Bangtan Hermana Notes: BTS: The Art of Connection and Culture Bearing

 

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Bangtan Hermana Notes: The Silver Spoon Charm on RM's Chain

The trailer for BTS’s free live concert on March 21 just dropped, and the stills are everywhere. One detail immediately caught my eye: Namjoon wearing a silver spoon charm on his chain. And my mind went straight to Baepsae.

“Bapsae” (Silver Spoon) from the The Most Beautiful Moment in Life era is one of BTS’s sharpest social commentaries. The choreography is another thing entirely. Not complaining about that.

In Korean folklore, the baepsae is the crow-tit, a small bird often compared to the stork. There is a proverb that says: if the crow-tit tries to walk like the stork, it will tear its legs.

The message behind that proverb is harsh but familiar: people from humble beginnings should not try to compete with those born into privilege: the so-called “silver spoon” class.

BTS flipped that proverb on its head.

In Baepsae, they called out generational inequality and the frustration of young people told to work harder while the race was already rigged. They sang about the crow-tit refusing to imitate the stork. Instead, it runs in its own way.

Now fast forward to today.

This is BTS post-enlistment. A free homecoming concert is upon us. Seven artists returning to the stage. And Namjoon appears with a silver spoon charm.

It is poetic justice.

Years ago, “silver spoon” symbolized the privilege they were told they did not have. But BTS never tried to become the storks. They built their own path, at their own pace, through their own art.

So seeing that symbol now feels like a quiet subversion. The crow-tit did not lose the race. It changed the race entirely.

This is the story of Bangtan Sonyeondan.

And now they come home as artists holding the silver spoon on their own terms.

Apobangpo! Purple and true!

#BTSHomecoming2026 #BTS_ARIRANG

ARMY of Bangtan Book Club: Basquiat’s Crown, Namjoon’s Voice

I can’t help but smile at the juxtaposition of Basquiat’s crowned dinosaur appearing beside Namjoon as he talks about art in a Samsung Art TV feature. The image feels serendipitous! Basquiat’s bold creature of selfhood meeting BTS’s message of self-love. Both carry that same beat: the courage to be raw, to be seen, to be yourself, even when the world insists otherwise.

Interestingly, Maya Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” was published as a picture book with Basquiat’s art. Her fearless verses wrapped in his fierce lines and bold colors. Angelou’s voice, like Namjoon’s, speaks of resilience; Basquiat’s brush, like BTS’s music, insists that vulnerability is power.

Namjoon, BTS, Maya Angelou, and Jean-Michel Basquiat — what a combination! Radical. Revolutionary. And utterly romantic in their shared belief that to live artfully is to live bravely.

Life Doesn't Frighten Me

By Maya Angelou

Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don't frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn't frighten me at all.

I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won't cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild

Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don't frighten me at all.

That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don't frighten me at all.

Don't show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I'm afraid at all
It's only in my dreams.

I've got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.

Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.

Life doesn't frighten me at all.

© by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes

Kuwentong Bangtan: Beyond the Performance: Namjoon, Jin, and the Soft Power of BTS

Namjoon and BTS spoke at the United Nations. He and the 6 of them conversed with a sitting U.S. president; he delivered the speech infront of the press at the White House. But after his military enlistment, his first public speech wasn’t on a global stage. It was at his stylist’s wedding. And yet, the weight of this moment remained. This event and his presence, with Hoseok and Yoongi, speak of community, civic duty, and the sacredness of public service. His words, tender and weighty, remind us that leadership isn’t always tough. It can be tender. Sometimes, it’s intimate. Chosen. Intentional.

And then, there’s Jin, our Worldwide Handsome who stood onstage in Anaheim, worried that his culture might not resonate with a foreign audience and I-ARMYs. But when the audience sang with him, laughed with him, loved with him, he said it plainly: “You are my culture… my world revolve(s) around you.” Our Worldwide Handsome is our Worldwide Ambassador.

