I was listening to Polar Night recently & suddenly wondered what was the reason Yoongi named this song Polar Night. A long time back I had only been listening to the songs & reading their lyrics & never bothered to ponder upon their titles. So I decided to write a post on why each BTS song has that title & why some have an alternate Korean title.
Feel free to list any songs I might have missed or any extra context that you know about it. And I have also not touched upon their Japanese works since I have not learned about them deeply yet. So feel free to discuss them too 🙂
Going from their debut works….
We are bulletproof Pt.2 – There’s not much explanation needed for WRB. But why Pt.2? Bcz there’s already a song named WRB Pt.1 that was released pre-debut.
Like(Chowa) – Well it's not about liking someone, but about the like button..like in FB, YT, Insta, etc. It’s a song about a person contemplating their ex-lover’s SNS posts. Well it's a really cute song. Read the lyrics if you haven’t.
Outro: Circle room cypher – You all might have heard this skit like track where the members make hilarious freestyle rap. But do you know why it's called a cypher? Cypher is a hip-hop term where a group of rappers come together rapping & jamming to the music.
This is also the reason why the infamous diss tracks of Bangtan are called cyphers. The rappers SUGA, RM & j-hope come together & rap in their own styles to form a synergy. This term is not just exclusive to rappers though. You could also see it in other hip-hop elements like break dancing, beat-boxing, etc. Another example is when you would have seen that Japanese dancer talked about wanting to do cyphers with fellow dancers, in Hobi’s HOTS documentary.
Attack on Bangtan – Will just quote doolset bangtan’s explanation here:
Satoori Rap a.k.a. Paldogangsan – This is one of my most favourite songs & one of the most beautiful titles in a BTS song. Most listeners would only know this song by the name Satoori(Dialects) rap, but it has another name called PalDoGangSan.
Pal – Eight
Do – Province
Gang – River
San – Mountain
It basically means, “Rivers and mountains of the eight provinces”. Apparently rivers & mountains is an old fashioned way to say ‘territory’ in the Korean culture. So Paldogangsan is a song celebrating the “Satooris (dialects)” of the eight provinces of Korea.
Read this lyric translation & article to know more about the brilliance of Paldogangsan.
Boy in Luv – Well most might have already known, but for those who didn’t know, Boy in Luv has an alternative Korean title called “Sang Namja” meaning “Real Man”.
Where You From – Well, it has a Korean title called “Eodiesseo wassneunji” which also means where are you from only, but not in standard Korean. The Korean title is in Satoori (dialect). So this is BTS’s 2nd satoori song.
It doesn’t matter / Ssaihanuwar – Yoongi’s mixtape single has an alternative title called ‘Ssaihanuwar’ that he infamously mentions in ‘Agust-D’. Ssaihanuwar is a word that repeatedly plays in the background of the song. It is actually from a traditional Korean song called ‘Jukbyukga’, that he sampled for this track.
And the lyrics of the song are…WOW..I was surprised the first time I read it, but it’s not really shocking. Anyways linking the song & lyrics for those who don’t know this exists.
Embarrassed a.k.a. Blanket kick – Embarrassed has an alternative Korean title called Ibulkig (Blanket Kick). Rather than me explaining, I will quote Yoongi’s words itself from his album review video:
FIRE – Its alternative Korean title is Yoongi’s infamous adlib from the song – ‘BULTAORUNE’. It means “burning up”.
724148 – 724 & 148 are the numbers of the bus that Yoongi used to ride to commute to school while in Daegu & Seoul.
2!3! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를) – Since this is a song for ARMY, it is like the boys are saying, when we count 2!3! (like their korean introduction – Deul! Set!) let's hope there will be more good days.
Go Go a.k.a. 고민보다 GO – The track’s Korean title “Gominbada Go” means "Rather than worry, GO!”
Anpanman – Anpanman is the hero character of a Japanese anime called ‘Anpanman’, whose head is made up of bread. Unlike Superman, Spiderman or Batman he does not have any superpower to beat up the enemies. The only power he has is the ability to hear the people who call him for help. He even gives a part of his head to those who need it, even if it reduces his power.
Quoting Namjoon’s words about the song from his album review vlive:
Hangsang – Well this doesn’t really need any explanation, but since the song only has one title, a Korean one, thought might translate for those who didn’t know. Hangsang means ‘Always’.
Uh good a.k.a. 어긋 – This one’s a cleverly titled track. The English title is "Uh good”..like “Uh..yeah, everything’s good”. But the Korean title is 어긋. It is pronounced as ‘eogeut’ similar to the English title, but it translates to “Out of place/Misaligned”. Brilliant right!
Boy With Luv (작은 것들을 위한 시) – The English title is Boy with luv, but a lot of people don’t know its Korean title, which is even more beautiful & apt than its English counterpart. Its “jag-eun geosdeul-eul wihan si”, meaning “A poem for the small things”. Pretty right!
Mikrokosmos – The Korean & English titles mean the same thing. But I included it here bcuz like me many people might not have known that our beloved 2021 Muster was named after this song’s Korean title – ‘Sowoozoo’!
28 (점점 어른이 되나봐) – The song is a track that Yoongi wrote when he was 28 in his Korean age. Also the Korean title “jeomjeom eoleun-i doenabwa” means “I guess I am gradually becoming an adult”.
Dear my friend (어땠을까) – This song about Yoongi’s long lost friend has an alternative Korean title called ‘Eotteasseulkka’, meaning “What would it have been like?”.
STOP (세상에 나쁜 사람은 없다) – This track from has an alt Korean title named “Sesange napeun sarameun opda”, meaning “There are no bad people in the world. I will quote doolset bangtan’s explanation here:
what if – “what if” is a song about Hobi’s thoughts on how, if not for the name j-hope he wouldn’t have been able to tell the stories he has told until now. It is a song where he questions himself, what if there was no j-hope? What if there was no hope?
Hence “what if”.
SEXY NUKIM – Sexy Nukim is a weird combo of an English & Korean word. You might know what sexy is. Nukim means “feel/feeling” in Korean. It is a song telling how they (Balming Tiger & RM) don’t lose their Sexy Nukim, i.e., their “Individuality/Uniqueness” & tells the listener to do the same.
Yun – Yun comes from the name of the Korean painter Yun Hyeong Kun. The song is an ode to the Korean painter who Namjoon greatly admires & respects.
Still life – I will quote the words Namjoon said himself in the Indigo magazine film:
Wild Flower – Will quote doolset bangtan’s explanation here:
Letter – Letter is a song that Jimin literally wrote as a letter to ARMY & transferred them to the song as its lyrics.
Haegum – Haegum, a Korean word, has two meanings – (1) a traditional Korean musical instrument; (2) to lift a ban.
Yoongi utilises both its meanings for this song. He has sampled the sounds of the musical instrument for this track & he has also written the song as something that frees the listeners from what’s forbidden. To say more clearly in his own words “For those living in this unfortunate era who don’t even understand their own tastes, this song is simply freeing the forbidden”
Polar Night – In a world where countless information & opinions exist, it is a song that questions the listeners whether they are looking at the world in a proper way. It is a song that questions whether it is right to look at the world as just two extremes – truth & lies, right & wrongs, your right & your wrong.
Also polar night is a phenomenon in which the sun is either completely blocked or fully exposed. Polar night is a song that laments of such polar extremes – either the one opinion is completely exposed or is completely blocked.
*THE END*
by Active_Put7939