An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: So this is an intensely ridiculous but also very serious fandom primer for the k-pop group BTS. It has profiles (because I love profiles) and some chronology, but mostly it's a ruthlessly organised collection of a million or so links, with commentary.
Just, so many links. To every BTS thing I think is important. (So, selective! And subjective! But a lot of things, oh my god.)
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This is AMAZING and this person deserves some kind of medal.
So BTS are a 7-member Korean boy group who debuted in 2013. BTS is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan which means Bulletproof Boy Scouts (really). Their English name is Bangtan Boys.
Note: I’ve now finished posting a 2019 version of this primer here.
I don’t know who this primer is for, but PROBABLY MOSTLY ME. Because when I have too many fannish feelings this is what I do. And then I reread the primer and go That is so fucking true, ugh I love them. It’s a good time.
There are also a gazillion links, because I got into BTS really haphazardly and I keep finding things that are important. So I have gathered together some of the important things. With annotations.
Left to right: V (sitting on J-Hope), Jungkook (making a face), J-Hope (not making a face for once), Rap Monster (definitely making a face), Jin (being a flower boy), Jimin (possibly sitting on both Jin AND Suga), Suga (Suga).
Jin
(Kim Seokjin, b. 1992): Visual and vocals
On one occasion, Jin looked so handsome getting out of a car that it briefly became a meme outside the fandom. He’s the eldest, and often described as the dorm mother, but he can also be the most childish of them all. He likes to cook and he. fucking. loves. to eat; Kim Seokjin eating food is actually one of the purest forms of delight in the world. He works extremely hard to get Bangtan’s challenging choreography down with no natural dancing skill; when he’s not being choreographed, his signature move is the traffic light dance. He does this little kicky leg thing when he laughs. He has shoulders out to here. He says he likes pink and he doesn’t mind being called a princess (although his aesthetic at home seems to run mostly towards Super Mario things). His sense of humour is sweet and incredibly trollish. He’s going to kiss every dongsaeng.
Suga (Min Yoongi, b. 1993): Rap
Suga is the littlest and slightest of the group, and a super-satisfying amount of their choreography involves him being carried about or stepping or sitting on other members. Apparently his stage name is partly because he looks sweet when he smiles. He faced a lot of family opposition to pursuing music, and he gets heartbreakingly dedicated about music and about connecting with or doing things for the fans. He’s also not shy about noping out of things that he can’t be fucked with. He doesn’t get nearly enough sleep, like all of BTS, but he naps a lot, and talks a lot about how lazy he is. He has a bit of a shadow leader role, in some ways: he takes responsibility for any group funds and tends to take charge if they have to do a variety activity, and he also looks out for the younger members a lot. He once offered to do the laundry on Jimin’s washboard abs, and followed through.
J-Hope (Jung Hoseok, b. 1994): dance, rap and some vocals
J-Hope is essentially a long streak of sunshine. Apparently he gets anxious and pessimistic a lot, but if he’s on camera (unless his soul is being crushed by amusement park rides) then he is On - he’s always the one raising everyone’s mood and energy and finding ways to make everyone laugh. He’s not big on boundaries. He has dimples when he chews. He has no chill: a regular and important part of the subs of BTS videos is: *Hoseok screaming*. He cries easily, and is scared of all the things - he seems to keep a lot of his feelings close to the surface. He’s the group’s dance and performance leader, and takes charge of dance practices when they practice on their own. He’s most serious about dance, but he’s also a really fun rapper - any time you hear someone making car engine sound effects in a BTS song, that’s J-Hope.
Rap Monster (Kim Namjoon, b. 1994): leader and rap
Rap Monster is the middle child of the group, but the leader. According to a test he took in middle school, he has an IQ of 148. He speaks fluent English despite being largely self-taught. He’s also a disaster of a human being: he breaks everything he touches and loses everything he owns. He’s ramblingly philosophical and desperately sincere about things he thinks are important (which is most things). He gets wrapped up in his own head a lot, but when he feels like he’s made a connection or understood somebody better, it seems to make a deep impression; he’ll often bring up important conversations from years ago. He both takes himself very seriously and not seriously at all. He has really nice hands, and uses them expressively a lot. He’s really into fashion, and would maybe like to be more daring and gender-nonconformist about it than he feels like he can be. He almost definitely likes pink more than Jin does.
