GCF in Saipan- A Rant as of August 2018 (Posted December)
(Out in December since I wanted to get a more objective view on things and to edit it slightly. This is just as a memory record anyways so)
When I made this blog, it was meant to be a blog to rant about anything Bangtan that interested me. However, I recently encountered one of the most frustrating, interesting, and baffling two days of my life and I needed to address the cause of this with a rant (that I doubt people will read). The cause: Jungkook’s GCF in Saipan.
WARNING: THIS IS ALL IN GOOD FUN. I claim no rights to what is true or not. Don’t take this too seriously please. Will have Koomin/Jikook references.
To start it off, I don’t like real people shipping. I don’t really care if others do it (as long as they remain sane and logical) but I personally didn’t enjoy doing it for one reason: I don’t know them personally, so it isn’t any of my business. I enjoyed their interactions with each other platonically, using what they gave us upfront as fuel, and whatever else that might be happening to purely up to them. For BTS, I never before cared much for shipping, and just enjoyed every interaction as it is.
Then I watched GCF in Saipan, the catalyst to my descent into a brief insanity. What I can say about Saipan is that it is a theorist haven, perhaps why I’ve become so interested now. By “theorist”, I mean NOT REAL, and my opinions should not be taken as fact. These are all just observations that I personally took from the GCFs.
Perhaps what I should say before going into Saipan specifics is that I watched Tokyo in my early days as a fan. I did not know the context of the song, I did not know Jungkook or Jimin well, so I didn’t think much of it. Of course, I acknowledged it was fairly romantic in setting, but I took it to be interpreted either platonically or romantically, and even now I don’t think too much of it. The video itself has a personal meaning to me: reciprocal love, any shape of it available, with little accents and layers that can be tilted and shifted for the viewer’s own interpretation (as all art). I don’t have too much to say about Tokyo itself, because of how straight forward it is. Saipan is the one that makes no sense if I tried to take it in upfront. I’m not very good at reading behaviors, hence my inability to see what others see as “moments”, but I have done some (very unprofessional) editing before and I absolutely love art analyzing, which the GCFs very clearly are to me.
For this, I will be isolating Saipan in a fairly tight bubble, with little unrelated topics. I won’t be including much outside Jungkook’s art (except in the skeptic area). Some previous GCF mentions/comparisons, some outside views strictly on the films as well will be referenced in the rant itself. Not going to include any deep reading into their overall relationship, mostly an analysis of the GCF.
I watched Saipan (at this point after being a fan for long enough to care) first thinking that something was off. Something wasn’t harmonious with each other. The second time I watched it, I realized the dissonance was between the film and the music. Together, it wasn’t coherent, which is different than all of his work so far. Tokyo, Osaka, even USA though being equally promo-related, they all had more to build upon meaning-wise, the perspectives matched within the film. Saipan’s song both in mood and in subject clashed with the film from beginning to end. Of course, all in my opinion.
Here is the song:
Now, before I go any further, I had an intensive discussion with a mutual on twitter, who is a multi-kpop non-BTS stan. She doesn’t keep up with Bangtan, but she likes some of their songs and is a casual listener. She is also somewhat experienced and knowledgeable in video editing and had very interesting input for the factor of “film sound”, the information from a document which she paraphrased. This was her input through the DMs:
“The Pacific Cinematheque has stated that there two types of sound in film, Diegetic and Non-Diegetic. Diegetic is the sound that we would also experience in real life. Non-Diegetic is any sound we don’t experience in real life like dramatic orchestrated songs or musical score or sound effects like the screeches in the shower scene Psycho.”
“So why do directors use sound? Well (and here it comes) it is to do any of the following 1. add mood 2. add atmosphere to a film. How? By adding these soundscapes that Accent or add another Layer of meaning to the film. The filmmaker wants the audience to perceive the scenes in a specific way, and sound/music leg scenes be seen in the specific way that the director intended. Silence in a film can represent something very important or a turning point. Music, specifically in film, has various uses, but most commonly it is used to “guide the emotional response of the audience”. Music is the clue in scenes, it’s like a huge signpost directing (pun cause the filmmaker is a director anyways off track sorry) the audience on how to react to a scene.”
“So basically what I am saying is that of course Jungkook is aware of the music he’s using in his gcfs, and he’s also aware of the reaction he wants from the films. He used that song because he wanted a specific reaction from the audience, he wanted us viewers to see what his intentions are and at this point I’m insane too cause all I’m thinking is that he wants us to react to Jimin and to focus on that.”
(I may or may not have told her multiple times through out my discussion with her that I feel like I’m going insane. I calmed down before writing this though, for the sake of making any sense and neutrality.)
These are just the basics. If you still aren’t convinced how important a song is in context to a film, then remember: before Jungkook even began making the GCFs, he was doing mainly covers of songs. And he said, specifically to the fans, that the lyrics of his chosen songs are important. He usually chooses them for a reason (what that reason could be, up to the viewer, since he doesn’t outright explain the choices).
So we established that first, Jungkook most likely chose this song with actual thought and intention put into it (again, take that intention with what you may).
Of course, what interested me was Jimin’s parts. Mainly because he is my son (even though I am fairly younger than him), and also because of the teaser Jungkook released shortly before dropping Saipan. Truth be told, I wasn’t really expecting the silly dance nor the punches to be included, as I thought that Jungkook only posted that to show Namjoon and the fans what was going on in the “behind the scenes” video Namjoon posted the day before. Perhaps a little blooper insight. So yes, I was surprised that the scene was included at all, much less becoming a gap-clip repeating between alternating clips of the group and other members. I was also surprised at the amount of time Jimin was shown, as after USA being a very equalized group video, I was expecting the same from Saipan. Similarly to USA, it was very work-oriented and promotional, and also both (definitely USA as from Namjoon’s Vlive) were most likely commissioned by Bighit.