Sexy personas and thirst traps are industry staples, almost expected in the world of K-pop. But BTS has never settled for just what’s expected. Again and again, they step beyond the frame, choosing meaning, integrity and connection.

BTS is BTS. No one else compares.

Yes, we swoon. We giggle in our delulu. We clutch on our pearls. We are women and we have desires no matter how young or old.

But we also witness.

We honor.

And we grow.

So why reduce them to fantasy? Why contain them in a frame of performance built for consumption?

This is BTS. Artists. Storytellers. Citizens. Sons. Friends.

They are people. And so are we. All of us.

Apobangpo. Purple and true.

Kuwentong Bangtan: Climbing Upward and Inward

Once again, Joon went for a climb to the summit of Insubong Peak (인수봉) in Bukhansan National Park, as indicated by the signpost beside him that reads “신선대 정상” (Sinsundae Summit) at 726 meters.

Like Joon, I go out for walking and trekking. Where I live, we are still blessed with spaces for walks and the like. Each step I take is a conversation with the land, each breath a moment with myself. The soil, the ground, the earth holds memory and the vast sky welcomes every version of me — who I was and who I have become.

I have yet a real mountain to climb, but I know what it means to return to a place I have journeyed before. The landscape may look the same, but I am not. Some things remain. Some things change. This is true of the world around us and the world within us. What new perspectives can one take when the view is familiar, but the soul has shifted?

Perhaps the climb is not just upward, but inward, too.

And this is what I truly love about Joon. Why he is my ultimate. Even in pictures, he has the power to bring me to places where I can rediscover and regain a sense of self. A sacred pause into the wilderness. Never without presence.

Truly, we never walk alone.

Book Review: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Grove Press, 1988) is the first book in my BTS-inspired reading list for 2025. I'm done reading the book, and so, here is my review. 

But, before that, I just want to say that Kim Namjoon, BTS leader, was seen to be in possession of this book in the live Comeback Show for the release of the album Love Yourself: Tear in 2018. Kilig!

The novel follows the story of a young woman dealing with grief, who immerses herself in the world of food.#RM #namjoon #방탄소년단알엠 #김남준 @BTS_twt pic.twitter.com/N84pZWoFXE

— Namjoon's Library⁷ (@JooniesLibrary) July 3, 2021

Yoshimoto's writing is smooth, precise, and beautiful—like reading a haiku in prose. Props to the translator for making it so. Death and grief are central themes of the story. Mourning and the sense of loss are woven into sensitive and detailed descriptions of the world the characters inhabit, as well as their feelings in moments of togetherness and isolation. This makes for a cathartic and therapeutic read for me. 

The two main characters, Mikage and Yuichi navigate their friendship as it deepens amidst their sorrow. Yoshimoto is not explicit in her exposition nor the outcome of their romance, which is perfect in capturing the ambiguity of a relationship blossoming from an experience of decay and disintegration.  However, I cling to these dialogues between Yuichi and Mikage: 

Yuichi to Mikage: “Why is it that everything I eat when I’m with you is so delicious?” 

She replies, laughing: “Could it be that you’re satisfying hunger and lust at the same time?”

 What could be more romantic than this? 

 4 Bookmarks.

Book Review: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

I started rereading Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha at the beginning of December 2024 but finished it on New Year's Day. I went back to old reads - The Kite of Stars, a short story by Dean Francis Alfar and The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way, that's why.

Yup. I gave myself a good session of bibliotherapy. Now, for my review of Siddhartha, a book that Kim Namjoon read or recommended (an assumption since he posted this on his IG Story last December 2025).

Religion provides us a structure to practice and make evident our faith. However, there are religious rituals that may prove rigid and superficial that it drives us away from faith that is real and life affirming. In Siddhartha, my take away is this: true authenticity and spirituality come from embracing both life’s joys and struggles. It’s not about escaping challenges but fully immersing oneself in them to find peace. And there I find a similarity to Ignatian Spirituality because, when praying through the Examen, one is able to look at the highs and lows of pivotal life events; the happy times and the sad moments of the day where grace and gratitude resides. I think this experience is synonymous to finding inner peace and striking a balance in life.

