The connection between Seo Taiji and BTS:
Left: Seo Taiji and Boys in the "Come Back Home" video; Right: Cover art for BTS's "Come Back Home"
When Seo Taiji & Boys debuted their rap-rock breakup song "I Know" on a talent show on one of Korea's major television networks, they received the lowest score of the night for their performance.
Though Seo Taiji & Boys soon disbanded in 1996, their career was a game changer. The group not only shook things up with their sound and look, they challenged the status quo in their lyrics as well, shouting the frustrations of young people and pushing the boundaries of pop music in their country. They were met with pushback from the industry and the older generation, often banned from TV broadcasts, and even
accused of sneaking satanic messages in their songs to brainwash young people. But the group and their fans pushed right back, eventually changing censorship laws and industry standards.
BTS recently remade Seo Taiji's 1995 song "Come Back Home," which rails against societal pressures on young people that push them to run away from home. In their remake, BTS speak about the frustrations of today's youth, which aren't so different from those felt over 20 years ago. In their version, J-Hope and
Rap Monster especially shine, as the former's dynamic delivery combines with the latter's hard-hitting approach in a way that both borrows from the anger and energy of the original and injects it with some Bangtan style.
The remake is part of
Time Traveler, a project to celebrate 25 years since Seo Taiji's debut that will culminate in a concert in Seoul on September 2. Other artists also participated with their own remakes. Urban Zakapa and Younha took the softer "Moai" and "Take Five" and updated them with more polished and cinematic versions, while rappers Loopy and Nafla of MKIT Rain translated the intensity of "Internet War"
into their own sinister remake. Yet of the many artists who participated in
Time Traveler,
BTS was the most successful with its remake, perhaps because the group is the one whose career has most closely followed in Seo Taiji's footsteps. Like Seo Taiji & Boys were in their day, BTS is a hip-hop group known for their choreography, experimenting with different styles, and voicing the pains of the youth in their music. And while "Come Back Home" is an actual cover of Seo Taiji, it's not the only instance of BTS taking a cue from their predecessors.
"Classroom Idea," another of Seo Taiji's songs that remains relevant, criticizes the school system for being so stringent and suffocating and more like a factory than anything. In it, Seo Taiji returns to his metal roots and screams that enough is enough, that he doesn't want to be a part of this. The abrasive style of the song and its criticisms is what led many parents to accuse the group of inserting satanic messages in their music to brainwash their children.
Nearly 20 years later, BTS picked up on the same themes in their school trilogy (2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL8,2?, Skool Luv Affair). In the trilogy, BTS focuses on the problems high school and college students grapple with, namely the pressure from parents and society to do well in school, get a good job, and make money.
Their debut song
"No More Dream" talks about the aspirations of young people being predetermined and all about money and laments that this leaves them with no real dreams of their own.
"N.O" later followed with critiques of the rigid school system and its mind-numbing effects, just as Seo Taiji did in "Classroom Idea." But BTS didn't just say enough is enough, they rallied young people right along with them to say no to the narrow path they're expected to walk. (The dystopian classroom music video was a nice touch.)
Even before their debut, Jin, Rap Monster, and Suga came together for
"Tears of School," a song that, over Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools," describes the school as a flawed mini-society created by adults, a battleground in which there are no winners.
When Suga talks about being taught to step on others to climb to the top, he reiterates a problem that Seo Taiji also witnessed. The connection between the groups is obvious, and it's no surprise that BTS went on to perform "Classroom Idea" at KBS's end of year concert last year.
And because there's no social commentary shortage, fans who are more immersed know to seek it out. Earlier this year, BTS released
"Spring Day," a song about friendship lost and missed.
Fans of the group analyzed everything from the song's lyrics to the music video's imagery and the formations of the performance choreography and some concluded that it was a tribute to the young lives lost in the Sewol ferry tragedy of 2014. Whether it was intended or not, the group's trajectory thus far leads fans to seek deeper meaning in their music, just as Seo Taiji did 25 years ago.
