South Korean boy band BTS’s utilization of sign language in their July 2021 "Permission to Dance" music video attained global recognition. Specifically, the group was commended for including International Sign Language (ISL), American Sign Language (ASL and Korean Sign Language (KSL) within their performance. The particular video’s choreography incorporates signs for the words "dance," "peace," and "enjoy."

The video is established in a post-pandemic era, in which the band members are seen dancing in various locations including a sunny location, a patio, and a laundromat. The sign language use in "Permission to Dance" develops near the end of the song, wherein all of the band members together sing "na, na, na."

To ensure that the meaning of "Permission to Dance" was clear, BTS along with their team of choreographers paid added awareness to the details into their signing. BTS’ entertainment company representative Big Hit Music said, "After choosing keywords and symbolic gestures, we turned that into choreography. And we went through a process of holding many discussions with experts [including Deaf people and sign language interpreters] to make sure the meaning was coming across."

The experts the group conferred with highlighted the power of such expressions in performing sign language. As an example, the sign for "enjoy" also conveys "welcome." So, to unambiguously correspond the lyric with regards to "enjoy" to their Deaf and Hard-of-hearing fans, the group had to express happiness on their faces.

The YouTube channel Deaf BTS just recently uploaded a video of children’s reactions to the "Permission to Dance" music video. In earlier times, the channel has released other videos where they have performed sign language for various BTS songs. This time around, several Deaf children fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) were shown responding to the music video whilst sitting on the floor.

One particular girl was really greatly surprised when she saw BTS member J-Hope performing in ASL, and shared an emotional reaction. She signed, "I’m stunned. That’s ASL ‘dance!’ They signed ‘dance.’ How’d they do that?" She added, "They signed ‘dance’! Cool. They signed ‘dance’ twice. Just like here in the US. I’m gonna pass out." The ecstatic girl then pretended to pass out by dramatically falling forward on to the floor.

Once the other kids also noticed what the band was doing, they couldn’t believe that BTS had utilized American Sign Language in their performance. One girl wondered pertaining to when the band members had learned ASL.

By using sign language within their choreography the band gave the kids and thousands of other Deaf or Hard of hearing (D/HoH) sign language individuals around the world a feeling of greater inclusion in mainstream culture. These kinds of considerate acts by celebrities and other public figures help make members of the D/HoH community feel like they are being seen and heard by the much larger community.

BTS’s utilization of sign language is also increasing awareness of the D/HoH culture amongst hearing people. The fans were also tremendously impressed by the sign language integrated into the "Permission to Dance" choreography.. One admirer wrote on Twitter, "You know what’s cool? The motion that they were doing for ‘dance’ is the actual sign for ‘dance’ in American Sign Language."

These kinds of feedback suggest that "Permission to Dance" can help to lessen the stigma regarding the Deaf and Hard of hearing in our culture. They also deliver hope to the D/HoH community by displaying that hearing individuals are wanting to recognize them and their language as equals. In this manner, the video is an important steppingstone toward a more significant acceptance and inclusion of D/HoH individuals mainstream modern society.