bts “idol” cultural references
sooo, i was watching reaction videos and just noticing what people were saying about the teaser and i realized some people were missing things,,,
so here’s a few references, in case you were wondering ! (also, pls note there might also be a lot of stuff i missed)
ok so, first thing most people realized is that they’re wearing hanboks (traditional korean clothing). however, they’re not just any hanboks - they’re hanboks of the yangban.
the yangban were considered the “intellectual” class - they weren’t lower class for sure, but not all yangban had a role in the court, although most did or were related to court members. essentially, they were the upper-middle class of today.
here namjoon is seen wearing a gat (hoseok has one too later on in the video), which is a traditional korean hat worn by yangban men who passed the gwageo - a sort of national civil service examination. people who passed the gwageo were tested on math, traditional chinese literature and miscellaneous sciences (astronomy, medicine, translating, although the yangban class was often insulted by this section, as they saw themselves as “theoretic” intellectuals rather than “working’ ones - like an astronomer, a translator or a doctor, y’know). essentially, to pass the gwageo you had to be an extremely well-rounded and intelligent individual.
here’s the theorizing part though - for a family to be considered yangban, they had to produce a scholar (a man who had passed the gwageo) at least once every 4 generations. if they didn’t, they would be stripped of their yangban title. thus, bts could be saying that no matter how much they have proved themselves, they’re still being tested by those around them. they don’t wear their gats on their heads because they don’t brag about their skills and achievements, but they’re always there because they have passed the tests others have given them.
if you look closely, you’ll notice jin is holding a fan. he’s still a yangban (judging by his hanbok style), which would mean the fan would have to be interpreted that way too. you see, yangbans were kinda funny because they really liked being seen as artistic and gentleman-esque and subdued, which is why they usually never carried weapons on them (as this was something the “working men” would do). they still found that they needed to protect themselves at times though, so they started incorporating hidden weapons in the stuff they had on them every day. carrying fans was a frequent thing, so fans became the most common way to conceal your weapon as a yangban. interpretation-wise - bts will fight back, but they don’t like being aggressive about it. instead, they like being subdued and only showing what they can do when it’s absolutely necessary.
(P.S. there’s also jungkook at the end who coughs, which is a way yangbans would announce their presence (once again, they liked being subdued, as being loud and excessive was considered vvvv unelegant and embarrassing.) i’ve seen people mention that already though, so i’m not gonna talk about it).
in the group scene, they all shout “eolsu!” and wave their hands around, which all directly points to traditional korean dance. i couldn’t pinpoint exactly what type they were doing, but a thing that stands true for all traditional dances were that they were meant for the court only (the masses or “simple people” had other forms of entertainment, like traditional acrobatics, rope walking, etc.) dancers weren’t usually high-ranking though, they were seen more as the jesters of the court - as jokes. often, dancers would be exploited and abused by the court. thus, bts is saying that they’re seen as low-ranking jesters who will play into every demand of those they perform for - the high-ranking officials and royal family.
quick extra fun fact - the mountains in the back are characteristic of traditional korean paintings. one of the most famous ones looks like this
and is called “Being in Nature is Better Than Holding Official Rank” (1810, Kim Hongdo). as in, y’know, “lmao i’m a talented, highly-ranked artist but i also wish i could go live in the mountains sometimes and not see any of yall”…. juss saying
the tiger is really important too. tigers are very crucial to korean folklore, to the point where the peninsula of korea has been compared to a tiger for the longest time.
(a lil imagination goes a long way)
however !!!!!!!! here’s the coolest part.
for a second right at the beginning, the tiger goes white.
this right here is even MORE important. white tigers were considered the sacred animal of korea back in ye olden days. it was believed that, to become one, a normal tiger had to endure hardships and trials successfully, no matter how hard it was for the tiger. however, once they passed through them, they would become sacred. white tigers were considered protectors. a white tiger had the power to compel corrupt kings to become moral and stingy officials to become generous. bts is essentially saying they’ve been through some stuff and they’re not afraid to admit it because it made them better in the end.
yeah,,, this gon be a diss track alright.
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
stormborns
izzy806
germansingergirl
2087
