In a hot afternoon in the middle of November, my friend asks me if I've heard of the band BTS. She tells me it’s a South Korean group of performers, seven boys who people first notice because of their good looks and then for their over-the-top music videos. She then proceeds to show me the video for “Idol”, giving me a disclaimer that she hasn't ever seen a video like this. An animated shark in the backdrop of a stage, as the members continue to dance followed by looming animated version of the members, and finally, giant men, dressed in sports team jerseys.
At face value, the video is extremely entertaining with its vibrant colours and truly exquisite dancing, a feat which even a complete outsider to BTS’s music will not argue against. They sing in Korean, which to me meant that I wouldn't understand the actual content as I don't speak the language. I resorted to subtitles, and both my impression of the music video and the events of my life, changed for the better.
Filmmaker Bong Joon Ho talked about about “overcoming the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles”, and it led me to uncover how the song is talking about being unstoppable, how the singer believes he is now truly capable of overcoming all hurdles. The answer to being able to declare oneself undefeated lies in self-love.
BTS collaborated with UNICEF to promote this message of self-love and they had delivered a speech at the General Assembly in 2018, campaigning for this message. In this speech, Kim Namjoon (popularly known as RM) speaks of the position of love in one’s life. He says that for one to have any love at all, they must foster for themselves first.
I, as someone who has struggled extensively with self image, understand that this journey towards self love is difficult. When working on oneself, it is easy to get dissuaded by the example of others who seem to be thriving and confident in their own skin. This is where RM’s mention of this journey towards finding one’s true self, is of integral importance.
Their song “I Need U” deals with the crumbling of a relationship between two lovers. This song portrays the issues of basing one’s happiness on another person— where if the partner leaves, one’s happiness leaves too. In the wake of their partner leaving, it seems they don’t think of practicing self-love. They are unhappy with themselves. The song depicts being unable to supplement the now absent love that came from a partner. If one gives utmost importance to external validation, the removal of this validation will only cause pain for them. At this point he believes love is only valid if it comes from another person.
RM also talks about identifying the obstacle to one’s happiness, and then navigating these parts of oneself, in order to rectify traits that might be keeping them from their happiness. The exploring of this journey, comes from the “Intro:Persona”, (composed, and written by RM himself)— an introduction to the album “Map of the Soul: Persona”. He speaks of this journey in the song. He notes how different facets of the world have different philosophies for success but this same world does not care about the nuances of his character. He realises that these nuances are beautiful; it is his own lack of acceptance of these nuances that bother him. The world is truly whimsical in what it accepts and what it doesn’t, and his earlier belief in this acceptance caused him great pain. Now, he’s slowly starting to look into who he is; he is slowly starting to accept himself and in doing so, he’s happier. He wants to be his own support, his own saviour, and his own fulfilment.
The animated figures in “Idol” start to make sense. They’re on the journey to self-love. You can face a problem as big as a shark, but your belief in your own capabilities will allow you to navigate the problem with utmost ease, such as the kind of nonchalance Park Jimin portrays when he’s dancing this complicated choreography. They’re in sports jerseys alluding to the daily match they’re in — with instances making you question yourself; but this journey helps you to defend who you are as you are now defending your own team — yourself. “You can’t stop me loving myself” is a voice of victory. Thank you, BTS for reminding us to love ourselves.
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