Jimin (Park Jimin, b. 1995): dance and vocals
Jimin is cuter than buttons. He’s a bit shy, and somehow also completely fucking shameless. He dances like he’s made of water, can casually fold himself in half, and if their choreography calls for an ab flash or for somebody to tear their shirt off, it’s probably going to be Jimin. He’s everybody’s favourite to tease, and he's alternately giggly and long-suffering about being pulled about like a doll. He quietly loses his temper, but doesn’t stay mad long. He's always encouraging and looking after people, and he loves getting compliments and attention and encouragement himself. In a group of people who work really hard, he’s the one the others single out as working really hard. He’s also definitely part of the maknae line and frequently acts up in sweetly cheerful being-a-little-shit ways. It is literally impossible not to smile when he laughs.
V (Kim Taehyung, b. 1995): vocals
V is that troublemaker sweetheart that no one could hate. He’s unpredictable, a flagrant cheat in variety games, and unselfconscious about being cute and weird. He gets shy or self-conscious maybe twice a year. He disarms everyone he meets, and as a result has a literal gazillion industry friends. When he smiles really wide, it’s a rectangle. One of his nicknames is Blank Tae, because of the thing his face does when he's gazing at something or at nothing. He has two moles on his arm that he likes to make into an elephant. He does all the gravelly wrecking ball vocals in BTS’s songs, which are amazing. He loves backhugging. He and Jimin are best friends. He and Jungkook have an elaborate special handshake that they keep adding bits to.
Jungkook (Jeon Jungkook, b. 1997): main vocals, dance and some rap
Jungkook was a tiny child (15 international age) when BTS debuted. They called him the golden maknae because he was already good at essentially everything: singing, dancing and rapping. He also composes and produces. He’s ridiculously competitive, startlingly acrobatic and athletic, and good at every sport. He panics slightly in the face of maths or languages, though. He has a sensitive nose and he loves scents, both perfumes and scented fabric softeners. He’s apparently really hard to drag out of bed in the morning. He’s quiet and a bit shy with strangers, and slow to make friends, but really lively in the dorm. His sense of humour is sort of off-kilter and physical. He has a really cute smile when he’s feeling shy. He’s frequently a brat to the others but also often helpful and a sweetheart. In a lot of ways he was brought up by the group, and he is so fucking loved.
One more time with real names! Left to right: Jungkook, Namjoon, Jimin, Taehyung, Hoseok, Seokjin, Yoongi
(If you want to jump past the performance links to see the people-being-cuddly-and-ridiculous-with-each-other links first, see Part 2.)
Selected Music Videos
Graduation A remix MV they released a few months before debut, featuring Jungkook, J-Hope and Jimin. (Original track ‘Young, Wild and Free’ by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars.) It’s the cutest thing ever made maybe.
Danger Half dance, half clips of each of them in their own ~dangerous setting, looking pretty and eyelinered. There are shopping trolleys in a flooded basement and also the shopping trolleys are on fire.
Dope Already embedded above, but couldn’t be left off the list.
Run Delinquent youth and found family and raucous joy and wistful touches of sadness. Also extremely shippy.
Run (Japanese version) Really lovely dance-centric MV. Includes Jimin in a water tank looking like a distressed mermaid.
Young Forever Everybody makes it through the wire mesh labyrinth that is youth!
Fire Super fun and frenetic, everybody’s part is the best. The dance at the 3.33 timestamp got a little bit famous.
Save Me Dance MV in dreamy aquatic tones.
Intro: Boys Meets Evil (J-Hope solo) I haven’t included any of the other solo things, but this one is so important.
Blood Sweat & Tears This MV is an AESTHETIC. They took advantage of Jungkook being of age to do a sexy comeback, but they did it as a sort of sumptuous absinthe-tinged western-art epic of fallen angels and blindfolded vulnerability. It’s honestly incredible.
(Content warnings for a couple of their other MVs: The ‘I Need U’ MV is the ANGST version of the ‘Run’ universe and features ambiguous images of depression/parental abuse/murder/some other stuff. And the ‘Boy in Luv’ MV is a high school AU that would be super delightful except that all the interactions with the girl are sexual threats presented as romance.)
Selected Other Songs
All links go to lyric videos! Bracketed text mostly isn’t direct lyric quotes, just a ~this is kind of what the song is about.