Jimin’s dominates the bridge. By dominate, I mean he is the only one with a completely exclusive part in this particular GCF. Verse 1 was Taehyung, verse 2 was Hoseok, and the choruses are a mix. Jimin appears the most not only through adding up all the small clips, but because he takes up two solid blocks of the song, both with the same context and lyrics. The reason why the it’s hard for me to link the others with their individual parts is because of the way they were shot, the clips that were chosen, all very aesthetically pleasing but difficult to find depth or flow in. Jimin’s parts almost had a story line. This is important to me because of the lyrics, which we shall visit now.
First the meaning of the song. John K. in an interview: He describes the bouncy track’s meaning as “[about] evolving through young love, admitting to past mistakes and committing to giving someone the best possible version of yourself.”
To be honest, this song is not as ambiguous to me as There For You, Troye Sivan, Tokyo GCF. Sure, Troye Sivan is a gay artist, and the song lyrics are directed at a boy. But the lyrics themselves I do think can be taken in any shape of love. For Best of Me, this is not the case. I think Verse 2 is the clearest reason for this:
Waking up next to you
Got you back in my arms
Don't it feel like it use to
Like we were never apart
Never thought I would see you
Now we're loving in the dark
We can't fight this feeling
While I’m a staunch believer in lyrics being universally interpreted and available to all versions of personal view (take Osaka as an example, which is another fairly straightforward GCF), to make it simpler for myself right now and with the tinfoil hat on, I’ll stick with what the song can be most basically understood: lovers who are loving in secret, but wants to be let free.
Here comes a bit tinfoil (not really shippy, but more reading into what it could mean artistically. Purely subjective interpretation):
Now, without going into the ship or anything at all first, here is my artistic interpretation of Jungkook’s editing: the lyrics may be directed at Jimin, but I personally can also intemperate that Jimin in the video embodies the lyrics, or the lyrics embody Jimin in the video. Either way works for me. This is interpretation in the same way people interpret the smile of Mona Lisa (purely individualistic), and it doesn’t rely too much on Jungkook’s true intentions here. Again, I don’t claim any of this as the true meaning, as to me there is no true meaning needed for me.
In the video, Jimin shows the rawest actions. He barely pays attention to the camera half of the time, and when he does, it’s for the sake of the cameraman (Jungkook). This can be seen when in the second bridge part, he shows Jungkook his own camera just off screen, and during the second chorus, he high-fives Jungkook, just off screen once more. I believe Jungkook also chose these parts intentionally, especially the sneeze during the second bridge that he zoomed in on. No matter if the purpose was just to clown Jimin (also possible), it still leads an interesting narrative for me (I know I repeated this multiple times, but no, this may not be the intentions of Jungkook, and it is my own view on it as an art form). The lyrics “I don’t wanna hide no more” building up to “Imma let you get the best of me” was in sync with the way how Jimin bursts from a serious expression into a silly dance, with the silliness continuing later after the chorus and verse 2 into the second bridge. He is true to his actions, letting go of inhibition, essentially not hiding, lying, nor acting anymore. All genuine, silly, honest moments, such as the sneezing, the off camera action, etc.
The editing for the dance part is interesting too. As I said before, I wasn’t expecting it, so it was interesting when it seemed Jungkook added a separate track and layered other clips on top of the silly dancing. This one might be a bit of a stretch, but I can see it like the clips of the groups randomly were “hiding” the silly dancing. No particular meaning needed really, just a technique used in editing that, to me, matches the lyrics in an unintended way. Those were just my thoughts when considering the possibilities of the lyrics, and the visual is pretty cool in the narration. I know from experience that it’s much easier to layer clips (BTS eating) over a longer clip (Jimin dancing) rather than cut them individually to fit around each other. So that’s just a neat observation lol.
Artistically speaking, Jimin is the only solid narrative and character within the video because there seems to be an actual correlation between the actions he does chronologically with the lyrics given for him. I find it interesting how he and the lyrics embody each other as the video went on. Again, my personal take on a work of art.
Now here’s the ultimate tinfoil-kinda-shippy part of my post. ALL PURE SPECULATION.
This video can be conceptually all about the “hidden”. Looking at this as a GCF, in comparison to his two earliest works, it is a lot more promotional, like USA (I actually have some thoughts on USA and Bangtan as well, and may think about writing a post for it. It’s not gonna be as bad as this one though).
Perspective of GCFs before Saipan:
Onto the subject of music perspectives, Jungkook so far as established a trend of using the perspective within the songs to be directed at the people starring in it, most noticeably in Osaka, with the way the lyrics were directed/about either Jimin or Taehyung’s roles/characters in the film from a first person perspective speaking. Tokyo as well with the last few lines of “running running just to keep my hands upon you”, showing the camera in the perspective of being behind Jimin as he got farther away with the first person pronoun. USA with the “we” point of view, which is then including the film’s perspective as part of the “we”, especially noticed when Jungkook goes to shake Zedd’s hand. I assume then that Jungkook uses the music choices as a way to direct to the people or to include himself in it at some points, rather than being a passive outside third person view. Now that GCF in Newark is out, that is even more obvious, though I also find Newark to be a diverging path in his medium exploration, so the perspective is more centered around himself rather than those around him. GCF in Saipan was made with the same format as those before it so my thoughts on its techniques are the same (I will be ignoring Newark for now since it’s format is so radically different, as well as the fact that its creation doesn’t affect his previous works).
