Discography Discussion: Outside Castle
If you were to make a list of H.O.T’s or K-Pop’s best songs, chances are “Outside Castle” wouldn’t be on there. While the track itself is gorgeous, it’s often forgotten about.
“Outside Castle” is the name of and title song of H.O.T’s fifth and final album that was released on September 29th, 2000. It wasn’t promoted for nearly as long as other albums, and that could be a contributing factor as to why it’s been forgotten so much. And compared to previous albums, “Outside Castle” is quite mellow and thoughtful. Even though the members didn’t release the album knowing it was going to be their last, it does have the feeling of being a fitting conclusion to a remarkable discography. Besides of “Outside Castle”, the only other track most fans know from this album is “A Song For Lady” as it has clips from the popular drama, “Autumn in my Heart”. Fun fact: If you look at the full list of songs on the album, you’ll notice a song called “Shinvi”, which is interesting as it shares the name with a short-lived girl group that was promoted by SM Entertainment in 2002.
H.O.T’s Message and Performance of Outside Castle
“Outside Castle” was composed and choreographed by Heejun, with the English rap written by Tony. While a cursory look at the lyrics might lead you to think this is just a ballad about love, being able to see H.O.T fully perform the choreography will help you to see the full story.
If you were to ask me what’s my favorite performance in K-Pop history, I would direct you to this video. From the small string section, to the choreography emphasizing the lyrics, this performance is a far cry from “Candy” and “We Are the Future”, and even “I-Yah”, and is proof of how their maturity as artists had grown.
Going back to the meaning of “Outside Castle”, the biggest choreography point that probably stands out to you is the use of sign language. So what are they saying in sign language and why was it included in choreography? If you scroll down to the comments, you’ll see the answer:
While I’m not that good at sign language and can’t check if these claims are true, there are two pieces that back up these claims.
First, while the album picture I included at the top of this post is the one you’ll see if you purchase the “Outside Castle” album on iTunes, there is another cover that includes the album title in Braille and the subtitle “They are not different from us.”
Secondly, let’s look back at the lyrics with this new perspective in mind.
This world is so hard to live
Is everyone trying to close their eyes?
I am looking at everything in this world with darkness
For everything,
Just to remain surviving,
I, different from everything of yours
Exhausted from the writhing in my heart Everyday (always)
Different gaze from you guys
Look at me with prejudice
Solitarily among people that do not even care
I am living a lonely life
But still the reason I live,
What makes me live,
Is because there is love, hope and love alive in my heart.
For me, the lyrics “Different gaze from you guys” and “Look at me with prejudice” really stand out with this new context. As I mentioned in the I-Yah Discography Discussion, it annoys me that H.O.T aren’t primarily remembered for singing about serious issues in their title tracks.
As you are probably aware, there’s a lot of stigma around disabilities, mental health, and similar topics, and yet H.O.T chose to take it on publicly and make the title track about it, when even today people are hush-hush about it. Just for this song alone, H.O.T acknowledged those who are d/D/HoH (deaf, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing), blind, and (possibly) even those with other physical and mental health issues, and told them they are worth just as much as everyone else.
This is a big deal not only because they’re showing support for those who don’t always receive it, but also because it’s proof that K-Pop isn’t meaningless–especially for those people who insist it’s just a stupid fad teenager girls enjoy.
“Outside Castle” is the underappreciated magnum opus of H.O.T. I’m proud of Heejun for how beautiful the choreography is and how meaningful the lyrics are. And quite frankly, I hope more groups follow in their footsteps and produce tracks like this.
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