Storytelling and Sincerity: The Secret Formula of Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS)
Author’s Note: This is part of an ongoing study in pop culture.
The Western music scene was taken aback with surprise with the release of the release of Dynamite by the seven-piece, all-male Korean pop (K-Pop) band BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan, or, translated in English, Bulletproof Boyscouts).[1] Perhaps prior to that time, the general public would have never thought of a K-Pop band releasing a song entirely in English, much less the fact that they would enter the global charts, particularly the Billboard Hot 100. K-Pop back then occupies a very small niche as the other fads that came and went before it. It’s even perceived as having a smaller following than the otaku culture (most commonly associated with anime and Japanese popular music), the indie garage band wave of the 2000s, and the pop-rock revolution ushered in by post-hardcore bands like My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, and Paramore.
But by the turn of the decade, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, things have taken a big turn. By August 2020, Dynamite is a radio and internet hit, and the following of BTS grew wider than ever. It is true, however, that prior to this, they have been gaining recognition in the United States as an established pop group(alongside their “counterpart,” the four-piece all-female K-Pop band Blackpink); however, nobody really expected them to reign the official charts. In fact, they have been for the past years the center of discussion on the awarding of the Grammys, with some fans questioning the decision of the Board of Judges as to why in the many nominations of BTS, they have not garnered any award given their popularity.
But putting that conversation aside, one can then focus on another aspect of this unprecedented fame. With only a handful of purely English songs as a band (Dynamite, the record-breaking Butter, and the Ed Sheeran-written Permission to Dance dubbed as the “pandemic theme”), and most of their songs being Korean and only accessed and understood through translations posted online, what made BTS very famous?
This multi-part essay explores two aspects that largely contributed to their fame and success, namely their capacity to tell their stories and the “sincerity” factor which characterizes most of K-Pop at present, but pushed to its limits in terms of the way they release their media and interact with their fans.
The Medium and Its Message
Every member of the BTS fandom (dubbed as ARMY, or short for Adorable Representative MC’s for the Youth) is very familiar with the “BTS story.” Back then, Big Hit Entertainment’s Bang Shi-Hyuk planned on forming a hip-hop group, but formed in the way that, usually, K-Pop idols in the steadily growing industry do.
After a hefty selection process that involves not only handpicking artists but also convincing those who desire to leave to stay, he ended up with the original trio of Rapmonster (Kim Namjoon, eventually changing his name to RM), Suga (Min Yoongi), and J-Hope (Jung Hoseok). Soon enough, four more members were added: Jin (Kim Seokjin), Jimin (Park Jimin), Jung Kook (Jeon Jungkook), and finally V (Kim Taehyung). These were the seven that became members of the band, and they were all subjected to the often harsh and usually intricate training process that Bang adapted, one that is used largely by K-Pop labels and companies, especially the Big Three of South Korea (SM Entertainment, YG Company, and JYP [of which Bang was originally part]).
However, unlike many of the famous idols that have dominated the scene, Bang’s group had to walk a difficult and slanted path to the top. What is important, however, is that much of this journey is told and re-told in every step of the way.
Since their debut in 2013, they worked for fame and recognition through music that reflects much of their thoughts and sentiments about life as young South Korean idol trainees. The band’s first hit, No More Dream, stood out as a critique of Korean society, with lyrics that can only be found at that time in the underground or independent R&B and rock scenes. Not coincidentally, this is the background and the setting in which RM, Suga, and J-Hope, the band’s primary songwriters (collectively called as the Rap Line) grew up. They brought their influence in the course of their trainee days, and gradually completed song after song with the help of the other four members. With Bang’s leadership, they released their first album 2 Cool for Skool, with most of their songs written by the band.
At this point, we all know where all these lead to. Their songs reflect their true sentiments and the stories that they bear as they experience their fame and rise to popularity, most especially what is happening within them. In 2015, they were able to create an alternate universe, a narrative which reflects their truest selves as artists through their Most Beautiful Moment in Life album, which is mostly about youth.[2] This was followed up with Wings, Love Yourself, and Map of the Soul, which contain more or less the same mood and tone but were taken into higher levels of reflection and self-introspection. Fortunately, this became the running theme of BTS during the pandemic, which made them quite a hit with their release of BE in 2021. And if we take all these albums together, we see the transparency of the band in their thoughts and inner states, honestly being open to the public about what they think and feel about the many things that are happening in their lives.