This is important in the case of Saipan being very dissonant with the the perspectives of the film and of the song. Beyond my personal artistic perspective above (which, in my interpretation, I believe is another layer to the narrative, as multiple meanings within art is always the best). Say that the lyrics are from the point of view of the camera as a character in the film (Jungkook), which so far it has been for most of the GCFs. USA’s perspective made sense in that it was a group song, and it’s about a "we”, including Jungkook, reminiscing the old days. Generally equalized screen-time for each member, first person plural perspective, you get it. Sure, the tone and mood of it was off, but at least the perspective made sense. Saipan’s perspective and mood both don’t make sense. As a whole, Best of Me as a song choice doesn’t make much sense, given the perspective of it. Very different to USA, which I previously thought Saipan was going to emulate for reasons already stated.
Saipan is biased to Jimin based on the film and lyric placement, as previously stated, and so narrative-wise, it is also Jimin-biased. The song choice itself is also strange in that Saipan’s song is very clearly not a group song. It is a song with a “me” and a “you”. During the bridges, it’s even more clear how the “me” and “you” works. With the camera being the perspective, the “me” is the singer speaking, and the “you” (if we base this off of how Jungkook’s use of perspective works thus far) is directed at whoever is on screen. The same way Tokyo was directed at Jimin, and in Osaka, Jimin and Taehyung appeared whenever the lyrics were directed at them (Taehyung appearing at “he’s taking your side of the bed” so he is the subject of the “you” in that set of lyrics, similar to how “running running just to keep my hands upon you” in Tokyo, the “you” was Jimin. Again, Jungkook uses the camera as part of the narrative, hence the use of communication between camera and “actor”).
Well, you may ask, why isn’t anyone else’s part in the going to be the same? Especially Hoseok’s part, which to be honest, I’m surprised no one mentioned much? They mentioned how the song had questionably romantic lyrics, and everyone freaked out about how beautiful Hobi was in the video (same though) but his part coincided with those questionable lyrics I mentioned earlier. Why doesn’t that indicate Jungkook proclaiming his undying love for Hobi? Well, the main reason is most likely “selective context”. That part by itself could allude to that, but as a whole, the film focused on someone else. So this is an example of taking parts of something to make a different whole. That’s why the structure of Saipan felt different than those before it. Tokyo was linear, Osaka was alternating between two, USA was group, and Saipan is... weird.
So, during the bridges, the “me” is the “I don’t wanna hide no more, I don’t wanna lie no more” and the “you” is “’cause what I found in you is so real”. Depending on who the camera’s perspective is, this can be taken in many different ways. However, USA makes me believe that the camera itself is really Jungkook (as I always assumed so) and not the fans, a third person, etc. If the “me” is Jungkook, and the “you” is Jimin - well, I did sort of lose my sanity for two whole days.
In short, for an entire two days I was convinced Jungkook was in love with Jimin or at least had some sort of romantic connection with him in some way. Not that they were in a relationship, I was feeling something much too sudden for me to give it labels, and much too isolated to consider any “big picture”. And I felt like I was going insane because of how out of the blue my own reaction was. As I said before, I’m no shipper. So it was shocking and a little terrifying when I was so convinced. (I am calmer now, and have a relatively more neutral stance on the pairing once more, thankfully).
The main reason why I was so convinced previously was because of one reason: with input from my perspective analysis, I believe the GCFs are from Jungkook’s point of view (as we all believe). With the song choice and the clips chosen, it was a surprise to me when I thought about the film more carefully. I don’t ship BTS because to me, those are outside opinions on what’s happening, behavioral analysis videos, coincidence theories, etc. Sure, they can be interesting, sometimes cute, but I don’t see any need to support or pay too much mind to it. With GCFs, it was different because this was not outside perspective. This was Jungkook. This was his video, that he filmed and edited and spent time on. Like with his covers, as he had told us before, they (could) have meaning. They (could) tell a story, that may change the way you view his work. So what exactly could he be trying to tell us has been interesting for me to interpret. Of course, I still don’t think it matters much to have an absolute “True Meaning” unless he gives out one, and even then, art is appreciated in many ways, with so many facets and personal subjective connections. I don’t think I’m right, just that it’s what I perceived. And for me, it took me off guard how disconnected from the rest of the film the bridges were. They were so different in mood, in style, the bias, the commutative narrative going on. I couldn’t understand what Jungkook was saying, unlike all GCFs previous where it felt more coherent and I could at least somewhat figure out his message. And while perhaps Saipan simply doesn’t have a message, that’s hard to believe with this ongoing narrative.
This basically comes down to the opposing ideals in my mind. On one hand, I would hate to assume anything about someone I don’t actually know, especially when it’s something so personal and not-my-business. On the other hand, I would hate to dismiss anything that could be meaningful from an artist who put a lot of thought and handwork into a project of their’s. Something my art teacher of four years told me before “don’t be scared of being wrong about reading into an artwork, because they want you to see the things you are seeing”. Perhaps it’s all on purpose without any personal meaning? Maybe. I’ll stick with the “meaningful narrative but not necessarily romantic” for my own safety.
Who knows? Here’s some counterclaims to cheer you up and help me regain sanity.
Speculative counterarguments with responses and more doubt and speculation (my irl friend helped to come up with some of them, just in case):
Counterclaim:The song is meant to be taken platonically, with more focus on literal meaning on the chorus parts “Imma let you get the best of me”, aimed at either the members or at the fans. The song may also be promotional due to it having the same name as one of their own song. This means the entire video was focused more on promo (like the end “Summer Package” text).
