ATEEZ The Real: A Message For The Young
On June 2021, ATEEZ released a song titled “멋 (The Real)” as they participated in an idol survival show Kingdom: Legendary War. They created a fun, engaging and meaningful final stage. The concept of the stage was very impressive, they had kids dancers performing with them, they had fun with the other competing groups, and even suggesting them to have a great, great dinner with meat to celebrate after the long journey of Kingdom that they’ve gone through for months. It was truly a night to remember.
A few months later, they re-released the song as a part of their comeback in December 2021. Alongside Turbulence, The Real (흥 ver.) was released as one of the double title tracks of Fever Epilogue album. Through this chance, ATEEZ were able to perform together with Mingi, a member who was absent during Kingdom period, and giving joy to the fans who have loved the song. However, despite the extravagance performances of ATEEZ that truly snatched attention, the song was a beautiful message for the young people.
There are some points of the song that I’d like to talk about, one by one.
- The title: 멋.
멋 is translated as ‘style’ in ATEEZ’s context. However, 멋 in Korean is often used as a part of 멋있어, a compliment you say to someone when they have that quality on them that makes them to look cool, good or inspiring. This word stands as a noun of good quality and to have “The Real” as the English title can mean that in this song ATEEZ talks about “The Real Good Quality” that a person should have.
2. Respect
눈썹을 좀 더 찌푸려 (ayy)
I frown my eyebrows a little more
But 인사는 90도 (yes, sir, yes, sir)
But my greetings are 90 degrees
To frown one’s eyebrows means that they are trying to concentrate or there is something that displeases them; it is a body language of disapproval. When there is disapproval involved, there’d be anger in their behavior. However, the next part of the lyrics states that even in a bad situation, one should still be respectful to others and does not cross the line.
3. Humble and Kindness
우린 뜨겁게 살아
We live passionately
허나 누구보다 더 Humble and kindness
But we’re humble and have kindness more than anyone
Some people find so much comfort in life that they begin to forget their roots, but for ATEEZ, this was not the case. Through these lyrics they promote the value that no matter how high or low you are in life, being humble and kind should always be prioritized.
4. Stage: Paddy Field
You can see that there is a paddy field surrounding Hongjoong here and there is an old philosophy in Asian countries related to paddy fields. For example, in Indonesia they say “Semakin padi berisi, semakin merunduk” (Eng: The more filled a paddy plant is, the lower it bows). The meaning is that the more someone grows as a person, the more humble they should be.
This is also closelyrelated to the lyrics that Hongjoong rapped during this part of the performance:
Yah, 숙여라, 익을수록
Bow down, the more you grow
입은 놀리지 마라, 익을수록
Careful with your mouth, the more you grow
머릴 숙여라, 익을수록
Lower your head, the more you grow
너네 잘 배워놔라, 익을수록 (Hey)
Learn more, the more you grow
Truly inspiring.
There are so many other values in this song and they are presented very nicely. ATEEZ, being a group that attracts so many young people, are using their influence positively and it is admirable to see. Lessons about life can be such a turn-off for some people who seek for fun, but ATEEZ made those values to be a song they can dance to, a performance so addicting to watch.
All the best.
