Music Analysis #3 and Global Music Combination- The ‘Continued Explorations’ of K-POP

I said in the beginning of writing this blog that I am a huge fan of K-POP and that I would revisit this genre at a later time. Well, now is the time. Strap yourself in, because I am 100% positive this will be a long post.

My History with K-POP

I’ve had the opportunity to write with the topics presented with this class, but I didn’t want everyone to have the assumption that all I listen to is K-POP (because it’s just not true). Most people have this assumption though because I speak so highly of the groups that I listen to. I know every word of their songs when they come on while I’m in the car or at work (in Korean and its meaning) and I know a tremendous amount of information about the groups and their members and what they present to the world.

But I’m going to be real here, yes, I am major connoisseur of K-POP, but I really only so far have had a tremendous love for two bands: BTS and Seventeen. I will be further diving into BTS for this post and I will also be explaining why I am confined to a couple of groups in my appreciation of K-POP as a genre (I will not be talking about them, but don’t be afraid to check out Seventeen! They are a younger group then BTS and I became a fan late 2016-after BTS).

Also, I want to be very clear. There are intense fan wars/haters/trolls that are a huge part of K-POP. I do not condone or encourage “fans” that act this way nor do I participate in these trends. It’s childish, petty and gives further fuel to the people who dislike K-POP and the fandoms. I tend to just ignore rather then engage as a lot of these “fans” are not really fans but people who want to give a bad name to whichever group. Yeah, people really do have that much time on their hands and it’s…well, it’s complicated…

Now, I’ve casually listened to K-POP since 2008 and appreciated the glam, bright tones, and “hype” that the songs have brought. I’ve enjoyed the likes of Big Bang, and DBSK in the beginning and CLC, Twice and BlackPink in the last few years(and I have had a few of their songs on my work-out playlist), but I always never jumped into the full love and enjoyment aspect of K-POP until 2015.

2008 had me loving the music of BigBang and DBSK, then falling out of love and casually listening here and there as I discovered the darker side of K-POP. Music that I love and become fascinating/ passionate about, I will research more about it and I couldn’t fully support companies that encouraged extreme dieting, dating bans, little to no pay, no personal creativity and basically slavery in every aspect. Yes, the music is a bop, but treating a person like dirt (or like a slave of entertainment) was just not something I could support. So I tended to research every group that presented talent and then kind of fell to the wayside depending on what I discovered. Two of the major entertainment companies of South Korea, SM and YG, had a lot of greed and distorted ideals when I first looked into them, and that ruled out ALOT of groups. Now don’t get me wrong, I do think the groups they managed had a lot of talent, but I could not support them in good conscience. At the time, I could not understand why people would put themselves through such trials and tribulations to become a KPOP Idol.

Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS)

2015 comes around and I am still looking at new releases here or there, but tend to forget about K-POP as new and exciting until I happen upon a video by BTS called ‘I Need You’. It is fascinating, catchy but also dark and surprisingly cinematic for a music video.

Forewarning:This video has graphic and violent scenes at the 4:00-4:40 mark and reference to such scenes afterward.

From this video, I continued to look into BTS and suddenly I am following (as the years continue), the most intricate storyline I have experienced in a long time (next to Harry Potter haha). This music video was part of a string of videos that is contained within a bigger storyline or universe called the ‘HYYH Series’ or the ‘Most Beautiful Moment In Life’ Trilogy. This storyline has continued until 2019. Because of how intense, in depth and long this series is, I will not be completing a musical analysis of any music videos involved (which is a lot). I do encourage that everyone looks into it though. If you are ready to fall into a rabbit hole and have a couple days or weekends to commit. Here is a list of the videos (In Order) if you would like to have an interesting binge for the weekend:

‘I NEED U‘ Official MV (2015)

‘I NEED U‘ Official MV (Original ver.) (2015) (WARNING-HAS GRAPHIC/VIOLENT SCENES 4:00-4:40)

화양연화 on stage : prologue (2015)

‘RUN’ Official MV (2015)

‘I NEED U (Japanese Ver.)‘ Official MV (2015)

‘RUN -Japanese Ver.-‘ Official MV (2016)

‘EPILOGUE : Young Forever’ MV (2016)

WINGS Short Film #1 Begin (2016)

WINGS Short Film #2 LIE (2016)

WINGS Short Film #3 STIGMA (2016)

WINGS Short Film #4 FIRST LOVE (2016)

WINGS Short Film #5 REFLECTION (2016)

WINGS Short Film #6 MAMA (2016)

WINGS Short Film #7 AWAKE (2016)