Response: Jungkook does care about lyrics, and even with promo possibly being the main focus (which I do think it is a big part of it), I don’t think he will choose a song with the same name at random. However, it is possible he wanted to choose a song with the same name (promo, personal reason, who knows) and also thought the lyrics applied minimally (and liked it musically). As I said before, I am a big “lyrics can mean anything” person, so taking romantic lyrics and using them for platonic or other situations is something I can see happening. So yeah. This is definitely possible.
Counterclaim: Jimin is focused on for the bridge part because of the lyrics “I don’t wanna lie no more” tying to his “Lie” solo from Wings (my friend is the one who came up with this one)
Response: This one I find there is a low possibility of. Mostly because even if that was the case, why would Jimin dominate the entire bridge, including the other lyrics? Jungkook could have easily edited in other members, like the mixture he does for the verses and especially the choruses. Just put in a little shot of Jimin at the lie part and move on. So, this is unlikely (along with the fact that I really doubt Jungkook chooses songs and clips based on that) Which leads to the next counter:
Counterclaim: Jungkook very simply enjoys filming Jimin most, due to familiarity and Jimin being more comfortable with it. He’s at the bridges for content symmetry and also because there were simply more footage of him because of ease and accumulation. He sees Jimin as a very fun and goofy person, so he used the funny clips. There is no deeper meaning behind Jimin’s shots.
Response: Sure, I guess. This comes down to “how personal are the GCFs for Jungkook?”, which I would personally say very much so but I digress. They’ve already proven that Jungkook enjoys pointing the camera Jimin a lot in recent interviews (5th army mainly). I still think the most questionable parts of the video was how Jimin was singled out at the bridge parts and what the lyrics could possibly mean along with that, but I won’t rule this one out for the sake of accumulating other possibilities, no matter how much I believe in Jungkook’s artistic vision and my innate enjoyment in getting random meanings out of everything for fun. Again, platonic intention is possible to me. You may disagree, and that’s completely fine. I’m still neutral about this, because hey, anything is possible. So don’t get too carried away.
Counterclaim: So what about Osaka, if you consider the lyrics literally? Does that mean Taehyung, Jimin, and Junkook are in a love triangle?
Response: Honestly, I would like to do a personal analysis of Osaka in a separate post in the future (if I have time). Here’s a taste of what I think of it in a shorter answer to Osaka in general: it is actually possibly my favorite GCF, reasons being that I adore the the little no-music cuts Jungkook did, and also because Vmin is one of my favorite relationships in Bangtan. Due to sentimental reasons, Vmin has a very special place to my heart. Osaka feeds that part of my soul I suppose. Now, about the lyrics and the supposed love training happening, the thing is that Osaka is very different from Saipan in terms of use of perspective, use of cuts, screen time, etc. Personally, I see Osaka as a film about the maknae-line as a whole, with a smidgen of Jimin-bias. I don’t see the film about a love triangle, especially not a romantic one. Hope I can make a separate post detailing this.
Now that I’m done, I want people to not overthink it too much (unlike me). Of course, Saipan for me personally was just incredibly interesting because of how off and strange it felt to me in comparison to the other GCFs, but in regards to shipping, don’t invest too much emotionally. Enjoy what you get from all members, get attached to a pair maybe. But don’t let it completely take over your life. I like the speculative agnostic approach best (similar to my favorite blogger in regards to KM). Sure, Saipan had me go insane for two days straight out of the blue, but coming down from the insanity was a learning experience, especially returning to my neutral stance, which I enjoy greatly.
Making this more clear once again: this is not a post exposing Jungkook or anything. I do not claim any of this as his real thoughts. In fact, I don’t even believe any of what I’ve interpreted entirely. Those to me are “possibilities” to be thought, but not to be declared as truth. I think I’m probably wrong about a lot of this. Since again, why else do people still question what exactly Mona Lisa was smiling so mysteriously about? (she knows something we don’t, as the critics say).
If you want a more impartial opinion on GCF in Saipan, I recommend this director's outlook. I recommend using a non-biased mind to read this non-biased outlook. It is very interesting by itself as a professional's opinion. Please do not take the post as fodder for ships nor the definitive meaning of Saipan (if there even was one, who knows). We will never know for sure unless Jungkook ever decided to explain it if he wishes to. And if he never does, that’s fine too. Distinguishing what is reality, what is our reality, and what is someone else’s reality is extremely important.
Thanks for reading if you did! Hope it wasn’t the most awful thing ever. Tell me what you think about my interpretation, my opinions, counterarguments and counter-counterarguments. I do like KM as a ship now in some way, but again, all in good fun, and I don’t really want to give the relationship any labels. I don’t really want to take any of this too far other than a long rant to let out some parallel universe thoughts.
This was made also before I really got into any KM speculation, and it’s all very interesting. But I currently don’t really want to form a solid opinion on anything, or read too deeply. Maybe I will, one day. Or not. Since like I said, I’m not good at reading people.
It’s very likely no one will even see this, but as a personal record of my thoughts, it feels good to put them down.
Before I begin this, here is a post on what exactly shipping is, as well as the difference between it and supporting. The second part is a good explanation of Shipping and RPS, in case you do not know the background behind the term. To give a basic premise on what the beginning is, the main difference between shipping and supporting is that:
Shipping:
Personal desire for a pair to be together.
Supporting:
Outlook on a pair possibly being together.
