That said, I offer data and reasoning to support my conjectures, both of which are very important when identifying both our types and when helping others find theirs.

Kim Namjoon (RM): Enneagram One
Park Jimin (Jimin): Enneagram Two
Kim Tae Hyung (V): Enneagram Four
Min Yoongi (Suga): Enneagram Five
Jeon JungKook (Jung Kook): Enneagram Six
Jung Hoseok  (J-Hope): Enneagram Seven
Kim Seokjin (Jin): Enneagram Nine

Do BTS members know the Enneagram?

I do not have an answer to this question because I have no direct evidence to suggest they do or do not know the Enneagram. In general, South Koreans are familiar with the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator), even sharing their scores as conversation starters or to get a sense of compatibility with potential romantic partners. South Korean celebrities often share their MBTI scores publicly. BTS members have taken the MBTI; there’s a video of them discussing their MBTI scores. From my online sleuthing, it appears they may have taken the MBTI multiple times, however not always with the same score each time. This does happen with the MBTI.

But my guess would be that at least some of the BTS members have at least heard of the Enneagram, and some of them may be familiar with it. The reason I say this is that South Korea has an active Enneagram community. I know this because I have taught the Enneagram there many times. The other factor is that BTS members, in my opinion, are generally introspective and intrigued by better ways of understanding themselves. It’s hard to imagine they have not been exposed to the Enneagram because it is such a powerful system supporting our self-understanding and self-acceptance as well as our growth and transformation. In addition, BTS is on an international stage with a great deal of exposure to international trends and a great deal of contact with other international artists. The Enneagram is still on trend, and many artists utilize the Enneagram, with musicians being more “under the radar” on this than those in the film industry who talk more about it.

Forthcoming blogs on BTS member’s types

Stay tuned for the next blogs on my hunches about the BTS members’ Enneagram types along with my data points and reasoning for this might be accurate. And because the Enneagram is about psychological and spiritual development based on self-observation and self-responsibility, I include a few development tips in each blog.

About Ginger

Ginger Lapid-Bogda PhD, author of nine Enneagram books, is a speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. She provides certification programs and training tools for business professionals around the world who want to bring the Enneagram into organizations with high-impact business applications. TheEnneagramInBusiness.com | ginger@theenneagraminbusiness.com