BU has its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, the story portrays a positive message. In fact, it’s a message that the group has repeatedly mentioned since mid 2017. Love myself and love yourself are the slogans of both BTS’s latest era and their campaign with UNICEF. In this blog, I will describe the Love Yourself series and its connection to BU. I will also provide links and videos about the LOVEMYSELF campaign that BTS created with UNICEF.
Love Yourself Series
The phrase first appeared when they released their album, Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’, on September 18, 2017, which kickstarted their latest era. For those of you who are unaware of what an era is in the context of BTS’s music, an era describes the concepts (characterized by clothes, hairstyles, lyrics, etc.) of certain BTS songs. Each one is named after the song from which it was derived.
BTS has had plenty of eras since the beginning of BU in 2015. Those that are part of BU can all be categorized into three distinct series: Youth, Wings, and Love Yourself. They are listed below in order (not including the eras outside of BU).
Youth
I NEED YOU
RUN
FIRE
Save ME
WINGS
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
You Never Walk Alone
Love Yourself
DNA
FAKE LOVE
IDOL
Since BTS recently gave a speech about self acceptance at the UN conference, I thought it would be a nice idea to discuss the BU eras that describe the process of loving oneself. The Love Yourself series is broken into four parts: 起承転結. 起承転結 is somewhat similar to the five elements of plot. Each character has a different meaning, (which you can find by clicking on the character) but when put together, they constitute the chronological structure of a piece of art. The definition, from Jisho, is included below.
The Love Yourself series comprises three eras, DNA, FAKE LOVE, and IDOL, that correspond with their respective albums, Love Yourself承 ‘Her’, Love Yourself転 ‘Tear’, and Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’. The series also contains a nine minute video, titled Euphoria: Theme of LOVE YOURSELF起 Wonder, that showcased Euphoria, a song that was officially released on Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’. LOVE YOURSELF起 Wonder* is the introduction, Love Yourself承 ‘Her’ is the development, Love Yourself転 ‘Tear’ is the turn, and Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’ is the conclusion.
*LOVE YOURSELF起 Wonder is not an album*
The Love Yourself series continues the BU storyline mainly through the highlight reels, the Notes, the Euphoria: Theme of LOVE YOURSELF起 Wonder video, the promotional posters*, the comeback trailers, and the FAKE LOVE music videos and teaser (which can be found in my first blog post). The highlight reels and the posters narrate the encounters period that I described in my second blog post. The Notes and the Euphoria: Theme of LOVE YOURSELF起 Wonder video give insight into the Youth, Wings, and Love Yourself series. The comeback trailers and the Fake Love music videos and teaser seem to connect to the encounters period due to reoccurring symbols that appear in the Notes and the highlight reels.
*the Love Yourself series posters were not included in my first blog post but can be found here with english translations.
The message of the Love Yourself series is exactly what the name implies. BTS want their fans to spread love and happiness, but in order to love others, you must first love yourself. While the cinematic aspects of BTS’s work portray the BU plot, the theme or lesson of BU is expressed in the lyrics of certain songs from the Love Yourself albums. ARMY speculates that the BU coming of age story is about self-love and acceptance of one’s mistakes. Through the 起承転結 storytelling format, BTS shows their audience how loving oneself is critical to achieving true happiness.
Below, I will list songs in 起承転結 order along with links to the english translations. I will provide key phrases from the songs that will give a general overview of the Love Yourself message, but I strongly recommend that you read the translations to fully grasp the message BTS is trying to convey.
**Disclaimer** In my explanation, I am going to use the pronoun he because the singers are male, but the explanation and the message applies to all genders.