There are overlapping actions they both perform, such as enjoying the pair in general. I definitely suggest looking into the link. Of course, it is slightly biased (in terms of the rest of this ramble, as it is going to be about Bangtan of course) due to the mention of KM, but the information there is something I do agree with. I do think that Shipping and Supporters both “support” the pair, but for different reasons. I think the easiest way to think of it is this: shippers (tend to) look at the end result of them being together, while supporters (tend to) look at what builds the body of the relationship. Again, they overlap a bit, but these are where tendencies lie for the two.
For this ramble, as it is purely opinions and personal experience, take everything with a grain of salt. Comparatively to others who have been here longer, I am much less experienced with the history of Bangtan. I am on the international side, with no knowledge of the Korean (nor Japanese, as a lot of content seems to be there as well) language. Of course, there are translations, of which I rely on multiple sources in hopes of negating misleading or mistranslated words, or cultural barriers in understanding (just for reference, my favorite translator may be peachboy on twitter. There are a few others as well).
That being said let’s begin.
Before BTS
I had no interest in celebrities, famous figures, etc., much less Real People Shipping. In fact, I found the notion of it to be incredibly awkward. Why push romantic framing on people who could be directly affected by the public? Fictional characters can be manipulated to explore possibilities without affecting the canon universe, and people could make up parts of their backstories and thoughts to suit their own little universe parallel to the canon. With real people, it felt incredibly distasteful to make assumptions about them, added with the fact I knew none of them personally.
To be fair, I still think that. Hence why I am still not a RPS. Even with fictional characters, I wasn’t much of a shipper. I was still more of a supporter even then, distinguishing very clearly what is “canon” and what is “head canon” without disrupting the original universe. I had no real need to see the pairs I liked be together. Instead, I enjoyed the possibilities of their dynamics separately to what may or may not be true. Then again, I enjoyed comedy and adventure manga generally a little more than romance-oriented. Might be why.
Meeting BTS
I first heard of BTS in 2016 from a friend. Then I promptly forgot about them and k-pop entirely until May 2018. If asked, I could tell you the long story of the strange coincidences I had concerning the group within those two years, but, long story turned short, I didn’t like the song she showed me in 2016, but I did like the song I happened upon purely by coincidence in 2018. I don’t keep up with the news, with social media, anything. So it really was serendipitous (wink) that I stumbled upon them once again (there was a chain of events that led to it), and was reintroduced with a more open musical mind to rap (that occurred within the two years I forgot about them).
(I know I keep referencing the two years, but because this ramble isn’t focused on it. I will go into detail separately if anyone is curious)
I liked their music, but upon searching for more content, I was surprised by the frankly overwhelming material concerning the boys themselves. Keep in mind that I have never cared for celebrities before, so I was skeptical. There are a few that I remember being early non-music related videos I’ve seen, but one of the earliest was a “Jikook moments” video. So, my first exposure into BTS ships was Jimin and Jungkook. I don’t remember its contents, but my reaction was pretty neutral. At this point, I hardly know the boys themselves, so it wasn’t really appealing to me. Jungkook perhaps I noticed as an individual first (though Jimin was the musical introduction for me into the group, and later, the emotional introduction) but mostly in a neutral way as well, without any real connection yet. To be honest, he is perhaps also the last person I began understanding well out of the group, though it is true that he’s easier to understand after getting to know him (Hoseok, on the other hand became more of an enigma the deeper I got into his personality. That’s for another day as well).
To give a better perspective on what I mean by Jimin being my emotional introduction, I was lead to getting to know the other members through their interaction with Jimin. This was back in the days where I was still trying to figure out who was who in BTS considering their roles, and a video called “Jimin’s secret role in BTS” mislead me to the right place. But really, a compilation him doing nice things, being thoughtful and supportive, etc. was what made me like him and made me curious about BTS as people. His actions to each of the members and their individual dynamics made me curious about the other members because of how good-natured they all were. Now, I have different reasons I like each of the members individually of course, but you could say Jimin is my catalyst into becoming a fan of more than just their music.
It was only after somewhat gaining more perspective on the boys where I became curious about the ships. I saw Taekook, Sope, Namjin, obviously Jikook, Jihope, and more. I saw a couple videos concerning popular ships. YoonMin is the first that I became more knowledgeable about and I enjoyed their dynamic, though it’s not currently my favorite. They have a supportive relationship, and I could see why they were popular with many people, given that many people view of their personalities as opposites. However, I didn't really see the need to view them as romantic, but I do still enjoy their dynamic quite a lot and I like that their closeness. (On a different note, I dislike the overtly polarized view some more radical shippers have of them within this relationship, with their personalities becoming one dimensional and sometimes downright unlikable. Non-applicable to every shipper, of course).
Current
I feel like I should say here that I don’t really see any of the members as romantic. This is a personal problem I have. I’m very bad at reading social-behaviors. Similar in a way some people may be bad at reading moods and atmospheres, I’m just not good at reading obscure behaviors, such as tone of voice, gaze, some body language, etc. Hence why I don’t trust myself to read into anything too much myself (nor am I really aware unless it’s pointed out to me, usually). Sure, it is interesting to read other people’s views on romantic inclinations, but I don’t really analyze anything myself. A lot of times when I watch what they analyzed, it really doesn’t mean much to me, which I still attribute to my personal problem. Of course, I could tell there is love, it’s more just that I don’t really care about what sort of love it has to be. It could be anything, and I don’t really find it within my desires to pick and choose. Not to say that doing so is bad, just that I don’t feel the need to right now. Maybe that will change in the future, who knows.