‘피 땀 눈물 (Blood Sweat & Tears)’ Official MV (2017)

‘血、汗、涙 -Japanese Ver.-‘ Official MV (2017)

LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel ‘起’ (2017) #1 #2 #3 #4

‘Euphoria‘ : Theme of LOVE YOURSELF 起 Wonder‘ (2018)

‘FAKE LOVE’ Official Teaser 1 (2018)

‘FAKE LOVE’ Official MV (2018)

‘FAKE LOVE’ Official MV (Extended ver.) (2018)

LOVE YOURSELF 結 Answer ‘Epiphany’ Comeback Trailer (2018) . – One of my favorites, also an amazing song to see live. There is something amazing about 60,000 people singing this song all together- I was able to experience it in 2018.

There are also notes and a webtoon (2019-2020) that further explains the Bangtan Universe which is listed here: https://bts.fandom.com/wiki/BTS_Universe. I would be interested to know of any analysis new or casual fans have.

Wow….putting this list together reminds me of how long I’ve followed them. The years really do fly when you are having fun. There are subtitles on each video, just remember to put them on-If you do decide to watch them.

My favorite thing has always been introducing the story and seeing what people have concluded as they watched. It has always been a different conclusion which makes it all the more fun.

A Brief History of BTS

BTS is a seven member group (started in 2010) that officially debuted June 13th, 2013 with the song ‘No More Dream‘. This song had the underlying message of following your own dreams rather then giving into societal expectations. This was quite poignant to their korean fans as South Korean youth culture revolves largely around the country’s emphasis on education. BTS continued with their political and societal messages as they continued creating music.

The group had minor support within their own country (entertainment industry) and enticed more disdain then anything. This is not because they lacked talent, but because their company lacked reputation and money. It’s ridiculous, but at the time there was (and kind of still is) a hierarchy of entertainment companies and the main three were:YG, SM and JYP. BTS was founded by BigHit Entertainment, a smaller and less know company. They were not given the same attention that groups were provided that came from the main three companies and they were cut from broadcasts, dropped from performances and treated terribly by other celebrities and broadcast companies due to this knowledge.

BTS, as I discovered, is quite different from what I had understood of K-POP. These men were considered partners within their company and had artistic rights to every song that was performed by either composition or production. They had no diet or dating ban and were provided with the money they earned. As time went on, the company concluded its mission statement as being ‘Music and Artist for Healing’. The goal was to create, produce and perform music that healed the soul and brought fruition to the concept of an individual’s life. Beautiful huh?

The Actual Analysis

It’s hard to choose (like always) the song I will provide an analysis of, but I think a music analysis of BTS ‘Spring Day‘ (stats under the video link below) will provide how deep this group can be with their music. There is a lot that can be understood from this video with the lyrics, the choreography and the cinematography. It is thought (DISCLAIMER-not proven) to be about the national Sewol Ferry Tragedy. I truly believe this to be true as there are just too many coincidences within the video to not believe it. This has not and most likely will never be proven due to the strict Korean government.

Long story short – a ferry containing 476 individuals (most of them being high school students) sunk off the coast of Jeju Island on April 2014. 304 individuals (250 of them students) died as the result of this ferry sinking. The tragedy of this being that the 176 survivors were rescued by commercial fisherman, not the Korean coast guard (who arrived too late) nor international assistance (who were turned away). The captain and staff of the ship informed everyone to stay in their place (which ultimately condemned them to death) while they fled the ship. The captain and staff were charged with murder and abandoning of ship in 2014. This is condensed, but there is a documentary on Youtube that talks about this and also shows videos recorded by students before their death (forewarning if you would like to seek it out).

English Lyrics

[Verse 1: RM, J-Hope]
Miss you
Saying this makes me miss you even more
Miss you
Even though I’m looking at your photo
Time’s so cruel, I hate us
Seeing each other for once is now so hard between us

[Verse 2: RM]
It’s all winter here, even in August
My heart is running on the time
Alone on the Snowpiercer
Wanna get to the other side of the earth, holding your hand
Wanna put an end to this winter
How much longing should we see snowing down
To have the days of spring, Friend

[Verse 3: Jimin, V]
Like the tiny dust, tiny dust floating in the air
Will I get to you a little faster
If I was the snow in the air

[Pre-Chorus 1: Jungkook, V]
Snowflakes fall down
And get farther away little by little
I miss you (I miss you)
I miss you (I miss you)
How long do I have to wait
And how many sleepless nights do I have to spend
To see you (to see you)
To meet you (to meet you)