Kim Namjoon’s documentary, Right People, Wrong Place echoes this search for balance. Like Siddhartha, he reflects on finding harmony by accepting life’s imperfections and contradictions. Both explore the idea that peace comes not from avoiding hardships but from understanding and growing through them. Namjoon’s journey, much like Siddhartha’s, is about learning to embrace life in its raw, authentic form.

Like Siddhartha, like Kim Namjoon, one needs to be brave to be able to do this.

Advent, BTS and Cyanotype Printing

Inspired by RM of BTS’ full length album, Indigo, I ventured into learning Cyanotype printing early this year. With the help of Enzo Abalayan showing me how to make prints, I was further motivated to learn this new skill as my ARMY Glow Up 2025 project. Collaborating with the talented Sin So, my Tita ARMY chingu, we were able to design tote bags that were sold at the bazaar during the Pearl ARMY Festa of 2024. It was a special endeavor and personal project since part of the proceeds funded my parents’ medical care. Needless to say, being ARMY and my fangirling has led me to graces I never asked for. Believe if or not, I find God there in all His amazing glory.

Since then, I would make prints as a mental health break. Keeping a few in a portfolio that may lend to a new project in the future. When I received an invitation from friends in Magis Deo to share something for our kids, teens and young adults in the community, I immediately said yes.

I thought about conducting a Cyanotype printing workshop for our Magis Deo Youth. The idea made me happy. I looked forward to the activity during an exhausting but productive week in school. I was going to share a skill that began as an ARMY Glow Up 2025 Goal under AGU Recreation and proud that I learned it from a former student. What’s more, I was excited to connect Cyanotype printing with the message of Advent.

Advent is the season of waiting. Advent is the season of light breaking through the shadows.

Advent is a time when we are called to recognize and accept change.

Advent is an opportunity for transformation.

Cyanotype printing, with its vivid blue tones and shadowy, ethereal imagery, has a poetic resonance with the season of Advent. Cyanotypes capture light in a unique way, creating images through sunlight exposure. This parallels Advent’s theme of light emerging from darkness, as cyanotypes reveal delicate forms and shadows when exposed to light, symbolizing hope and revelation.

Since Advent is a season of waiting and preparing for light to break into the darkness, Cyanotype printing follows a similar process that involves anticipation, patience, change and transformation. Such abstract ideals, beliefs and concepts may be too far off to be fully understood by children — even adults. To enrich our context of Advent as we all prepare for this season of hope in chaotic and confusing times, an art activity such as Cyanotype printing may prove meaninfgul for the child and the child at heart.

Our Magis Deo Youth participants in this morning’s Cyanotype Printing activity brought home their hand made cyanotype greeting cards and “photographs”. Glad and grateful to learn something new as well as making art that restonates with the anticipation and joy of Christ’s birth.

Kuwentong Bangtan: Happy 6th Year, Mono!

 Happy 6th year, "Mono"!

RM's second mixtape, "Mono", truly resonated with me. Sonically, I find it diverse, blending genres that diversify my listening experience. Each track invites me to delve into RM's thoughts and emotions, transforming the mixtape into a poignant narrative that reflects his life.

Lyrically, "Mono" speaks of themes of life, love, and loneliness, providing an intimate look into RM's psyche. I appreciate how he shares his struggles and triumphs, creating a relatable narrative that resonates deeply. It feels comforting to connect with someone who articulates those feelings of isolation and yearning so well.

Forever Rain pushed me to accept stoically the realities of being abandoned by a dear friend who left me hanging and used up. It became my theme song for a while as I grappled with issues of loyalty; the risk of being open and vulnerable; giving my best without expecting anything in return, but to be respected as a person and what I am able to contribute, though small and immaterial it may have seemed to others. In everythingoes, I find the courage to move on by pursuing art that I can do and eventually, leading me to my “ARMY Glow Up”. Moonchild remains as one of my favorite anthems especially in times of sorrow and defeat.

