hankyoreh

“BTS: The Review

For his new book, music critic Kim Young-dae reviewed all the songs in the 16 albums by South Korean boy band BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys. In an email interview with the Hankyoreh, Kim said, “The people analyzing the factors behind BTS’ success focus solely on the records they’ve set, the money they’ve made and the things they’ve achieved. Most reports in the South Korean media are about the response the band has received overseas, too. But I think that limiting BTS’ success to K-pop or the Korean Wave is a misreading of current trends. I’ve been following BTS since 2014, and this seems like a musical phenomenon more than anything else; it’s a new phenomenon that goes beyond K-pop. In my book, I took a deep dive into their music because that’s where I think the answer can be found.”

author of “BTS: The Review.” (provided by RH Korea)

That was the motivation behind Kim’s book “BTS: The Review,” which was published by RH Korea on Mar. 20. Kim, who has been studying the trends of K-pop and US pop music for more than a decade in Seattle, reviewed all the songs on the 16 albums that BTS has released so far and analyzed the BTS phenomenon in the US based on his personal observations. Though a lot of books have been written about BTS, few of them have focused on the group’s music itself.

For example, take Kim’s review of “Fake Love,” one of BTS’s greatest hits. “The message of a painful realization about love employs the depression inherent in the genre of emo hip hop to achieve a musical consistency that gives this song a uniquely dark tragic beauty that’s rare not only in BTS’ oeuvre but in contemporary K-pop.” A QR code is included next to each of the album covers so that readers can listen to the songs as they read Kim’s reviews.

Kim offers the following take on what’s behind the BTS phenomenon: “It’s because they’ve managed to overcome what have been regarded as K-pop’s shortcomings while retaining everything that makes it attractive. On the one hand, they hit the trifecta of music, good looks and performance; on the other, they leapfrog the limitations of ‘idol’ music with lyrics that are deep and moving on a universal level, regardless of nationality, race and age, as well as literary and philosophical narratives and an attitude of sincerity. The candid and raw charm that’s not often found in K-pop idol music, which tends to be slick and polished as part of a calculated design, appears to be another major reason the group has received the adoration of the American public, given their strict standards about music’s sincerity.”

Music critic Kim Young-dae

Kim’s book also features interviews with a wide range of experts, including Kim Bong-hyeon, a hip hop journalist; Brother Su, a songwriter; Shin Hyeong-cheol, a literary critic; Kim Chang-nam, a voting member for the Korean Popular Music Awards; Jeff Benjamin, a columnist for Billboard; Lim Hyung-joo, a Korean operatic pop tenor and a voting member for the Grammy Awards; and Chae Myeong-ji, who runs the translation account for BTS content.

What does Kim predict for BTS’s future? “Thus far, the success that BTS has enjoyed in the US has been backed by a powerful fandom largely composed of trend-conscious young people. But I think this year will be a crucial turning point for the group to get the spotlight in the mainstream market. The new album and singles that are about to come out will probably break the group’s current records, and I think they may also manage to become the first K-pop group to be nominated for the main Billboard Music Awards, which strictly reflect mass market success. There are some who focus on songs that are capable of creating a sensation with the masses such as Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style.’ But I think that what’s more important than making popular-conscious songs without a definite identity is making music that can resonate deeply with the kind of fandom that’s sustained the BTS phenomenon thus far, while simultaneously tackling the things that young people are concerned about.”

By Seo Jung-min, staff reporter

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