We Are Bulletproof Pt 2 (To all the people who’ve looked down on me.) From their debut mini-album 2 Cool 4 Skool. Bulletproof is a mess of gear changes and I love it so much, the aggressive verses and the ridiculous click click bang bang and the vocal line that lifts off above them.
N.O (Adults tell me to endure a little more, and pursue my dreams later.) The title track for their second mini, ORUL8,2? (’Oh Are You Late, Too?’) The hook rolls in slow and crushing like a steamroller, I love ittttt.
Boy in Luv (Why are you shaking up my heart?) Title track from Skool Luv Affair. ‘Boy in Luv’ was the first BTS song I knew, and it gave me a somewhat terrible impression of their lyrics. Musically this song is great, though, an insolently irreverent hard bop with a whiny high note of Jimin’s that killllllls me.
Spine Breaker (Your materialism is gonna break your parents’ backs.) Another track from Skool Luv Affair. V’s lines in this include the incredible-on-many-levels refrain Wow, it feels so good putting on your dirty clothes / You’re something different, rockin’, rollin’, swaggin’, swagger, wrong.
Let Me Know (If it’s over, please let me know) This is Yoongi’s track (written and produced) from their first full-length album, Dark&Wild. It’s one of my favourite songs, sweet and plaintive and layered, and Yoongi’s rap in particular is so good.
I Need U (I love you, I hate you, I’m sorry.) The title track from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt 1, and their first song to win on music shows. ‘I Need U’ is all tangled up lament and catharsis and it makes my breath stutter in my chest.
Heungtan Sonyeondan (The fun boys.) Another track from Pt 1. Yoongi wrote this with Hoseok in mind, and it is seriously the most J-Hope song, it’s like pure sunshine staggering about the studio.
Ma City (I know how to party in the city that raised me.) From The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt 2. The members of BTS come from all around the country, and for this song each of the main rappers has a verse about their hometown, and then there’s a pre-chorus for Jimin and Jungkook’s hometown.
Baebsae (We were cursed at, this generation) Also from Pt 2. This song makes me grin so much. Also the lyrics are really cool, check the translation notes.
House of Cards (It’s dangerous, the two of us inside a house made of cards) Jungkook’s song from Pt 2 (written and produced). House of Cards is the outro, and it’s vocalists only. It’s gorgeous.
Two! Three! (Hoping for More Good Days) Their first official fan song, from Wings. Bittersweet honesty and hopefulness, and a chorus made for crowd singing.
Choreography videos
BTS objectively have some of the best choreography in the business.
No More Dream Choreo for their debut single! Jimin flying kicks everyone in the head this dance is incredible. Hilariously over-aggressive and not as assured as their later stuff, but so great.
We Are Bulletproof Pt 2 J-Hope, Jimin and Jungkook all have their own dance break at the end, which they each came up with themselves.
N.O Highlights include the power body rolls, Suga standing on people, everybody being arrested by the authoritarian police/backup dancers and Jimin wiping out an entire squad with a roundhouse kick.
Attack on BTS A deliberately casual muck-up feeling and really fun backup dancer interaction.
Satoori Rap A regional street dispute! At one point Jimin crouches at Suga’s feet while Suga ruffles his hair. At another point Jimin gets conveyor-belt carried above the heads of the members by backup dancers.
Boy in Luv This dance is so visually satisfying and well put together. Definitely one of their best. Also J-Hope leaps over everybody for his part.
Just One Day Mostly consists of them sitting in chairs, but really fun and sweet.
Danger This was the last of their really ~coolly aggressive dances, and also the most physically taxing of all their dances (ETA: until Fire!) You can see them panting at the end, even in the practice video.
War of Hormone At various points Jungkook slaps his own butt, Taehyung slaps other people’s butts, Seokjin does adorable flower boy poses and Yoongi rides on Jungkook’s shoulders. Also Hoseok hits on Taehyung and uses Yoongi and Jungkook as a car door. BONUS: Real War version, a muck-up version in which everyone has way, waaaay too much fun.
I Need U This dance is like water flowing through machinery: the beautifully fluid body rolls, the gracefully shifting and merging formations, the jerky machine-precision moves. It’s my favourite of their dances.
Dope Their fastest footwork! Honestly the ‘Dope’ choreo works a lot better on stage, but it’s still pretty delightful in a studio.
Run The sexy jacket dance! Also the beautiful butterfly dance! (That’s what they’re making in that last pose.)
