Why Stanford Is Looking Beyond BTS' Music to Study RM's Everyday Life

BTS' RM has become the inspiration for a mental health and well-being course at Stanford University, where students are studying the science behind some of his favorite activities.

American universities have offered classes on K-POP before, often examining its global popularity, music industry and fandom culture. Stanford's new course takes a different route, using RM's everyday habits to explore questions about mental health rather than focusing on his music or career.

Titled "Namjooning, and Other Well-Being Inspiration from BTS," the three-unit freshman seminar was introduced for the fall 2026 semester through Stanford's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

"Namjooning" is a fan-coined term derived from RM's Korean name, Kim Namjoon. It describes activities he is known to enjoy, including visiting museums, reading, cycling and spending time in nature. Among fans, the expression has also come to represent taking time away from a busy routine to appreciate everyday experiences.

The course uses these interests to introduce topics ranging from sleep and anxiety to self-awareness, exercise and psychotherapy. Students read fiction, examine artwork and review scientific papers to better understand how different activities may affect psychological well-being.

The emphasis is on evidence rather than simply following RM's example.

For instance, instead of accepting that getting enough sleep is important, students consider how much sleep people need, what happens when they do not get enough and what researchers have found about sleep quality.

Assignments include short presentations, written work and quantitative reasoning exercises. Students also complete a final project inspired by RM's 2022 solo album "Indigo."

The course is taught by James R. Jacobs, Stanford's associate vice provost for health and well-being and a faculty member in psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

In an interview with local broadcaster, Jacobs explained that BTS' appearance at Stanford in May and RM's involvement in an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art helped inspire the class.

The exhibition, "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," opened in October and features works from RM's personal art collection.

Jacobs was particularly interested in whether activities such as visiting museums have measurable effects on mental health. The idea was to look beyond common assumptions about what makes people feel better and examine what scientific research actually shows.

Stanford is not the first American university to offer a course centered on a K-POP artist.

In 2019, the University of California, Berkeley introduced "Next Generation Leaders: BTS," a two-unit, student-led class examining the group's music, history, philanthropy and international influence.

Students analyzed music videos, interviews and other materials to explore how BTS built its global following. The course also covered the group's fictional universe and recurring themes across its albums and visual storytelling.

At the University of Southern California, two courses introduced during the spring 2026 semester approached K-POP from different angles.

One, "Crooked Studies of K-POP: The Case of G-Dragon," was a four-unit course taught by professor Hye Jin Lee. It used the BIGBANG member's career to examine the K-POP industry's creative and commercial structures, including artistic independence, promotional strategies and public image.

Lee previously explained that the class was not intended to celebrate G-Dragon uncritically. Instead, students were encouraged to question established ideas about K-POP by examining his work and career.

USC also offered "Promoting i-dle in the U.S.," a more hands-on course focused on the girl group's American market strategy.

Students studied fan engagement, market research, brand partnerships and digital marketing, developing promotional materials with practical applications in the entertainment industry.

The differences between these courses help explain what makes Stanford's approach unusual.

Berkeley's BTS class focused on the group's cultural influence, while USC's courses examined the industry through G-Dragon and explored marketing through i-dle. Stanford, meanwhile, uses RM's personal interests to teach students about mental health research.

Rather than studying K-POP itself, students are using an artist's lifestyle as a way into a subject that extends beyond the entertainment industry.

K-POP has already appeared in academic research on psychology and mental health. Studies have examined topics such as music listening and stress, fandom participation and emotional well-being. Stanford's course is therefore not necessarily the first to connect K-POP with mental health.

It would also be premature to describe a few university courses as evidence of a broader shift across American higher education. Celebrity-centered classes can serve different purposes, from attracting student interest to making unfamiliar academic subjects more accessible.

Still, Stanford's seminar offers a different use for a K-POP artist's influence. RM's habits are not presented as a prescription for better mental health. They are examples students can investigate, question and assess against scientific evidence.

For years, K-POP has been studied largely through its music, business and global reach. At Stanford, something as ordinary as interest in art, books and cycling has become a way to ask bigger questions about how people live and what helps them feel better.