"Mono", RM’s art and music, has healed and saved me in more ways I can do and imagine.

Ultimately, RM's talent, skill, and intelligence shine throughout the project. His

ability to weave thought-provoking lyrics with innovative production elevates "Mono" beyond a typical mixtape. It inspires me to explore my own emotions and creativity, reaffirming RM's place as a significant voice in contemporary music.

Stay safe and dry, friends, family and ARMY chingu!

Photo/poster by: @sincityarmy on Threads

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Kuwentong Bangtan: Transcendence in Language and Music Bangtan Style

Back in August 2021, BTS had an interview for TIME where Namjoon stated their goal of transcendence through language and music using them as means to break barriers and cross borders. It is no wonder that singing English songs was a step towards the goal. Including sign language in PTD amplifies this goal even more. Hobi explained the gestures and the signs in an interview at SBS in September of the same year.

@titazeeh7

From the interview in TIME magazine last August 2021, Namjoon and BTS speak of language and music as transcendences 💜

♬ original sound - zarahg08 - TitaZee

Fast forward to 2024, Namjoon combines three languages in Domodachi: Korean; English and Japanese. It is an uncanny combination but the song makes perfect sense! And then we have Jimin who communicates his love for ARMYs in Smeraldo Garden Marching Band and signs L-O-V-E for the dance challenge.

One would think that doing so is their way of catering to an international audience. A marketing and business move. Nothing wrong there but there is undeniable joy and sincerity in their performances. They proudly speak of their happiness in pre-recorded interviews and WV posts.

Their dedication to breaking language barriers and reaching out to fans from all corners of the world is more than just a strategy—it's a testament to their love and appreciation for ARMY. By embracing multiple languages and incorporating sign language, BTS continues to innovate and connect on a deeper level. It’s this sincerity and joy that make their performances resonate so powerfully with fans globally. As we look forward to their future endeavors, one thing is clear: BTS will always find new ways to bring us together.

Sources:

TIME interview: https://youtu.be/iZJfVYb2w9w?si=nDe9iMpvWgGSfbQK

SBS interview: https://youtu.be/p1d3aaDGtL4?si=N_npi5_h7uJ7sPFt

Kuwentong Bangtan: When Kim Namjoon Went Nuts: A Review of Nuts, RPWP 2024

When the MV of Nuts dropped a few weeks ago, I and ARMYs in my circle speculated on this one person who hurt our Joonie. This is an ongoing question since he’s always bared his feelings of deep anger, regret and frustration. By default, I, like many ARMYs, couldn’t wait to pulverize the person in question. Back pedaling to Nuts, however, and watching Joon sing and move-dance about in a studio all by himself made me ask: Is he talking about and with himself?

Nuts is Kim Namjoon’s soliloquy making the song and the MV highly appealing. Soliloquy as narrative device allows the character to connect more emotionally and psychologically to the audience. The self-talk is an exposition of prevailing themes in the story as well as the underlying conflicts and the more obvious problems or issues at hand. The technique is a delicious invitation to the character’s introspection of past actions leading to decisions or possible consequences brought by the thinking process. This metacognitive approach to storytelling engages audiences even more and for fans like me, we become deeply invested in the artists that we stan.

Soliloquies or self-talk in literature are not new. A classic example is Shakespeare’s Hamlet. To see Namjoon’s soliloquy is for me, a novel presentation of his saga and journey as artist and leader of BTS. This is another style of intertextuality — borrowing from the classics and putting a new spin to the technique. Then again, in his own discography there are songs ( Joke, RM 2016; Reflections, Wings 2017; and Persona, MOTS 2019) that  are reflections of his state of mind and internal battles against the backdrop of a capitalist economy imbued with the Korean Han. That fear of losing the Self is an ongoing narrative of Kim Namjoon.