Fire Their most taxing choreo so far, apparently. Really impressive.
Baebsae (Fun ver.) This is ridiculous and perfect. (But see also J-Hope doing the dance break for real.)
Blood Sweat & Tears This dance could not be more perfect for the song. It’s sexy in the same ways the MV is, and I’m obsessed with the circular handstand-kick - the way each of them does it differently to create a single effect. (Also fuckkkkk, Jungkook’s core strength, the boy is made of steel.)
Important Performance Videos
Square brackets are dates.
[130720] No More Dream (official) Highlight is the crowd reaction to Jimin’s ab flash.
[130727] We Are Bulletproof Pt 2 - V fancam by PREVIEW Super appealing Taehyung fancam.
[131108] Rise of Bangtan - J-Hope fancam by 218 Really great energy (also a LOT of screaming).
[140123] N.O + No More Dream @ Seoul Music Awards (official) Featuring their concept trailer choreography, a slowed-down version of N.O, and everyone wearing enough eyeliner to sink a ship (it’s really good on Namjoon).
[140213] Jump The choreography for Jump includes Suga jumping up to sit on Jimin’s and Jungkook’s linked hands.
[140820] Let Me Know @ MelOn Premiere Showcase (official) This song doesn’t have any choreo, but gosh such a pretty performance. (There’s also a Danger performance after it and a War of Hormone if you skip back to the beginning.)
[141024] War of Hormone @ Music Bank (official) War of Hormone had such fun styling and choreo.
[141203] Boy in Luv @ the MAMA Red Carpet (official) I love this styling - so much red.
[141203] BTS vs Block B @ the MAMA’s (official) I mentioned Jimin tearing his shirt off. (Main songs are BTS’s Danger and Block B’s Her.)
[141207] Rise of Bangtan + Satoori Rap @ The Red Bullet in Manila - Fancam Takes a while to focus and the view is continually obstructed, but super good sense of being in the crowd.
[141226] Danger @ KBS Gayo Daechukjae (official) Not filmed very well, but watch it for Jimin and Jungkook’s video game dance at the beginning.
[150211] Tomorrow @ Wake Up: Open Your Eyes tour (official) This is a DVD rip, so the link may not last, but concert videos are the only place you can see the Tomorrow choreo.
[150224] War of Hormone + I Like It - Jimin fancams by poco a poco. Jimin wearing the softest pink-and-grey jumper and biting his lip a lot.
[150430] I Need U @ M Countdown - Jimin focus (official) For Jimin’s body rolls.
[150430] Converse High @ M Countdown - still camera version (official) They had to change this to ‘Lovers High’ to avoid the brand name, for broadcasts. The choreo is still about shoes, though, and it’s really fun.
[150501] Heungtan Sonyeondan + I Need U @ Music Bank (official) Really fun performance of Heungtan, then there are falling cherry blossoms for I Need U.
[150604] Tomorrow + I Need U + War of Hormone @ MBC Picnic Live (official) Tiny sit-down outdoor performance with a live band. Really good. Lots of the members hanging out with the crowd in War of Hormone.
[150607] Heungtan Sonyeondan @ Open Concert (official) Outdoor concert in a beautiful location.
[150625] Dope @ M Countdown - Suga focus (official) Frequently obstructed view because of the staging, but Yoongi is so alive.
[150701] Dope - J-Hope fancam by 218 J-Hope in sunshine yellow against sky blue and flames. This is so so good.
[151101] Dope @ K-Pop Jeju Festival (official) One of the coolest entrances they’ve ever made.
[151230] Butterfly + Dope + Run @ KBS Gayo Daejin For Jimin’s beautiful modern dance to Butterfly.
[151231] I Need U + Run @ MBC Gayo Daejejun (official) No Namjoon but damn I love this performance. Starts with Suga playing piano for Jungkook’s dance solo.
[151231] Perfect Man @ MBC Gayo Daejejun (official) Shinhwa cover.
[160512] Fire @ M Countdown - Suga focus (official) Suga being extremely watchable.
[160514] Butterfly @ Music Core They did more Butterfly stages in Fire-era because the dance was new. The dance is all extremely unsubtle butterfly imagery, fluttery and very satisfying.
[160702] Baebsae @ Epilogue Concert Nanjing - Jungkook focus by KOOKTV Really nice crisp Jungkook fancam, feat. a couple of adorable moments with Taehyung plus, by accident, Hoseok’s excellent freestyle.
