Namjooning, and other well-being inspiration from BTS

Catalog description

Kim Namjoon, better known as RM, is the leader of BTS, the groundbreaking South Korean music group that has become a global cultural phenomenon (and which will perform at Stanford in May 2026). Namjoon is also an avid art collector and will co-curate an exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art starting October 2026. Although renown as musician, song writer, and performer, Namjoon is also frequently cited for his approaches to mental health and well-being. This IntroSem is fundamentally about well-being practices and struggles, but we will take inspiration from BTS wherever we can. Topics will include nature and biking, art and literature, and journaling (collectively known by some fans as Namjooning); sleep, anxiety, and creative block; self-love and self-awareness; medications and substances, diet and exercise; nutritional supplements; psychotherapy and coaching; and many more. In this class, however, it will not suffice to simply extol the entirely sensical advice, for example, to 'get plenty of sleep!' but rather we will use quantitative approaches to understand what is 'plenty', is all sleep created equally, and what about naps? - what does the research say, how does one actually achieve good sleep, and what remains controversial? Prerequisites for this class are a desire to flourish at Stanford and in life, an appetite for data, and a healthy respect for BTS.