I also never quite understood why people have to so strongly advocate a romantic relationship to the point of madness. This does not mean I don’t understand people seeing something romantic between a pair, and wanting them to be happy. It’s when a shipper’s belief begins to heavily warp their reality beyond comprehension and harming those around them that makes me concerned. I had a very immediate contact with this behavior after just the first few weeks on twitter, when I was still trying to know more about who BTS were. If you want to know more, ask and I will post.
So right now, I don’t actively/strongly support anything romantic because a) I’m not very good at reading people’s behaviors and emotions to begin with and b) I don’t feel any real need to. My favorite relationships within the group are probably Vmin, Jinmin, and Jinkook, the former being very important and sentimental to me, the latter two just very fun bonds to appreciate. Recently, I do enjoy reading Jikook or KM stuff, as their dynamic has become more interesting after I dug into it. As I said before, they were the first ship I’ve heard of, but I hadn’t payed much attention to them until four months after getting into BTS and watched all of the GCFs. After reading some very insightful analysis on their dynamic from actual KM stuff, I can appreciate why people do see them as romantic. Personally I couldn’t really say anything either way, just the same for other ships that I don’t care as much for. Just glad that they love and care for each other. That being said, will I reblog support/ship things? Probably yes, since some of them have actually very interesting content.
I’m ending this on the note that there are some pairings I personally like more than others, but I see all of them as valid pairs to support, platonically or romantically if wanted, because I do think their dynamic as a group is very strong. In the end, whether any of them are romantically involved or not, if they choose to be open about it, I will gladly welcome and accept them, and if that never happens, it really isn’t any of our business anyway. I urge everyone to not become so entangled with a pairing that you begin to make baseless assumptions that could hurt others, and to know that Bangtan, no matter where their bond as a group will go in the future (cynical nihilistic world view coming through), that they do all care for each other.
Today we announced some big updates to our Community Guidelines and what kind of content is permitted on Tumblr. Adult content will no longer be allowed here. While we do not judge anyone for their desire to post, engage with, or view this stuff, it is time for us to change our relationship with it.
We expect you may have some questions on how this will affect you, and we’re here to make sure those questions get answered.
When does the new policy take effect?
Our new Community Guidelines will go into effect on December 17, 2018.
Newly uploaded content flagged as adult will no longer be allowed on Tumblr. We’ll also begin flagging and removing existing adult content with the ultimate goal of removing as much of it as we can.
What is considered adult content?
Adult content primarily includes photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.
What is still permitted?
Examples of exceptions that are still permitted are exposed female-presenting nipples in connection with breastfeeding, birth or after-birth moments, and health-related situations, such as post-mastectomy or gender confirmation surgery. Written content such as erotica, nudity related to political or newsworthy speech, and nudity found in art, such as sculptures and illustrations, are also stuff that can be freely posted on Tumblr.
You’re fucking ridiculous if you think tumblr’s porn/nudity ban actually has to do with child pornography. Literally every other site can effectively moderate this issue and tumblr has been actively closing in further on their anti-NSFW move. Many sex workers and NSFW artists were removed starting last month after the iOS app was removed from the App Store. Look at FOSTA/SESTA, look at the moves throughout the year to push sex workers and NSFW artists away, look at the way Patreon, Paypal, Craigslist, credit card companies, etc. have over-policed this issue and forced sex workers away. This is all so obvious.
Also, explicitly banning and calling out “female-presenting nipples” - note there’s an exception if it’s after giving birth or during breastfeeding because OBVIOUSLY the only way breasts and nipples are okay is when you’re fulfilling your goddamn job of being an incubator and not just posting nipples wilfully or for (gasp) money. Because obviously, when we’re talking about the banning of child pornopraphy we must target “female-presenting nipples” and let everyone know that those are the real problem. Nipples are only okay when they’re “male-presenting” and in the proximity of a newborn that is confirmed yours.
Like c’mon… FOSTA/SESTA has been presented under the guise of fighting human trafficking just like these moves are no different. If they wanted to go after these very real issues then they would and they definitely wouldn’t be (dangerously) conflating the issues. Also why can I still look up violent pro-Nazi, antisemitic imagery but not a goddamn nipple??
BTW read into how Apple has been forcefully pushing for this move & how easily they can go after other NSFW-content websites and force them to comply.
TheEastLight is a Kpop group, designed as a rock band of sorts. They debuted very young and are very talented kids. You may have already seen the story circulating about the abuse they have suffered by a producer in their company and their CEO. Everyone complicit at Media Line Entertainment needs to be held accountable and responsible for this abject cruelty.
The eldest and leader of TheEastLight, Seokcheol (still only 18), had the extraordinary courage to bring this to public attention. The Kpop subreddit has a comprehensive translation of his words from the press conference. Much of it is highly disturbing detail of the treatment his band endured. LINK HERE
It’s plenty bad enough that any person would experience this abuse, but keep in mind that a few of them were 11 and 12 years old when this started. They were little kids with zero power in their position or ability to protect themselves.
It’s heinous.
Many of us who have been Kpop fans for a long time are well aware of the darkest parts of this industry. There is corruption. There is abuse. There is exploitation. Investing in this form of entertainment with this knowledge is a matter of hoping the system will improve and cautiously trusting that our favorite artists are being treated with respect and dignity. When that trust is broken, we must be loud about it. We must do what we can for those who are brave enough to reach out and seek help.
Fans of TheEastLight. created a petition to the Blue House, which must be responded to if it receives 200,000 signatures. They’re about halfway there currently. Please help by participating in this petition. Instructions are in the Twitter thread.
LINK to @TEL_Base instructions
#JusticeForTheEastLight
Keep the conversation up. Engage with news sites around the web whenever you see an article about this. Upvote, like, comment, retweet, whatever you can do. Let’s shine a huge light on these boys and show our support.