Introduction 起
Song: Euphoria
Album: Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’
Link to youtube video
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics. Translated by Sandy:
I’m so happy, I can’t breathe
My surroundings are getting more and more transparent
Take my hands now
You are the cause of my euphoria
Close the door now
When I’m with you I’m in utopia
Never let go of my hand
Please don’t wake up from this dream
Development 承
Song: Serendipity
Album: Love Yourself承 ‘Her’
Link to youtube comeback trailer
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics. Translated by Sandy:
The world is different from yesterday
Just with your joy alone
You saved me
My angel, my world
Just let me love you
Song: DNA
Album: Love Yourself承 ‘Her’
Link to youtube music video
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics.
Translated by Amysbubble85:
The DNA in my blood is telling me
That it’s you who I’ve been looking for
From the day the universe was formed
Past infinite worlds
Probably in our past life and in our next lives
We’ll be together forever, DNA
Because all of this is not a coincidence
Because we’ve found our destiny
I’m only focusing on you
It pulls me harder
Turn 転
Song: Singularity
Album: Love Yourself転 ‘Tear’
Link to youtube comeback trailer
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics. Translated by Sandy:
I hear something shattering
It suddenly wakes me up
I hear strange sounds
I try covering my ears but I can’t fall back asleep
My voice was buried for you
Did I lose myself?
Or did I gain you?
Tell me, if my voice if fake
Should I have not thrown myself away?
Song: Fake Love
Album: Love Yourself転 ‘Tear’
Link to youtube music video
Link to youtube music video extended version
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics.
Translated by Amysbubble85:
If it’s for you
I can act like I’m happy even when I’m sad
If it’s for you
I can act strong even when it hurts
I changed everything
Just for you
Now I don’t even know who I used to be
So I ask the mirror, who are you?
Love you so bad, love you so bad
For you, I’m enacting a pretty lie
Look at me, I threw myself away
I’m so sick of this fake love
Conclusion 結
Song: Epiphany
Album: Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’
Link to youtube comeback trailer
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics. Translated by Sandy:
I wanted to adjust everything to you
And live for you too
But the more I did that
I couldn’t handle the storm in my heart
Underneath the smiling mask
My true self comes out
I’m the one I should love in this world
Me, who shines, my precious soul
Though I may lack some things, I’m so beautiful
Song: IDOL
Album: Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’
Link to youtube music video
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics.
Translated by hadi:
No matter what you call me
I don’t care
I’m proud of it
I’m free
You can’t stop me lovin’ myself
It’s okay, I’m in love with my-my myself
It’s okay, I’m happy in this moment
Song: Answer: Love Myself
Album: Love Yourself結 ‘Answer’
Link to youtube video
Link to english translation
Key phrases from colorcodedlyrics.
Translated by hadi:
Loving myself might be harder
than loving someone else
You’ve shown me I have reasons
I should love myself
Maybe there’s no answer
Maybe this isn’t the answer either
It’s just that loving myself
Doesn’t require anyone else’s permission
Even all the scars from your mistakes make up your constellation
The me of yesterday, the me of today, the me of tomorrow
(I’m learning how to love myself)
With no exceptions, it’s all me
Explanation
In the introduction, he is so entranced by his partner that it consumes his entire world. His happiness is dependent upon being together with that person.
In the development, he thinks of his partner as his savior and angel. He tries to justify their relationship through the laws of nature.
In the turn, he wakes up from the “dream” and realizes that he’s lost parts of himself to maintain their relationship. His voice is lost, and he wants to find himself again.
In the conclusion, he has an “epiphany” that makes him understand that it’s not worth changing yourself for someone.
The path to self-acceptance is difficult, but everyone is learning how to forgive their mistakes and love themselves. Self-love should come first, and the beauty of loving yourself is that no one can stop you.
As you can see, BTS stands for positivity, love, and happiness. About a month after they released the first Love Yourself album, they created the LOVEMYSELF campaign with UNICEF. Important links are all listed below.
RM’s Speech at the UN Conference
Thank you for reading the entire article! Remember that BTS loves you and wants you to love yourself!
References
BTS Albums Discography since 2013
Blood, Sweat, and Tears Era Photo
You Never Walk Alone Era Photo
Other references exist as links within the article
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