[Chorus: Jungkook, Jin, J-Hope]
Passing by the edge of the cold winter
Until the days of spring
Until the days of flower blossoms
Please stay, please stay there a little longer

[Verse 4: Suga, Jimin]
Is it you who changed (Is it you who changed)
Or is it me (Or is it me)
I hate this moment, this time flowing by
We are changed you know
Just like everyone you know

[Verse 5: Suga, Jimin]
Yes I hate you, you left me
But I never stopped thinking about you, not even a day
Honestly I miss you, but I’ll erase you
‘Cause it hurts less than to blame you

[Verse 6: Jin, Jimin]
I try to exhale you in pain
Like smoke, like white smoke
I say that I’ll erase you
But I can’t really let you go yet

[Pre-Chorus 1: Jungkook, V]
Snowflakes fall down
And get farther away little by little
I miss you (I miss you)
I miss you (I miss you)
How long do I have to wait
And how many sleepless nights do I have to spend
To see you (to see you)
To meet you (to meet you)

[Bridge: V, Jungkook]
You know it all
You’re my best friend
The morning will come again
No darkness, no season is eternal

[Pre-Chorus 2: Jimin, Jungkook, V]
Maybe it’s cherry blossoms
And this winter will be over
I miss you (I miss you)
I miss you (I miss you)
Wait a little bit, just a few more nights
I’ll be there to see you (I’ll go there to meet you)
I’ll come for you (I’ll come for you)

[Chorus: Jungkook, J-Hope, Jin ]
Passing by the edge of the cold winter
Until the days of spring
Until the days of flower blossoms
Please stay, please stay there a little longer

Analysis of the Video, Music, and Lyrics

The video I believe represents the survivors of a tragedy. The beginning of the video showcases an individual (Taehyung) listening to the train tracks. This could be represented as an individual who is feeling survivors guilt and who is suicidal or as an individual who is nostalgic and listening to the “memory of travel”. This progresses to scenes with individuals deep in thought or remembering.

The scene changes to an individual (RM) in a train carriage alone. He sings: ‘Miss you
Saying this makes me miss you even more
Miss you
Even though I’m looking at your photo.

Notice that he has abandoned suitcases around him. This is thought to be a representation of travelers who will never return for their belongings as they are unable.

‘Alone on the Snowpiercer
Wanna get to the other side of the earth, holding your hand
Wanna put an end to this winter
How much longing should we see snowing down’

These lyrics are reference of the movie Snowpiercer (10/10-also stars Chris Evans if anyone cares) which is directed by Korean director Joon-Ho Bong (Who is also the director of Parasite and just recently won best director at the Oscars). The movie synopsis is that of a civilization that exists entirely on a train that is a representation of human society that many people perceive it to be: Upper Class (the front of the train) and Regular or “lower class” (the tail of the train).

The Snowpiercer reference is thought to embody South Korea’s expectation that citizens are to follow orders even if it means to be oppressed. This is also thought to be a reference to the individuals on the Sewol ferry that were told to stay where they are no matter what happens.

The music video continues forth with RM heading forth to seek justice (going towards the front of the train) which is a main theme of the movie Snowpiercer.

The next scene in the MV is RM going into a motel called ‘Omelas’. There is a sign on the front that states ‘No Vacancy’. ‘Omelas’ is the name of a fictional town from a book called ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas‘. The whole story is about a utopian society whose survival is dependent on the suffering of a child which provides to the theme that happiness is successful upon another’s suffering. There are individuals who ignore the suffering to continue to stay happy (ignorance is bliss) and there are those who walk away from it. Omela’s is full of people which is why the sign in the MV says ‘No Vacancy’ on the motel. I will not get into it to much, but there is a lot of conspiracy regarding the Sewol tragedy and the Korean government which is why the reference to ‘Omelas’ is so interesting.

The next scene of the MV has RM continuing forth on the train and coming upon a scene that is similar representation (once again) of the movie Snowpiercer. In the movie, once the main character has reached the middle of the train, he is attacked and has the attempt of others thwarting him from continuing forth on his goal. The MV scene is similar in as sense as it look like a celebration at first glance but in reality RM is literally having items thrown at him as if to stop him from continuing.

‘Is it you who changed (Is it you who changed)
Or is it me (Or is it me)
I hate this moment, this time flowing by
We are changed you know
Just like everyone you know’

These lyrics are representation of the next scene which shows all the band members of BTS running up a spiral staircase with another member (Jin) at the bottom looking up. This is thought to be representation of the deceased watching their friends and family continue to grow up and onward with their life while they are stagnant.