Taking Nuts as a soliloquy and a reference to Hamlet’s, this 2nd track of Right Place Wrong Person, is Kim Namjoon’s madness in full display, once again. The song lyrics references two genders. A She and a He. Using Jung’s Map of the Soul as framework for this discussion, the former is the Anima and the latter is the Kpop Idol Persona

These two stanzas show the conflict that drives Namjoon insane as Anima and Persona clashes.

Verse 1

“She a pro rider… When it comes to love, she could be an all nighter | Best gaslighter, no man could ever fight her.

I go mad, how can we do everything together?”

Verse 2

“He a pro rider… | Must be an A1 guider, always on that fuckin’ Kakao talk | When it comes to money, he could be a damn fighter | Best gaslighter, no woman could stop him.

I go nuts, I feel like a monster.”

The song closes out with two stanzas by the Anima and the Persona.

“Now lay back | You never been so high | Know you ‘fraid of heights | I will close your eyes”

“Now lay back | You never been so high | Know you ‘fraid of heights | Don’t say a goodbye”

Words of caution. A caveat. A desire to rest and to take a pause but it is not a goodbye. It is not the end because, later on, Namjoon sings Come Back to Me to reassure himself and ARMY that he has integrated with the Anima. The male Ego leaves the set of mazes intact and can confidently walk along side its feminine power.

1/7 of our Global Music Princes have overcome the madness that comes with fame, ambition, immense success and the power of influence. Namjoon has taken ARMY and the bigger audience into an adventure of the human mind and its capacity to be broken and to be healed! I am not surprised since he once said in one of his lives during the pandemic, “let’s be insane to be sane.”

And there lies the courage and the intelligence of Kim Namjoon. Blessed with a 148 IQ, his heightened awareness of his Self and the world around him drives him “nuts”. Choosing music to channel and balance the crazies that torment him all day and all night, he is able to create art that is both luminous and illuminating.

I am really glad he picked up learning the saxophone while on military service. Serenading Jin and playing the chorus of Dynamite are manifestations of grace. Our Joonie is going to be fine.

Kuwentong Bangtan: Music Video Review: Credit Roll, Kim Namjoon, RPWP 2024

This scene from the MV of Credit Roll prompted me to revisit the Constructivist Theory of Media. What we see flashed on the screen is a mediated construct of reality. These constructs are created by content authors and creators with an agenda or a purpose to inform, to persuade, to influence, to entertain; for propaganda at some point; and in many cases, to control the ebb and flow of information and shaping public opinion in the process. In the video, Namjoon is speaking in front of a camera in a room he shares with other people. A story in a story with layers that can be peeled.

While Namjoon faces the camera on broadcast, he communicates his message that has been crafted, framed and produced for an intended audience. Sadly, it escapes them as yet another TV production. Unaware of the dynamics of the media content prepared for their consumption, they choose the appeal of food. They huddle and listen to each other’s stories on real time while partaking on dishes shared within their circle.

The technology we use to communicate and make connections can very well be the technology that divides and isolates us from each other. Namjoon finds himself at the right place with something to say but he is the wrong person because, people interpret content from media and the internet based on their own values, cultural norms, beliefs and biases. More often than not, people believe and listen to who they know within the confines of their chosen cliques.

When the credits roll, Namjoon asks, “Do you hang tight or goes off to life?” Whatever our answer is, he is grateful because, despite being "godamn" lost, he can come back to “me”.

Thank you, Kim Namjoon for making RPWP.  What a well thought out album. Well curated, artistic and tastefully done. For the past three weeks, it challenged me to rethink of my own message and biases; my fears and the uncertainty of a future yet to come. Thank you for opening doors to find “me” and doing it in the most humane way.

Now, I’m off to do some art.

#RPWP_CreditRoll #RM_RPWP #festa2024 #ARMYGlowUp2025 #AGU_Communication