Extra music video analysis (Y13 media study period)

Music Video Analysis.

BTS (방탄소년단) '봄날 (Spring Day)' Official MV

BTS have several factors that have contributed to their exponentially rising popularity, but the most outstanding factor is the deeper message that they deliver through their music. Released in 2017, “Spring Day” is BTS’s longest-charting track. It goes beyond the typical love song and its music video not only includes but transcends past aesthetics. A close visual analysis of the “Spring Day” music video leads one to find a profound message that is up to interpretation. It contains visual elements, appropriately accompanying lyrics, and literary references to Christian Boltanski’s No Man’s Land and Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” all of which lead to comfort in dealing with the loss of a loved one and the overarching concept of “you never walk alone.”

“Spring Day” is regarding the Sewol Ferry Tragedy since the release of its music video, largely because of the number of scenes in the music video that seem to allude to the tragedy. The first allusion can be detected in the opening scene of the music video where Taehyung lays his head down on the train tracks at an abandoned train station. This is possibly a depiction of the survivor’s guilt (feelings of guilt for being the one that survived a life-threatening event while the others did not) that many involved in the Sewol Ferry Tragedy suffered shortly after the accident, with a number of them even attempting or committing suicide.

Furthermore, Taehyung also sings the line, “Will I get to you a little faster if I was the snow in the air,” that is, he is asking if he will reach his loved one in Heaven more quickly if he died now and became a part of the earth. This idea together with the imagery shown in the music video supports the theory that survivor’s guilt is referred to in the music video. 

Another sequence in the video that makes an allusion to the tragedy is the one where BTS member Jimin is on a seashore, alone.

Later he is shown picking up a pair of shoes that was washed up onto the shore, which most likely signifies the loss of a life.

 These same shoes can then be spotted in several scenes of the music video, with their final appearance being in the ending scene of the video where they are hanging on a tree branch. This is also a symbolism for death. In addition to these scenes, there are other allusions to the tragedy that typically go unnoticed.

In the scene at the laundromat, a “Don’t Forget” sticker can be seen on the dryers, while in another scene, a carousel with several yellow ribbons tied onto it is shown. Both these details may seem minor, but are in fact highly significant as they symbolise solidarity with the Sewol Ferry Tragedy’s victims and their families.

In addition, we cannot discuss this particular music video without mentioning “Omelas.” Quite a few times a motel named “Omelas” appears in the video, which is a reference to “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” a short story written by Ursula K. Le Guin. This short philosophical fiction is a coming-of-age story told in the utopian city of Omelas where everything is unbelievably perfect. The narrator soon reveals that the happiness of the town depends on the suffering of a single child, that is, the child must constantly suffer in order for the town to maintain its perfection and prosperity. The existence of the child and why the child is left in perpetual misery is revealed to the children of Omelas when they come of age, leaving many feeling shocked and sickened. The city will turn into a dystopia if they help the child in any way, so they are left with two choices: accept the reality for the greater good or walk away from Omelas (Le Guin, 1975)(Wikipedia.org). 

In the “Spring Day” music video, the Omelas motel is first shown when BTS member RM walks up to it while the “No Vacancy” sign is lit up and BTS members J-Hope and Suga are standing outside it talking.

 However, when BTS member Jungguk comes across the motel later in the music video, it is completely abandoned and dark with the “No Vacancy” sign barely lighting up. This scene probably indicates that BTS left Omelas behind because they could empathise with the ones suffering and could not continue to live happily at the cost of another person’s welfare.

Here, BTS is trying to convey to the viewer that although human beings must make sacrifices, they do not have to do it alone and can find comfort in togetherness. This also seems to be a reference to the Sewol Ferry Tragedy, as BTS uses their power of choice to stand up and protect those that are vulnerable and in this case, the victims and their families.

Throughout “Spring Day,” there are several juxtaposing scenes that either cut or zoom out to  highlight the theme of “You are not alone,” which is in line with the title of the BTS album “Spring Day” belongs to —You Never Walk Alone. The initial scenes make the viewers think that a BTS member is alone in a particular setting, but later in the video the full shots are revealed and show all seven BTS members together, thereby conveying their message that no individual is truly alone. 

 BTS and the music video director’s intent here, as seen in their album description, is to provide a “message of warm consolation and hope for the suffering youth of this generation” (BTS Website 2017). “Spring Day,” both the music video and the song, gradually shifts from a sorrowful present to a hopeful future, and the music video is skilfully shot and edited to achieve this ambience. The moving lyrics in the bridge of the song is, “The morning will come again. No darkness, no season can last forever”

These lyrics and the stills illustrated represent the transition from winter to spring. The thawing of the snowy field, the bare tree sprouting new leaves and flowers, and the flower petals flowing through the wind, all signify the coming of a spring day and a brighter future. Spring represents new life and new beginnings and in the music video BTS is approaching it together, tying back to the overall theme of You Never Walk Alone.

BTS’s “Spring Day” music video checks all of the boxes for characteristics that one would find in a quintessential K-pop music video aka visually pleasing scenes, ambiguous storyline, combination of colours, etc. But it can also be considered as essentially different from a typical K-pop video because of the messages within the lyrics and the video. Such messages are a standard and important feature of BTS’s discography and attest to the fact that they are not afraid to move beyond boundaries and discuss topics that are largely avoided by society.