The following scene shows another member of the group (JK) standing in front of a rusty merry-go round which is thought to be the representation of lost innocence/childhood. There are continued scenes of each member of the group continuing forth with life as normal before coming back to a scene of the group looking lost and depressed as they realize that they cannot fill the void that they are feeling.

The scene continues into a laundry room (connected to the motel) that shows what looks to be a fairly normal scene, but upon zooming in, you can see the stickers on the laundry machines that say “Don’t Forget”. Now, as I’ve said this MV is only thought to be theorized to be about the Sewol tragedy, but this scene really struck as Korean Citizens (and the families of the deceased) were encouraged to move on from the national tragedy, or continue forth but almost with the expectation to forget.

The next scene shows the members of BTS on a mountain of clothes, which is quite similar to an art installation from 2010 that was created by Christian Boltanski. This art piece was a 40 foot tall mountain of clothes that when a piece of clothing was added, it symbolically represented the soul of someone lost and their progression into a “higher place”.

In the MV, scenes progress forward with BTS members “waking up” and realizing they need to preserve and seek justice. One scene that really embodies this, is the scene of JK in front of the rusty merry-go round. One major thing to notice are the many yellow ribbons that are tied to the merry- go round.  Yellow ribbons became a prevalent symbol in South Korea, its significance evolving from hopes of return and mourning to activism in accordance with the Sewol Ferry Tragedy. The merry go-round that had been rusty and dead, suddenly springs to life with faceless people running in action around it. JK stops standing and suddenly joins these people.

The next scenes you see JK following in the same footsteps of RM to seek justice which he finds that he does not have to did it alone once everyone joins him. This is a representation of another era of BTS called the ‘You Never Walk Alone‘ Era….. Hopefully no one is confused as of yet (It really is indepth and a never ending circulation of symbolism in ALL of their creations). The MV ends with the group realizing there is life outside of the train (outside of oppression) which is a correlated scene to Snowpiercer once again where one of the characters realizes that it is safe to leave the train (that its not subzero) when he sees a snowflake.

‘Snowflakes fall down
And get farther away little by little’

The choreography of the song also ties into the theory that was presented above as you can see the representation of a ship and also the motions of a traveler in their choreography.

The music is an electronic sound, combined with piano. The lyrics are a combination of rap and vocal which are combined together seamlessly (as always with BTS). It’s really quite beautiful and evokes a definite emotional response. I think I have used ‘Gut Wrenching’ as a description of my feelings a lot in my posts, but I tend to gravitate towards songs that make me feel this way, so it’s pretty accurate.  

The melody is simple but I think it is perfect when combined with the breathy and stretched vocals. The volume and tempo is also played with throughout the song to enunciate emotion when needed. I also need to talk about the hook (or bridge) of the song. I do not see it often enough but the hook of this song is fulfilled by the groups vocal baritone (Taehyung) and oh man is it beautiful. He has a soulful voice, that is the only way I can describe it (His voice does not match his face either haha). Lastly, the ending instrumentals with minimal harmonized vocals ALWAYS gets me choked up.

Random, but I feel like I need to throw in here that ‘Spring Day‘ has now spent 130 weeks on the weekly chart of Korea’s largest music site and is the longest maintained song on record since it released in 2017.

Thanks to anyone who read through this entire post and I hope you will broaden your mind and look past stereotypes that are depicted upon K-POP. While there is truth in a lot of these stereotypes, it’s not the truth for every group or company that falls under the genre.

Works Cited

Genius English Translations – BTS – 봄날 (Spring Day) (English Translation). (2017, February 13). Retrieved from https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-bts-spring-day-english-translation-lyrics

Herman, T. (2018, May 7). BTS Song Lyrics: A Commentary on South Korean Society. Retrieved from https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8098832/bts-lyrics-social-commentary-political

Sinking of MV Sewol. (2020, April 8). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_MV_Sewol

Yellow Ribbon Campaign and Sewol Ferry Protest Movement. (2020, January 29). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Ribbon_Campaign_and_Sewol_Ferry_Protest_Movement

Fable. (2017, May 25). “Spring Day” – YNWA Musical Analysis: ARMY’s Amino. Retrieved from https://aminoapps.com/c/btsarmy/page/blog/spring-day-ynwa-musical-analysis/KW8P_qWbcMuXDMzw6pNblEjXVKaQbKmMlj

BTS Spring Day MV EXPLAINED – YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tye1ONFeKis

Le Guin, U. K. (1996). The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. Hove, South Aust.: Townsend School.