“ARMY continue to celebrate BTS MV anniversaries. We celebrated Serendipity, Stigma, Lie, today we celebrate RM’s ‘Reflection’ Music Video released on 9th September 2016! Reflection is part of a series of short films that promoted BTS upcoming Wings Album.
On this day, four years ago, BTS’s Kim Namjoon, known globally as RM, gifted the world “Reflection”—a hauntingly honest and soul-baring track from the group’s groundbreaking 2016 album WINGS. While the song may not have topped charts like some of their other hits, it has firmly embedded itself in the hearts of ARMY. Now, as fans mark its 4th anniversary, Reflection is being remembered not just as a song, but as a powerful mirror to the soul of BTS’s leader.
From the very first melancholic beat, Reflection pulls listeners into RM’s inner world. The ambient instrumental paired with RM’s raw voice creates an atmosphere of vulnerability and quiet pain. In a world that often demands strength and composure, RM dared to speak aloud the thoughts many keep buried: “I wish I could love myself.” That single line has echoed through fandom spaces for years, becoming both a comfort and a call for introspection.
To celebrate the anniversary, ARMYs around the globe have taken to social media with hashtags like #4YearsWithReflection, #RMReflectionDay, and #ThankYouNamjoon. Fans are sharing how the song impacted them during some of their darkest times, how it helped them understand their own emotions, and how RM’s words felt like a gentle hand reaching through the noise of life to say, “You’re not alone.”
One ARMY on Twitter wrote,
“Reflection was the first time I felt seen in a song. I was struggling with my identity and my mental health, and then I heard Namjoon’s voice say those words. It felt like a permission slip to feel, to cry, and to heal.”
Another fan posted,
“This song taught me that it’s okay to not have all the answers. That self-love is a journey. Namjoon, thank you for being brave enough to say what so many of us couldn’t.”
What makes Reflection so special, even years later, is that it came from a place of quiet courage. In interviews, RM has spoken candidly about his struggles with identity, fame, and the pressure to be a role model. Despite leading the most famous boy band on the planet, he has never shied away from acknowledging his own moments of weakness. Reflection is a testament to that honesty—a song that doesn’t pretend to be perfect but instead embraces the imperfections that make us human.
Fans have created fan art, video tributes, and even held digital streaming parties to commemorate the track. Some have returned to the familiar setting of the Han River, which is mentioned in the song, as a symbolic way to connect with the space where Namjoon once walked, looked at his reflection, and penned his thoughts into lyrics. It’s poetic, really—how a place so ordinary could become sacred through the eyes of someone who felt so deeply.
In South Korea, fans left post-it notes and letters near Han River parks, thanking Namjoon for Reflection and for always being open about mental health, a topic still considered taboo in many parts of the world. International fans followed suit with online letters and blog posts, some even journaling about their personal “Reflections” in tribute to the song.
There’s something magical about the way Reflection lives on through ARMY. While the song was born out of one man’s introspection, it has become a collective safe space for millions. It has become a gentle whisper that tells fans, “It’s okay to feel lost sometimes.” And more than that, it has become a quiet revolution—one that challenges the way we talk about self-worth, mental health, and emotional honesty.
Namjoon’s artistry in Reflection extends beyond just the lyrics. The production—layered, ambient, slightly dissonant—mirrors the chaos and fog that often cloud our minds when we’re searching for clarity. The way the song builds, only to drop into near silence at the end, leaves the listener sitting in the stillness of their own emotions, not rushing to a resolution, but allowing space for reflection—just as the title suggests.
On this 4th anniversary, it’s also worth recognizing how Reflection became a stepping stone for what was to come. From Love Yourself: Her to RM’s solo works like mono. and Indigo, there’s a clear evolution—but also a thread that ties them all together: the honest exploration of self. Reflection was one of the first BTS songs to so openly confront inner turmoil, and in doing so, it helped build the foundation for BTS’s Love Yourself era, which touched millions worldwide.
The beauty of Reflection is that it doesn’t offer answers. It offers resonance. It meets the listener wherever they are and holds space for their feelings. It’s one of those rare pieces of music that grows with you. Each time you hear it, you hear something new—not necessarily in the sound, but in what it means to you now, compared to what it meant then.
Today, ARMY doesn’t just celebrate a song. They celebrate a moment of vulnerability. A glimpse into RM’s soul. A message that self-love isn’t a destination but a journey—and one that we’re all still on, together. So here’s to Reflection. Here’s to Kim Namjoon—for writing it, for sharing it, and for allowing us to feel seen through it. And here’s to the fans, who continue to find healing, strength, and solidarity in a song that quietly told the truth.
Happy 4th Anniversary, Reflection. You changed lives. You still do.
During BTS Love Yourself Tour RM said “If I think about it, its’s the last verse of ‘Reflection’ which I released in 2016 – I wish I could Love myself- I had thought about it continuously since then. To ‘Love myself’; what on earth does it mean to love myself? And so I thought because I don’t know either, wouldn’t it be good to search for it together?”
Cheers to many more years with this great master piece from our leader RM
https://twitter.com/Shahrin08636784/status/1303540463895416832?s=19
https://twitter.com/RM_MONO1994/status/1303955622468124674?s=19
https://twitter.com/RM_MONO1994/status/1303755436492042248?s=19
https://twitter.com/rainyxjoon/status/1303720772469272577?s=19
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