So, let’s get this out the way right away. I’m not just another translation blog, a fan blog, or analysis blog. I don’t care about having a bias, or not including certain member of certain groups because it would feel disequal. I’m here to bring clarity around the conversation around K-culture, mostly K-music, a topic which I love so much. And, to clarify, it’s not just K-music I love, because that would be weird, but rather music itself and the act of getting lost in its marvelous sounds.
I’m going to be posting album and song analyses out-of-order for various K-artists, as well as connecting influences from other world cultures to them as I know them. This is a literary analysis blog, a place to discuss cultural context—the high art and beauty of a culture long commodified and rarely seen for the machinery underneath. And yes, I used the word “machinery,” but don’t get your knickers in a twist. I am a logic machine by nature, so I see the world as gears. Culture is one of those gears. And we all live in one, so we might as well understand how our cogs mesh with other cogs, and how to bust out of said machine.
K-culture is merely the mechanism through which this blog will light the world. Capiche?
In this post, I wanted to analyze the hidden track from BTS’ 2 Cool 4 Skool album, “Path” (길). What you won’t see here is me attempting to analyze all the lyrics—I’m not trying to get you lost in a BTS reverie. What you will see is me providing context that contextualizes the experience of being Korean, being BTS, and trying to survive in a world not built for you. That’s what this song—and many of this group’s songs—are about. BTS shot into fame, and fans popularly speculate it wasn’t by accident in hindsight. As for me, I think a lot of factors went into it, but if we’re to learn a lesson about predicting the future and preserving the past, the lessons can all be found intertextually using BTS’ own lyrics.
First of all, before the analysis and added data, some ground rules. I can’t dictate how you think—I’m a person writing from the other side of an electronic device. But I won’t coddle you. Art does typically have a certain meaning intended by the artists, and they make bank on you not knowing what it is so you live in the fantasy of “not knowing.” That’s why analysis exists, and is required. And that’s why the lore around BTS is so insane. Releasing vague comeback ideas, making you wait for months, and letting you debate is part of the fun, right? Sure, if you think so. But it’s not supporting the artist, you see. Nail them on the real meaning of their ideas and you get that week agonizing over their March comeback date symbol sequence back.
Oh yeah, and there will be no traditional translations. There will be transcreations. Look them up. They’re pretty cool.
No “Pied Piper” here.
I’m not saying I’m accurate, but I will strive to be even-handed, because BTS catalog is as varied as it is interesting. But mostly, I won’t be after trying to prove Jungkook is married to V.
If you’re into constructing meaning with a person as “[im]perfect as love itself,” you’ll fit right in.
Now, the title: “Gil” is deeply connected to the concept of The Way in Buddhism, meaning, in short, “you are on a path in life that’s constantly shifting, with moving goalposts, and the destination is unfixed;” however, it is of note that, like it might be interpreted by Westerners, this is not a “bad thing.” As an American in hustle culture, even today for many young people, not knowing one’s path is extremely stressful.
But, for BTS, being Korean, with this backbone of Buddhism in their pocket, this song signifies that they are on “The Path,” and are comfortable with uncertainty, because they know that someday, they’ll get to a “destination.” What is that, you might ask? Well, according to the Tao, a “legacy.” And legacy isn’t the Western “we build a monument and force worship of it” kind. It is BTS itself, “paving the way” for future K-pop artists and K-culture movements with their gentle leadership and cultural ambassadorship.
In fact, BTS lyrics are sprinkled with that uniquely Korean ennui of “I might not last, but my children will continue to work hard, and the culture of the Han will endure.” Interesting, considering all the international fans wanting to get hooked up with these guys.
Therefore, I believe translating the title to “Path” is a choice anglicism to appeal to Koreans on the English-is-cool speaking spectrum, but also to try to absorb potential criticisms from Westerners who would (and have) inevitably interpret(ed) the song as a song of mere mope-to-dope quality.
I think “Way” is a more appropriate title if we’re making a transcreation, and going for meaning rather than just “what’s hip.” If you had to feel this song, as an English speaker (native or not), what would you feel? English is my first language, and feeling it in my body gives me a much more free-flowing out for the music that comes later than “path,” something that has a defined ending. Though, perhaps, the boys in the group knew just how hard success and change were to obtain, so another reason for the choice to keep “path” is that idea of rigid capitalistic success. What say you?
