K-Pop has been a massive trend in pop culture in recent years, and BTS is one of the biggest bands in the world right now. It seems like they can do no wrong by this point, so if the youngest member of the band, Jungkook, claims he invented Spock's iconic hand gesture the rest of the world thinks originated in Star Trek, it has to be taken into consideration.
Jungkook explained the "origin" of the hand gesture during a segment with the rest of the K-Pop group on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and several of the members (in a manner that was clearly joking around) showed off other finger symbols they "invented" that were just as iconic as their popular heart hands gesture. Jungkook may have had some doubters when he explained the origin of his Vulcan salute, but luckily, he knew just the thing to say to silence any doubters.
This one means 'Live long and prosper.' I invented it, and Star Trek learned it from me. How is that possible? Because Star Trek takes place in the future.
In one swift and elegant sentence, Jungkook just outwitted the universe. Of course, the entire thing was a joke, and Jungkook's claim to the gesture was one of many ridiculous claims BTS made during the hilarious sequence with Stephen Colbert. Honestly, the delivery was so good on Jungkook's part that I almost want this acknowledged as a part of Star Trek canon. If that sounds ridiculous, let me counter with the fact that there's someone else in the Star Trek universe who was all for Jungkook's explanation.
BTS fans would likely love if Jungkook was canonically the originator of the Vulcan Salute, though it's worth noting that since he's not Vulcan, it would be hard to justify he was its creator. That is unless BTS is actually a bunch of Vulcans masquerading as K-Pop superstars decades before First Contact was made with Earth. I highly doubt that considering becoming pop stars in a pre-warp civilization would likely be a violation of the Prime Directive, but maybe the rules don't apply when you make a song as awesome as "Dynamite."
If BTS being enshrined in Star Trek canon is off the table, perhaps they could make an appearance in one of the new Star Trek shows? My pick would be Star Trek: Lower Decks, though considering BTS technically existed in the past of the series, couldn't the group appear as themselves via a holodeck simulation, time travel, or even a musical performance? I'm just spitballing here and hoping that the executives at Paramount+ are taking notes and making suggestions that would ultimately unify two massive fandoms.
BTS isn't slated for any upcoming appearances on Star Trek, but you can bet CinemaBlend will keep an eye out for that just in case. In the meantime, read up on what's happening in the franchise on the movie front, and the newest movie that may be on the way.