[160702] Rise of Bangtan @ Epilogue Concert Nanjing - Jungkook focus by Snowpeach The audio is distorted, but the picture quality is crisp and the content is aces. Taehyung spends 80% of the song riding piggyback on Jungkook.
[160702] Tomorrow @ Epilogue Concert Nanjing - Jimin focus by jimjam park Really pretty.
[160725] Fire @ Ilsan Summer Festival - Jimin fancam by Jimson Weed Good energy and good amount of fire.
[160903] Save Me @ Show Champion in Manila - fancam by taek iatte Really close fancam from beside the centre walkway.
[161013] Blood Sweat & Tears @ M Countdown - Rap Monster Fancam (official) The BS&T dance is so leggy and so is Namjoon - it suits him really well.
[161013] Blood Sweat & Tears @ M Countdown - Suga Fancam (official) A lot of very effective lip-biting
[161013] 21st Century Girl @ M Countdown - MPD Fancam (official) An MPD fancam is the next best thing to a dance practice video, and I love this dance.
[161013] 21st Century Girl @ M Countdown - Jin Fancam (official) Jin is my favourite part of the 21st Century Girl choreo.
[161013] Am I Wrong? @ M Countdown - MPD Fancam (official) The Am I Wrong choreo is simpler than 21st C. Girl, but it’s fun.
[161018] Blood Sweat & Tears @ KBS Open Concert - J-Hope focus by 218 Hoseok being super pretty.
[161020] Blood Sweat & Tears @ M Countdown (official) Nicely filmed and everyone in satin pyjamas.
[161027] Blood Sweat & Tears @ M Countdown in Jeju (official) The windiest and most softly dramatic outdoor stage. Kind of incredible.
[161027] Blood Seat & Tears @ M Countdown in Jeju - Jimin Fancam (official) A Jimin fancam for the same windblown performance, because damn.
[161119] Fire @ Melon Music Awards (official) Fire with fire twirlers!
[161202] Fire @ the MAMAs (official) For the wingfic taejin scene at the beginning.
in which i attempt to explain who to distinguish the 7 members of bts and other crap like that
Rapmon (short for Rap Monster) - He’s the first to appear, in the hat and nondescript uniform. I think he has a really distinctive face, but for those who don’t see it, he has a button nose, a long, square jaw, some cute ass dimples, and a shaved-sides haircut. Also, in case his name didn’t give it away, he’s one of the rappers in the group.
Jungkook - He looks so good in this video, I’m lighting a candle ok. He’s the second to appear in the video, dressed as a cop (please arrest me). I have a hard time explaining how I pick him out, i just look for the hottest person in the group. But that’s subjective criteria, so. Jungkook is the baby of the group, with fluffy black hair and a small nose, and pierced ears. He’s probably the most feminine looking in the group.
Jimin - Jimin is sweet gingery perfection in his big glasses and skinny tie. In this video, He’s easiest to identify by his hair, but like Jungkook, he is also very pretty and has pierced ears, though his nose is broader, and he consistently wears eyeliner.
JHope - JHope is the another rapper in the group, and like Rapmon, I find him very easy to identify. He’s dressed in the motocross gear in the video. JHope has a very long, oval face and a round nose. He has no ear piercings, and his hair is a slightly unfortunate bowl cut deal, but he’s still adorable.
Suga - Suga is the little blond shoving JHope out of the way. Endearing. His hair is dyed frequently, and he got his nickname for how pale his skin is. He also has the most piercings, three in his left ear and two in his right. Suga is the oldest and has smile lines around his mouth, which is adorable.
V - They dressed V up like a little detective with a fucking bowtie and i’m so far from ok about this anyway. V is actually the most baby-faced of the group, and like Suga, his hair is dyed a lot. He tends to wear his fringe in his eyes, and his ears aren’t pierced. He kind of looks like Kevin McHale to me, idk what to tell ya.
Jin - Jin is dressed like a doctor why why why. Anyway. He looks a lot like JHope, but with a longer jaw and chin. He has only his left ear pierced (twice i think), which is my dogear for him. He’s also the oldest, which isn’t particularly distinguishing, but there you go.
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hope this was at least somewhat helpful. this video is really great for figuring out who is who because they all appear solo at some point and also all have distinctive outfits