First lyric analysis:
쉼 없이 꿈꾸던 중 날 묶어
버린 현실의 덫 오 그 청춘의 덫
뜨거운 가슴은 차가운 머리에 져버렸어 (Damn)
그렇게 내 선택이 옳다며 맹신하던 그 와중에
천사인지 악마인지 모를 그것이 말을 해
Transcreation:
That which I dreamed made me thirst for breath
Single sanctuary, where fewer—and lesser—would have made it through Hell
Bated breath, which forced my head down low (Damn)
That choice of mine as I stood frozen, forgotten—alone
Weren’t you martyred? Weren’t you forsaken? Body and soul
Second lyric analysis:
랩 제대로 해볼 생각 없냐고
Yes or No 망설일 시간은 없다고
더 바보는 되기 싫었던 난 이곳에 왔고
3년이 지나갔어
Transcreation:
Think you’re a rapper?
Say it now, be it “yes” or “no”—but do it our way
All the more foolish I became, hating this place
All the while, these three years passing
Third lyric analysis:
수많은 시간이 흘르고 2013년
연습생으로 있었지3년을
내 모습은 고등학생에서
어느새 커버린 어린이가 됐어
욕심의 새치가 많아지고
그 많던 친구들은 하나둘씩 갈라지고
가족없이 난 외롭게도
서울에서 맞는 세 번째 봄
Transcreation:
All that effortful time I went, then 2013 came
Through three years of trainee life,
The maturity I received from secondary school,
One day just an overgrown child’s face I regained
The soul which I had so much of,
All those around me, coming to my aid, calling me “friend”
My family, non-existent; now I, alone again
That’s right, to Seoul I will be born once more, away from pain
Fourth lyric analysis:
데뷔가 코앞이면 걱정없어질 줄 알았어
달라질게 없는 현재에 난 눈을 감았어
현실은 달랐고 주위에서 날 말려도
빛도 안 보이는 터널들을 나 홀로 걸었어
혼자인 줄 알았는데 알고 보니 일곱
맨발이 아닌 방탄이란 신을 신고
앞으로 나가야지 한발더 새롭게 더
서울에서 맞을 네 번째 봄 woah
Transcreation:
Debut just ahead, worries vanishing forthrightly
My eyes, blistered, opening anew to that different shine
That distinct space and in it, the absence of what didn’t rhyme
Even glistening as we do, there are tunnels whose exits we can’t find
Those alone—like me—come to know it, yes, that seven we are in time
Marching in step now to the beat of the high court of Bangtan Sonyeondan
Coming down to Seoul, resurrected for the coronation line
Transcreation notes:
- Concept of Jeolgae (절개): “having survived the unthinkable, to come to live a life of renewal and vibrancy”—or, sticktuitiveness despite the odds. I chose to “transcreate” BTS’ struggles into the seasonal rejuvenation this represents, as the turning of the seasons is very important in Korea.
- These lyrics: “Some say art is long, life is short / But now for me, art is life / Life is sports / Just do it, uh;” interesting, right? I think these are the crux of RM’s philosophy. He’s heady by nature, but here he metaphorized his intellect and “clumsiness,” epitomizing the “gil”… “where there is a will, there is a way” and it also seems to be a pun on “life is art; art is life.” His very being is art. Can you imagine the pressure?
- “Martyred”: I chose this word because in Korean, angelic/devilish choices are presented with a significantly more dire moral weight than they usually are in Western cultures. Whereas in the West, morality is seen through the lens of religions like Christianity, where religion alone and adherence to it is the virtue, in Korea it’s basically “actions speak louder than words.”
- When Suga is talking about “being like a child,” he’s not talking about a simple regression into fear. He’s making a social commentary about the infantilization of fully adult Korean males forced to play parts in the K-idol industry.
As a final contextual/cultural note to kick things off:
BTS have been called “flower boys” (꽃미남). They play into this deliberately in a lot of ways, a lot of which will be topics for future posts. And this blog will evolve as they do. But this previous way of presenting has been central to their image because, yes, they’re pink-haired wunderkinds, but they have bite. And it’s not just sassiness—they’re seonbi. Poet-Warriors. Why was their military enlistment such a big debate in South Korea? Maybe because this special classification, taking its root from ancient kingdoms, has found a rebirth (as noted in the above lyrics) in these seven men. Being a K-pop idol is the position of a soldier, especially when you consider their immediate geopolitical position—and wider global fight to survive as native Koreans. It’s why V had a role in Hwarang. It’s why K-pop Demon Hunters happened.
Hallyu has already crashed over us ten-fold. We just took for the shallows Jimin glides by in the “Spring Day” MV… not the tsunami, culturally-significant soft power titan it’s turned out to be. And even though we’re not drowning, the humans among us who once would have stayed seaside are now gliding under as fish. That’s globalization, to some. Point well-taken. But to others, it leaves the floodgate open for massive misunderstanding and disinformation. Again, advantageous to some.
Will you be the one that does their research?
Heart and Seoul Music 
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