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Watch: BTS wows UNGA with ‘Permission to Dance’ performance inside assembly hall

NEW YORK — K-pop supergroup BTS took to a truly global stage Monday, performing their worldwide hit, “Permission to Dance,” at the United Nations General Assembly while pleading for world leaders not to discount the power of youthful energy, drive and focus when tackling world problems.

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Meanwhile, the seven-member boy band’s legions of fans flocked to the U.N.’s official YouTube channel, as well as other platforms, to watch the address and performance, driving nearly 1 million views, The Washington Post reported.

BTS bounded to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in the United States on Aug. 30, becoming the first Korean pop act to debut at No. 1, Reuters reported.

According to the news outlet, the fully vaccinated supergroup filmed a music video for “Permission to Dance” in the world body’s New York headquarters over the weekend, “dancing through the General Assembly hall and out into the gardens.”

The video debuted during an event on the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, considered a “blueprint for fighting poverty and hunger, confronting the climate crisis, achieving gender equality and much more,” according to a statement about the SDG Moment 2021 movement, Billboard reported.

The plans also aims to address the following issues within the next decade: quality education; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; sustainable cities and communities; and responsible consumption and production, the magazine reported.

BTS, named the U.N.’s Special Presidential Envoys for Future Generations and Culture, also appeared in person at the General Assembly event. Introduced by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the group’s members praised the resilience of youth, proclaiming they are not “COVID’s lost generation,” Reuters reported.

“I think it’s a stretch to say they’re lost just because paths they tread can’t be seen by grown-up eyes,” said BTS group leader Kim Nam-Joon, known as RM.

Kim Seok-Jin, known as Jin, added: “Instead of the ‘lost generation,’ a more appropriate name would be the ‘welcome generation’ because instead of fearing change, this generation says ‘welcome’ and keeps forging ahead.”