On November 14, SEVENTEEN member SEUNGKWAN took to the stage to deliver a speech at the Youth Forum held by UNESCO at its Paris headquarters. As told in the speech, SEUNGKWAN happened to be from Jeju Island, which had been designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve, a Natural World Heritage site, and a Global Geopark. Not only that, but just one month before the Youth Forum, SEVENTEEN put out the album SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, which includes the single “God of Music.” Thanks to its message that “we can be best friends from now on” through the “universal language” of music, the song resonated with those who attended and tuned into the Youth Forum, a platform for young people everywhere to raise their voice for a better world. 

It’s no coincidence that the boy who grew up on Jeju Island, dreaming of becoming a singer, was at UNESCO headquarters to sing “God of Music.” During his own speech, SEVENTEEN member and producer WOOZI recalled the pessimistic expectations people had about the group when they first debuted—everything from how there were “too many” members, to predictions that the group was doomed to fail. MINGYU spoke after WOOZI and touched on how SEVENTEEN’s debut album only sold 1,400 copies in its first week. Back then, he said, he never could have imagined that, eight years later, that very same group of his would go on to sell over 15 million units within the span of a single year. But, according to WOOZI, whether selling 1,400 or 15 million, the albums’ tracks are all decided during meetings held with all the members of SEVENTEEN present. MINGYU added that the group also came to a unanimous agreement to donate goats named after them to Tanzanian children after SEVENTEEN turned its first profit. Chinese member JUN took his recollections even further back in his speech, expounding on his trainee days. That was back when he couldn’t speak Korean and the other members communicated with him using hand gestures and facial expressions, supporting him every step of the way as he adapted to his new, unfamiliar surroundings.

SEVENTEEN leader S.COUPS was unable to attend the Youth Forum. He’s currently doing physiotherapy owing to an injury he suffered while filming a video. Still, as the other members delivered their speeches, they named every member of the group several times, including S.COUPS. His absence was particularly noticeable whenever his name came up. The members who didn’t speak at the Forum shared the spotlight, too. And SEUNGKWAN had similarly been absent from group promotions prior to the announcement of SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN. He checked in with fans on Weverse a few days prior to returning to work, which was also right around the time that news of S.COUPS’ injury came out. With 13 people, it’s hard to know what’s going to happen to any one of them or when. Nonetheless, the size of the group has become a plus for SEVENTEEN, as when one member has to be absent for whatever reason, the other 12 are ready to pick up the slack.

SEUNGKWAN uploaded a photo of all the members of the group to Instagram with the caption, “We’re always good, whether we’re laughing or crying.” A month prior to that, he made a long post about a friend whom he would never be able to see again. Even though it seemed impossible for anyone to truly comfort him with a loss so great, he was lucky to have the other members there to support him through smiles and tears. It’s sheer luck that SEUNGKWAN, from Jeju Island, and JUN, who grew up in Shenzhen, China, both ended up in Seoul and as part of the same group. But whether it was all the other members coming to JUN’s aid in a foreign country or SEUNGKWAN standing before attendees to the UNESCO Youth Forum, SEVENTEEN has consistently taken both their good and bad fortunes and turned them into opportunities. There’s a line in “Super,” the lead single off their album FML: “We’ll never rest, every day.” It accurately describes the lives of K-pop artists who put out an average of two albums every year, shoot their own videos in between, and keep in touch with their fans all throughout. And then there’s the line, “I love my team, I love my crew.” They have spent the last eight years working together as a group, repeating this incantation. And though, like the lyrics also say, “sometimes the truth hurts,” when one of them laughs or cries, the rest of the group is always there for them. And when the group needs them, that person helps them right back. At the end of one of SEVENTEEN’s concerts, S.COUPS made an unexpected appearance in a wheelchair despite his injury.

When SEVENTEEN sang “God of Music” at the UNESCO Youth Forum, in a way it felt like they were capturing the zeitgeist. So much has happened to the group in the eight years from when they only sold 1,400 copies of their music to when that figure reached 15 million. But that day, when they reached the summit, they thanked the whole world. “If there is a God of Music / I want to give you a hug of gratitude,” they sang, embracing the world rather than allowing themselves to be drunk on success or just screaming resentment toward “this f***ing world,” like in the lyrics to their song “F*ck My Life.” When VERNON told the audience at the Youth Forum the songs his group would perform, he said, “We hope you’ll be able to hear how the story of our growth together translates into our music.” In a time when people justify their own hatred toward individuals or entire communities just to get what they want, SEVENTEEN has demonstrated the strength of only those who are young, friendly, and standing in solidarity can dream of: the strength to believe in each other as trainees despite speaking different languages; the strength to embrace all the pain they experienced since debuting and move on; the strength to leverage their success to introduce more happiness into the world through their music. And now they’re spreading the spirit of that community through their crew, to CARAT, and out into the wider world. JOSHUA described Going Together, the education campaign the group held in conjunction with UNESCO, as a way “to make your dreams come true by coming together in solidarity for positive change.” Supporting each other in the practice studio was an act of solidarity; making music and teaching each other how to dance was itself a form of learning. This group of teenage boys eventually grew into the superstars they are today with the power to persuade the world to live like they do—like Team SEVENTEEN, where no one is ever taken for granted.