Who does Agust D want to become?
On May 22nd, BigHit answered the question of the mysterious countdown that started five days before by releasing D2 mixtape, a sequel to Agust D mixtape that Suga had released 4 years ago in early 2016. Along with the mixtape, it dropped Daechitwa music video that immediately went to YouTube Trending and fervently discussed in social media, especially on Twitter. In this article, I will provide my own personal interpretation of the music video.
In the Daechitwa music video, the king is blond, which is a visually deliberate choice since it calls back to the first Agust D mixtape music videos, Give it to Me and Agust D, where Suga’s alter ego was blond. In the Agust D music video, Suga’s character strove to break out of the train car that was containing him, representing that his music can not be easily categorised. He showed that the system was pulling him back and he wanted to rebel against it. Next, in the Give it to Me music video, he broke out of the institution (the train) and now wants the wealth and fame that comes along with it. Finally, in the Daechwita music video, the character has gained such wealth and fame that he became a king, which is evident with his royal robes and metal earrings. His royal robes hail from the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897 AD), and his metal earrings trace its origins from the Silla dynasty (20–668 CE). So, these items are fruits of his past work.
This version of Agust D has achieved what he wanted at a cost. Throughout the music video, he appears to be alone with no companions at his side. The only human companions he sees are executioners, officials, and human heads. But, he keeps himself a distance from the executioners, preferring to tower over them as the executions take place. His officials do not respond actively to him and instead keep their eyes to the ground. His weapon of choice is a sword, a status symbol, as he performs a sword dance with it as though he fantasizes ending people’s lives or is recreating the scenes when he used to take people’s lives. By the act of beheading people, he cuts people off from him and creates a physical distance, as evident with the executioners. This version of Agust D has grown to a disengaging royal that does not play an active role in people’s lives. This character decides a person’s fate on a whim. But, this has caused him physical harm as he has a scar that is bright red as though he received his wound recently. It also serves to parallel the opposite version of Agust D.
To contrast, this version of Agust D has black hair opposed to blond hair. His scar is located at the same place as that of the king’s. His scar seems to be older than that of a king as his scar is orangish-red and begins to form edges around his wound. This scar could represent the hardships that have scarred him. Since his wound is beginning to heal, it could mean that he accepts the lessons from his hardships and is ready to move forward.
This is further demonstrated with his clothes and his surroundings. He is always surrounded by people. In this scene, this character obtains jade from a woman in a crowded space in a Korean traditional place with wooden pillars and a plaque with Chinese characters from the Book of Rites. The other people are wearing contemporary clothes as well. This gives an indication that these people share similar values as Agust D.The significance of him obtaining jade can be also the symbol of the past, holding onto his roots. However, the jade could be what allowed him to obtain a gun later in the music video. So, the jade is a medium that allows him to move forward to rebel against the system represented as blond hair Agust D.
To examine this character further, this black-haired version of Agust D is adaptable. He disguises himself as a commoner with an Asian conical hat, also known as satgat. He makes eye contact with the butchers that shows that he is willing to be close to people no matter the background. These butchers play an important role in the music video as they are also executioners. These butchers are people that take lives of all that walks in this earth as they take both animal and human lives. The butcher giving a gun instead of an executioner’s sword signifies both progress and the executioner’s approval for the character to take another’s life. As standing on the opposite side of this Agust D is the blond king who holds onto the sword. The Daechwita music video ends with black hair Agust D shooting down blond hair Agust D.
Overall, I think the blond hair Agust D is what Suga fears of becoming, a narrow-minded person that is only enraptured by objects of the past. This kind of mindset reminds me of Ddaeng lyrics that frogs that are living to their name to die in a well. This lyric is based on the Frog in a well where the frog thinks the small well is their entire world. Blond hair Agust D thinks that he is within a world that he is respected, yet black hair Agust D shoots him to remind him that his narrow mindset is fatal. To contrast, this black hair Agust D is what he strives to be, a person that engages with society, that communicates with people no matter their socioeconomic status. This character is adaptable and willing to accept his roots in order to embrace what is to come in the future.
Sources
Lyrics from Doolset Bangtan: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/ddaeng-rm-suga-j-hope/
Korean history timeline:
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/korea_timeline.htm