Warning: Article contains descriptions of violence.
The East Light’s leader and member Lee Seok Cheol recently opened up about the physical and verbal abuse from their agency’s producer and CEO.
On October 19, along with a lawyer named Jung Ji Seok, Lee Seok Cheol attended the planned press conference and spoke on the recent reports of abuse. Previously, it was reported that the members of The East Light suffered from physical and verbal abuse from producer “A” as well as Media Line Entertainment’s CEO Kim Chang Hwan starting from before their debut until last year.
During the press conference, Lee Seok Cheol stated, “As the leader of The East Light and as one of the K-pop artists who lead Korean culture, I could no longer tolerate the pain that our members were going through. We decided to hold a press conference in hopes of eliminating child abuse and violation of human rights in the K-pop industry.”
He shared, “From 2015 to 2017, the producer repeatedly made us get on the floor as he hit our buttocks with baseball bats and iron bars in the practice room or in the recording studio. He even threatened to kill us if we ever told our parents.”
Lee Seok Cheol also mentioned his little brother Lee Seung Hyun, who is in the same group. “My brother was locked in the recording studio and the producer hit his head, thighs, arms, and buttocks so many times. His head had bloody wounds and bruises. He’s been traumatized after all the threats and violence, and he is currently getting psychotherapy treatment.”
The group’s lawyer Jung Ji Suk also revealed that Lee Seung Hyun was forced to leave the group after protesting to the CEO about the return of producer “A” to the agency. Jung Ji Suk stated, “Lee Seung Hyun and Lee Seok Cheol’s parents did not know about this until the agency promised them that violence towards the members would never happen again. They did not know that the violence happened repeatedly. They only knew about one incident. They found out about the whole situation after they pleaded with their sons to tell them everything when Lee Seung Hyun got removed from the group.”
He added, “Not only Lee Seung Hyun but also Lee Seok Cheol decided that they cannot stay with this inhumane agency any longer. We have decided to take legal action against both producer ‘A’ and CEO Kim Chang Hwan.”
The East Light’s agency previously released an official statement regarding producer “A” as well as the CEO.
October 19, following repeated denials by Media Line Entertainment’s CEO Kim Chang Hwanthat he ever abused or ignored violence against members of The East Light, JTBC’s “News Room” released an audio recording from The East Light’s Lee Seok Cheol of the CEO speaking to him after he made it known that he was going to go public about the abuse.
In the recording, Kim Chang Hwan says, “If you’ve entrusted [someone] with something, than you need to leave it alone even if they beat you to death. If you make the paper as a celebrity, you won’t have any ground to stand on, you **. Who’s going to ** take in a kid with problems? You can’t make a big deal out of this, you can’t. Your parents will just be more upset. Ten times more upset than they are now.”
Regarding the audio file, Media Line claimed that while the conversation between Kim Chang Hwan and Lee Seok Cheol did get heated, “[Kim Chang Hwan] just wanted to help all the members continue to do music.”
this shit fucked up hyuna wrote this letter on October 4th after being promised to get a response and just being fed with excuses. she said she was gonna hold a press conference if they didn’t respond by October 15th and they literally announced her contract termination the day before that to keep their image.
When you read the comments online, it’s pathetic, it’s not a surprise that our word is so messed up. People are blaming her? Do they really think that it’s how human beings are supposed to behave, “she had a contract” they say…Sc**** the contract, they punished her, locked her out, kept her in the dark on purpose. She is not a newbie, she was part of their company for so long. I don’t care what was on her contract, SHE DESERVED BETTER from her employer, she deserved better as a human being.
I don’t understand how anyone can just side blindly with Cube…Sometimes I don’t understand the world we live in.
She is a woman of course she is going to be more severely punished….
The BTS Live Show Is a Glowing, Self-Affirming Safe Haven
For fans of the Korean boyband, like myself, their “love yourself” mantra swells in size in a live setting like London’s O2 Arena.
Do you know BTS? In case you don’t, or have chosen to willfully ignore them so far, here’s a quick rundown: they’re a seven-member K-pop group from South Korea, whose music treads the line between multiple musical genres, from EDM to hip-hop. The band is composed of Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seokjin (Jin), Min Yoongi (SUGA), Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Park Jimin (Jimin), Kim Taehyung (V) and Jeon Jungkook (Jungkook). They write, produce, and are directly involved in the creative process of all their albums, having won multiple awards, both in their home country and internationally. They were the first K-pop group to win a major American award and to speak at the United Nations. They have more than once been directly tweeted by the president of South Korea. And although they have been actively performing since 2013, this Tuesday marked their first-ever performance in the UK.
Approaching the O2 Arena, on an otherwise quiet sunny day, I see flocks of the band’s fans—like, what looks like a crowd of thousands—gathering around posters of the boys, sitting in circles with bluetooth speakers blasting songs from their discography or queueing up to buy merchandise. In a few hours, they’ll be inside, forming a galaxy that can be seen from the stage by holding up a shining light stick device called the ARMY bomb. The swarm of their glow will symbolize each fan’s place in the stands, extending as far as my eyes can see and flickering, sometimes blue, sometimes multicolor, sometimes purple. Each person in that arena will soon be hanging on to every word spoken, in English and Korean, by the seven young men currently hailed by many as the world’s biggest boyband.
These fans sitting around, known as ARMY, are almost as famous as the band itself. Fiercely devoted, they’re able to mobilize themselves en masse and sell out stadiums like no one else—as well as being often misrepresented by media outlets as insane screaming teenage girls with no substance, who “don’t even understand the lyrics.” Because, of course, for some critics young women are not allowed to be passionate about anything without being submitted to ridicule.