This, however, is only brushing the surface. The rise of social media and its nature as means for self-communication led to a deeper relationship, albeit in a parasocial manner, with their followers. When the band debuted in 2013, they utilized different social media platforms to interact with their fans. Apart from their use of official Twitter and Instagram pages, the band also maximized the use of V-Live (now WeVerse Live, but also take note that their first logs were in virtual interaction site FanCafe) in which they posted live videos and status updates regarding their lives, their progress in the industry, and the process they undergo in creating new material. They talk to fans as if they are their everyday companions, narrating how their days went, what food they ate, and what is going on within them. It creates an atmosphere in which there seems to be a “real-time” relationship with their fans.
Weird and unusual as it seems from a Western pop music perspective, it became a smashing hit not only to their fans in Korea (and the neighboring countries like Japan, China, and Taiwan, which by this time have been known to be top consumers of K-Pop) but also beyond the borders of Asia. It is thus no wonder that when Bang Shi Hyuk experimented with expanding the reach of BTS to North America and then to Europe, the members were greeted with fans cheering for them as if they have been waiting for years to see them. It is also no wonder that when they tested the global market, they were received warmly and positively despite the fact that their singles have lyrics that are barely understood. Strictly speaking, BTS was one of the first who broke the barriers between artists and fans, and started interacting with ARMY (the name of their fandom)[3] in a personal manner.
The initial phases of these were in the form of social media and live updates with their career progress in their pre-debut and debut phases, and even in their development of further albums. This further extended to casual activities and random V-Live moments like reflections after having gone to the gym for physical training, mukbang sessions (in which members are shown to try different dishes, in some instances cooking them)[4], random dance sessions (as in the case of J-Hope, more particularly), and singalongs in the middle of the night.
And if you actually pad that with sincere remarks of how members of BTS feel free to express their struggles in the midst of crisis and the small consolations that they have in the same way that fans have in their seemingly “normal” lives, then we have this perfect formula for building relationships even in an unusual form of interaction.
While one may see this as random, “small talk” level of interaction that offer very little content about the progress that they have as artists, they carry significant value in terms of the relationship and the rapport that they build in fans. In this manner of interacting, fans feel closer to them, as they are able to break the barriers between their personal and professional lives, perhaps in some ways that may be dangerous, but beneficial to them overall. Fans feel a sense of being in their lives, and that these lives are bared to them totally. Moreover, there builds a sense in which fans can also be themselves to their idols in more ways than, say, how they interact with others.
In other words, BTS becomes the fans’ “friends” and companions in life to which they can draw both consolation and guidance. Indeed, it is a mark of parasociality, but one that can actually be beneficial and, on the side of fans, life-giving. Multiply that during the pandemic (since most of human relationships during that time lie on the same level and plane of interaction: more on social media and virtual connectivity rather than actual, face-to-face ones), and you have fans that are willing to do anything not just to see BTS perform live, but also interact with them in the process; you will have fans that do not only watch from a distance, but also wish to be able to express their gratitude “for getting them through the hardest times of their lives.”
All this became possible because the members of BTS have bared everything to their fans, and let them know what they go through. This, however, especially in our context, begs the question: How did this all become possible, and what repercussions does this have not just in the world of K-Pop and music as a whole, but also to our understanding of fandom?
This is what I intend to explore when we look at the value of narrative, coupled with the virtue of sincerity and its significance in the human quest for meaning. Part 2 will be up soon.
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[1] I will refer to the band from this point onward as BTS.
[2] In fact, the songs contained in the album paved way for the Bangtan Alternate Universe, in which they weaved alternate narratives of themselves in an alternate universe in the manner of science fiction, in which characters have to go through time loops to save themselves from all the miserable conditions that they were experiencing.
[3] Which means (if it is not yet familiar at this point), Adorable Representative MC’s for Youth, having a “teen pop” taste but without removing its R&B / Rap referent. Having fandom names is a trend in K-Pop, and BTS is no exception.
[4] Famous among these mukbang sessions is Jin’s series of videos, self-titled as “Eat Jin,” which gained lots of popularity among ARMY.