BTS in books : "BTS, k-pop icons", "BTS and ARMY culture", "Philosophizing about BTS" and "BTS : Art revolution"

If you don't care about k-pop and never heard or don't appreciate BTS, you either might not care, or you might learn something today - I haven't been a fan of theirs for long, but now, they've got me for good.

 

Quick story : early 2021, when I was feeling very down and depressed, i spotted a music video called "Butter" and loved Jungkook's blue hair, the music, the choreography. My eldest daughter has been a fan of theirs for years but at the time, I didn't see the appeal (boys band, calibrated music and all that). Early 2021, however, I clicked and they really helped me through a bad time. 

 

So of course, I wanted to see if I liked more than just one song. I then listened to their previous music video, "Dynamite", and gave up on prejudice : I really liked it ! Still do - when I don't feel OK in the morning, this song is a definite morale boost.

 

 

Being confined, I had nothing more to do than search for their other songs, videos, lyrics and there are many, many, many, many videos. They started in 2015, so I had a lot to catch up. I was impressed by their lyrics - they make their own music, and loved their personalities. Some songs are bright and boppy, but others are really, really dark. And, of course again, as usual again, I thought there might be books on them, here are those I read.

 

 

Adrian Beasley : BTS, Les icônes de la k-pop (=BTS, k-pop icons). It's weird, but I can now only find a portuguese edition on Goodreads and even on Amazon, though I got mine in French. If you know absolutely nothing about them, you might want to peruse this book to have an idea of what's going on, but it's superficial and you can find most of the informations on the web. Not bad, though, it's perfect for a first timer. You learn who they are, where they come from, their difficult debut via a company that was looked down upon (and so were they) as not being one of the famous 3 that rule the south korean pop world, how they write their own music and their own lyrics, and how those lyrics are different from what you might expect.

 

Lee Jeeheng : BTS and ARMY culture. ARMY is the name of their fans and they are (we are !) a powerful bunch. I may have thought, at a time, that these people were a bit obsessed to say the least, but this particular book helped me understand one thing : without BTS, there wouldn't be an ARMY, but without ARMY (and internet's power force), BTS certainly wouldn't have reached the world domination they have. It's a kind of symbiosis betweeen two different and independant identities. Before BTS even debuted, they already had fans via internet, even in other countries, even before they were popular in their own country, and those fans helped them be nominated for prestigious awards in a the United states where most people had never heard of them. A tour de force.

 

 

Cha Minju : Philosophizing about BTS. Because BTS is also about Herman Hesse, Nietzsche, Hegel and all that ! Their albums are almost concept albums about different themes that follow the evolution of their members but also their public, how they evolved from teenagers to young adults, leaving school, facing the world and the harsh critics, working hard (of course, they're Korean) and learning more about themselves and their lives and how important it is to follow one's dreams and respect oneself. This approach and their philosophy is probably what gained them fans all around the world - everybody can relate to the pressure of society and how hard it is to follow your dreams, not give up on them to conform to what parents, family, society expect and make the best out of your life, how it's easier to give up but then, you lose yourself. The lyrics are often quoted and developed. It's a very interesting and approachable book.
"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star" (Nietzsche)

Lee Jiyoung : BTS - Art revolution. Last year, I watched this video on YT (there are subtitles) :

 

The author is a film-philosophy doctor who refers a lot to French philosophers and who states that BTS and their fans ARMY emphasize the sociocultural/media changes that occurred in society. She compares them to the concept of rhizom developped by Gilles Deleuze. The lyrics of their songs are explained, developed, referenced and the use of media (that involves more creation of media) is really captivating. I'm sorry my review isn't more developed, but I read it last year so even if I remember fully well that I loved it, understood everything and made me discover media art, that I knew about but didn't give any thought to, I should have written the review back then. The author is a doctor but the book is very approachable.

 

So, if you want to learn more through their music, these books, you can but if you don't want to, well it's up to you ! One last song - one that I swear has been written for me, with references to Martin Luther King :

And another I really love, sad and beautiful with "that" choreography, in two parts (one that was especially made for the show) :