“It’s so sad that some people think that music doesn’t have the same meaning just because it’s in another language—it can be just as beautiful and meaningful”, says Rachel, 15. “They think we’re just fanning over some good-looking guys, and that’s not it. Yes, they are pretty, but that’s not all. They work so, so hard, and they’ve made it so far, and the fact they did that makes you feel like you can do anything you want, too.”
But despite the misguided claims of superficiality, ARMY, standing alongside BTS (as the group always remember to point out), are currently leading a radical self-love movement, propelled by the band’s latest series of albums, Love Yourself: Her, Tear and Answer. Each album openly follows the band’s own collective and individual journey towards self-love, going from a youthful, naive perspective of searching for love in others to coming to love and accept themselves, despite flaws or previous mishaps.
The Love Yourself album series also included a collaborative campaign with UNICEF, LOVE MYSELF, which started in November 2017, raising more than $1 million for the UN agency’s #EndViolence campaign and culminating in RM’s much-blogged, touching speech at the UN. There, he coined a new mantra of acceptance: “Speak yourself”.
“Loving yourself is so important—BTS really made me realize a lot of things”, says Hannah, 17, a BTS fan since 2013. “When I watched RM at the UN—I thought it was funny at the beginning, not going to lie, but it really hit me: he’s right. He was talking about how he didn’t accept some things about himself – so I realised I need to accept where I’m from, because I used to be embarrassed about it – since I used to be bullied for being Somalian and all that. Now I just embrace it. And it’s cool.”
“Loving yourself is so important—BTS really made me realize a lot of things.”
Personally, I stumbled upon my first BTS video three years ago—during the height of my depression, back in my parents’ house, while recovering from a major mental breakdown. The seven members, in their sailor outfits dancing along in perfect sync to a mash-up of “Rollin’” by Limp Bizkit and becoming a human-made machine gun, were the first people to make me feel anything other than the dread and tiredness I’d become so familiar with for the previous two years. Today, sitting here at the concert, at nearly 25 and with my multiple tattoos, I’m wearing a self-made “Goths love Jin” lapel pin and keeping a sign with SUGA’s face on it inside of my bag. I have watched thousands of hours’ worth of BTS videos and interviews and yes, I have them as the background on my phone.
Like me, there are many others around at the O2 arena tonight waiting for the performance. A noticeably diverse group of people—with a distinct young feminine majority, but including all genders and ages—who have found a haven of safety not only in BTS’s music, but their distinct personalities, intense work ethos, amazing chemistry and, above all, openness in their communication with fans. And that feels like something rare, not only when it comes to a K-Pop group, but in the world of celebrities in general.
“I read this tweet that said ‘BTS comes into your life when you need them the most’, and I couldn’t stress that more,” says Charlie, 30, who has been a BTS fan for a year. “When me [and my friend Em] started getting into them, we were in a slump—going through a quarter-life crisis, and it just put so much positivity into our lives. I think there’s something really nice about focusing your time and energy into something like music, like BTS, that doesn’t make you feel bad about your appearance, it doesn’t make you feel bad about how much stuff you need buy. And I think for young people today, that’s really important too.”
When the concert is about to start, it is announced that Jungkook has hurt his foot and will not be able to follow choreography, which is promptly followed by a crowd chant of “It’s OK” and his name, echoing before they take to the stage—the fans’ way of reassuring the youngest member. As they reach the end of the performance, he bursts into tears twice, and at Jimin’s command, the whole arena screams, “I LOVE YOU JUNGKOOK.” Being there, it feels a lot like a conversation between an enormous group of friends looking out for each other.
The show begins, and it’s as if all in attendance are in a trance—cheering at every comment, every video, every “let’s get it,” every detail of the intricately built stage. Showmanship and talent aside, it’s insanely hard to ignore the power that comes with a crowd of nearly 20,000 people screaming “You can’t stop me loving myself” at the top of their lungs as the chorus of “IDOL,” the star single ofLove Yourself: Answer is performed by the boys in their prince-like jackets following furious choreography.
The same effect happens during Jin’s solo performance—the vocalist brought on stage in a suit dripping with roses, playing the piano and softly singing the melancholic ballad of self-love “Epiphany,” a highlight of their latest album. Be it in a tone of unabashed celebration or soft, caring words like Jimin’s “Serendipity,” self-love and staying true to yourself have always been a continuous theme in BTS’s ethos, which cannot be ignored.
Classic songs like “DOPE (쩔어),” “Baebsae (뱁새),” “FIRE (불타오르네),” and “Attack on Bangtan (진격의 방탄)” are performed in succession, whipping the crowd into a singalong frenzy. But something that stands out: the mix of “SAVE ME”, from 2016’s The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever, with “I’m Fine,” its direct response song released this year. Yes, the one from that ‘turn it upside down for a surprise’ image that graced so many angsty Tumblrs in about 2010.
This mix fulfills a storyline that the band has been weaving together, either intentionally or unintentionally, since way before the Love Yourself series was even announced to the public—a story of youth, trying your best at what you love and of finding yourself despite all the pressures that might come with life, something which clearly transcends boundaries like location and language.
As BTS approach the end of the concert, the chorus of “Answer: Love Myself” rings particularly true. When the members sing, “you’ve shown me I have reasons I should love myself,” showered in confetti and looking every bit as ethereal as they do on the internet, thousands of voices echo in loving response. A sea of blue flickering lights greet the band head on, each of them a “star in their galaxy” as they are affectionately called by V, representing just how many people found a connection to their words. And so, now you know.
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