there’s people actually thinking that bts is glorifying mental illnesses....???
heads up guys, they really aren’t?
1) the hyyh concept is based off of several different novels; two major ones being Kafka On The Shore and Demian.
These two novels are both coming of age/bildungsromans. This is one similarity; another is that that they both deal with character foils and alter egos.
In KOTS, the main character Kafka Tamura is split into three different characters. There’s of course our narrator, Kafka, but he has his alter ego, The Boy named Crow, and then also a part of his spirit is unknowingly transferred to an old man named Nakata. Another example of this in the novel are the characters Johnny Walker (yes, what an interesting name. This is apparently Taehyun’s fav alcohol? But anyways there’s also a character named after the KFC chicken dude and he’s literally a pimp btw) and Kafka’s father, Koichi Tamura. They are the same person. And then later in the story, Kafka becomes Koichi and falls in love with his own mother, Miss. Saeki and then more confusing stuff happens
In Demian, the main character is a young boy named Emil Sinclair who’s constantly split between good and evil. Evil is represented by his bully, Franz Kromer, whereas good is represented by the suave Max Demian. One can even go to think that Emil Sinclair, Max Demian, and Franz Kromer are all aspects of the same boy.
What am I trying to say with all this mind-boggling stuff?
That the idea of several different characters (with very different personalities and histories) representing one person has been a popular concept behind many, many famous pieces in literature.
It is not glorifying mental diseases such as schizophrenia and psychosis.
It is an example of surrealism/metaphysics within literature
2) BTS are the one boy group that I know of who has been extremely vocal about their own struggles with mental health and has used their status as a celebrity to speak up about it
Since his debut, Rap Monster has been very open about his difficulty with finding happiness and his fight with depression and loneliness. You can see this in almost all of his lyrics (ex: “Life” and “Drifting”), his tweets (ex: “I sincerely hope all of you too have some sort of a shelter in your mind. Like a place you could go to as a last resort. That’s how people can live. I always feel lonely and pained but it’s a new feeling. Being able to do something feels like a luxury.” © letmesuga), and his fan cafe posts.
Suga literally dropped a mixtape describing his struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts, anixety, social phobia, and self hatred.
J-hope has revealed that he was depressed before debut and even all of bts has said that they had never seen a boy as miserable as him before. He also described his severe mood swings several times.
Jimin has also talked about his body image issues several times (but he has also comforted us, saying that he’s eating well now and that we don’t need to worry)
3) The mental illnesses J-Hope’s character has are relatively unacknowledged by the general public. I bet half of you didn’t even know what munchausen syndrome was before bts came out with hyyh and wings ( I know that I didn’t- and that’s why I’m even more thankful towards them)
So if anything at all, BTS are bringing awareness to these mental illnesses as well as different kinds of abuse (with taehyung’s father being an alcoholic and violent towards his family and there being drug abuse in the videos).
This is especially important in Korea where mental illnesses are usually stigmatized and thought of as the proof of a “failed child”.
All in all, BTS are truly bringing a different level to kpop (with their breathtaking films and storyline) and we should be thankful that they’re talking about topics that are usually shielded away from pop culture.
