BTS short for Bangtan Sonyeondan (trans: Bulletproof Boy Scouts) are a septet formed under Bighit Entertainment. Also known as the Bangtan Boys, the boy group consists of RM (Kim Namjoon), Jin (Kim Seokjin), Suga (Min Yoongi), J-Hope (Jung Hoseok), Jimin (Park Jimin), V (Kim Taehyung) and Jungkook (Jeon Jungkook). They debuted in 2013 with their 1st single album No More Dream and are just 3 months short of their 8th anniversary this June. In these 7 years, they have inspired millions of people worldwide with their music and many have become a part of their loyal ARMY-the name given by the Bulletproof Boys themselves. BTS' lyrics based on personal and social commentary, touch on various topics and reference psychological and literary concepts.
Going forward is a deep dive into their discography, travelling from era to era and having an interpretative look into their albums and the emotions expressed through their songs.
School Trilogy:
The boys were young teens and in high school. This era shares the innocence of that age, when all most people focus on is love. School is a safe haven, a second home where you are small fish swimming in a pond. You are the oldest you will ever be, and full of imaginary wisdom and passion to fight all the unfairness in the world. Reputation is everything. Getting your schoolmates to look up to you, whether it be because of winning love or a fight against injustice, feels like sitting on top of the world.
Dark & Wild:
The cover itself tells you this album expresses broken or rejected love. While the boys were schoolboys dreaming of romance in the earlier era they are now facing the bitter failure of those dreams. Love slips out of our hands as we desperately try to grab it, but it's too late; learning how to get over this new experience in your life is the only way. And along with that experience, comes maturity.
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life (aka HYYH):
According to their webtoon Save Me (on the platform Webtoon) 6 of the 7 members have graduated high school. They have stepped out from the safety net and into the bigger sea. In this next phase of life, people try to find love again, while facing the demons in their lives head on. They go through many new experiences and experience numerous unknown emotions. It is a defining phase of our lives as we become introspective and think about everything deeply. There are many wounds suffered, many scabs broken and many healed scars. But however this phase may have been, this delicate emotional stage where we are neither a child nor a fully mature adult is our most beautiful moment in life.
Wings:
The era of temptation. Where children, who have just matured into adults, may go astray. Finding a balance is difficult and many choose the wrong path. But eventually they do find a better place for themselves where they right their wrongs and improve their life. Though perhaps, not in the way they wanted. It is a small but important part of your life where you discover just how treacherous the world can be.
Love Yourself:
The young adults have all become independent and mature now. They know the world, they have learned how to live in it. It is that point where you have everything in the world you could ever get by working hard, and yet lack the thing most precious to humans, companionship or love. We see the boys try many ways of obtaining that love. Like them, all of us choose our own paths to acquire our romance.
They are mature enough to know their likes and what stage their relationship is in. But one lesson yet remains to be learned, and that is loving yourself. The full acceptance of the being that you are, before you even think of sharing that acceptance with anyone else. As Jin elaborates in his solo, Epiphany from Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’:
그럴수록 내 맘속의 폭풍을 감당할 수 없게 돼
But as I kept doing so, I became unable to bear the storm inside my heart
웃고 있는 가면속의 진짜 내 모습을 다 드러내
I got to fully reveal my true self under the smiling mask
I’m the one I should love in this world
Map of the Soul:
Based on Jungian concepts, this era is the exploration of oneself, yet this time as a mature and competent adult, rather than the confused soul-searching you do in your youth, or BTS did in HYYH era. Looking for answers within oneself eventually leads to an in-depth observation of life, career, and for the Bangtan Boys, a look back on the journey they have traversed, the steps they took and the position where they stand at currently. Understanding yourself and embracing your Persona, Shadow and Ego is the conclusion.
BE:
An uncommon event of anyone's life, one which has no foretelling. But nonetheless, it leaves its mark and brings major changes to a person's world. This time BTS look back on their life through different glasses, where earlier they were looking at the past and present, now they look at the difference between yesterday and today and how both compare.
Life gets derailed and you lose your footing but you have get back up and believe in the strength of your legs to support you. In BE, BTS gently remind us that time never stops which is why, neither should we