Note: This book is not officially published by BTS.

It is an effort by one individual to

view BTS through the lens of classical philosophy (similar to the way that other
article viewed BTS through the lens of classical literature) and attempt to present
philosophical concepts in a way that makes sense in terms of today's society.

I'm translating it here so that international fans can also appreciate the author's
efforts, but I would encourage you to buy the book if you can. It is available
domestically here and internationally here. If you appreciate the effort the author
has put in and enjoy reading the translation, please support the author as well by
purchasing the book.

Philosophizing BTS
by Cha Min-joo
Foreword

Philosophers emphasize the importance of being awakened in order to live a higher

standard of life. It is the process of becoming a 'me' who can think in a more elevated
way through understanding of the self.

In a time when philosophy and humanities education are not doing too well, BTS are
using the language of the times to comfort and lift the self-confidence of those young
people caught inside chaos and anxiety. They propose a way to climb the staircase of
self-development through ownership of self and awareness.

Now, in September of 2017, BTS are in their 52nd week in the #1 position on Billboard's
social chart. The social chart shows a ranking according to mentions on social media,
but in a way, it can also be seen as a ranking of popularity. It isn't only that they're
somewhat popular, but rather that they are enjoying huge popularity and interest
from all around the globe.

That this isn't just a shimmering phenomenon for BTS, but rather that they're
experiencing sustained support and popularity from around the world, is not only
thanks to their songs and dances. It is because of a deeper reason that they have
realized in their depths, one that makes their hearts cry out, something warm and
slightly blue, a philosophy like the dawn sky.

Young people around the world give testimony of the way that listening to BTS' music
has had a deep effect on their lives: "BTS changed my life." "When I was in the depths
of despair and nothing could comfort me, I was able to endure thanks to BTS' music."
"They made me look properly at myself when I could barely stand to, and now I think
that I should love myself more." "Thank you for telling me not to give up on my
dreams, and for telling me it's okay to lose." "For the first time, I learned that music
can give someone comfort. I wish that more people would get to know BTS and be
comforted too." "They made me become a better person. I'm very thankful." "I've
heard lyrics telling me not to give up on my dreams before, but this was the first time
that it touched my heart."
Among the values that BTS' music has, the weightiest is the good intention to make
one person's life a little brighter, and their message and philosophy of strength that
can truly help people to seek out their own universes. That warm, blue reason and
their messages of philosophy is being conveyed to young people through the most
powerful mediums, carried by their performances and music that exceed the limits of
training.

I wonder if the reason that people all over the world are so enthusiastic about BTS is
because of this: their dreams and defiance and achievement, their view of a better
world, and the way that they convey it in a way that is at one extremely honest and
as beautiful as poetry.

The time that BTS has to influence the youth of today could be long and could be
short. As always, the appraisals of ordinary people these days are quite merciless. Is it
because there's no longer any mystery about existing at the same time? Schopenhauer
said, "All great achievements take time to be received, and must endure an arduous
process." What is certain is that their current popularity is proof of the value of their
message, and that as that value floats to the surface, that it will be acknowledged
even further.

Hegel said, "The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk."
Similarly, it is only in the wake of BTS' huge success that I am attempting to link BTS
with philosophers on the same page, but I do not believe that it is too late to be
optimistic about their future success and influence.

Like BTS, there is some difficulty to be had in conveying philosophy—which has so

many difficult terms—in the language of the new generation, and I'm cautious in
quoting many philosophers for fear their words may be distorted. Nevertheless, if
even a few young people gain interest in philosophy through this work, then there is
meaning in it, no matter how small.

In this book, I will try to link BTS' message with the philosophies of various thinkers,
from Nietzsche—who I think comes closest to BTS' theory and philosophy—to Hegel,
Spinoza, Kierkegaard, Arendt and Deleuze, John Rawls and even Adorno. I will also try
to reason through what differentiates BTS from other idol groups, not in terms of a
formula for success but rather in terms of seeking differences.

I hope that the connection between BTS and these philosophers will allow young
people to understand philosophy with a little more ease.

I also hope that to the people who don't know BTS, that it may be a way to affirm the
strength of BTS' intense and heart-shaking message and the depth of philosophical
reasoning, provide a method of comforting lonely and struggling young people, and
allow readers to experience BTS' movingly beautiful metaphors in the language of the
new generation, which pierce straight to one's core.
There are awakenings in life that are larger than philosophy, they often feel too
distant to reach, To the young people who feel as if they can't approach the shrine of
reason and logic, it may be that BTS—who speak as a friend would, in the language
they know—are the wisest philosophers of all. This is the way of diffusing the new
generation's logic in the 21st century that they are pioneering.

In this book, BTS will be referred to by their English name "BTS," rather than
방탄소년단. Furthermore, I have used "BTS" not only to refer to the members that
comprise the group, but also to the media known as BTS, as well as the artists who
comprise the works of art that BTS produces.

This book has been published with all of my love for and interest in both philosophy
and popular culture, but it is still lacking in many ways in both areas. Even so, what
gives me courage is a promise to myself, to take each opportunity to grow and
develop.

Note: I do not allow reposting or re-translation of my translations without express

permission given beforehand. In the case of this particular translation I am not
allowing re-translation into other languages. If you want to post screencaps on
Twitter with a link to the blog (not to my Twitter) that's fine, you don't have to ask
beforehand! Thank you!

I. For the World

01. Consumer Society
Philosopher Jean Baudrillard referred to modern society as a 'society of consumers,'
and said that people living today use consumerism as a means of cultivating
differences with others. Rather than consumerism for the sake of use, it is
consumerism for the sake of manufacturing a difference in taste compared to others.

If you use an iPhone and a Macbook, have no car, ride a bicycle, drink Big Wave, like
Wes Anderson or Xavier Dolan movies, listen to Shin Hae Gyeong and Silica GEL, read
books of poetry from independent bookstores, wear Vans and raise a cat, does that
make you a hipster? The idea of 'hipster' might, in the end, be just another way of
flaunting the assets that make up one's cultural tastes.

If you drive a Bentley and wear Brioni or Kiton, wear a Panerai, Patek Philippe or IWC
watch, use Byredo or Jo Malone cologne, and take vacations in Seychelles, then might
you be a tasteful member of the young upper class?

Instead of being by one's own will for purposes of cultivating differences, choosing
brands is, in reality, an act of subordination to the trending codes of consumer
society.

Young people who are used to brand consumerism differentiate, define, and
categorize themselves and others in accordance with consumerist preferences. The
most popular brand classifications are, of course, those of the upper class. Those who
want to become part of that category imitate the brands and tastes of the upper class
in an effort to seem like them.

With shoes worth a couple hundred, padded jacket worth a couple thousand
With a watch worth a couple hundred,
you feel good about yourself
Education goes over the hill and
the student identity goes over the hill too
The class system of the 21st century is divided into two
Those who have and those who haven’t
Those who wear the shoes and those who don’t
Those who have the clothes and those who don’t
And those who try hard to get those things
What’s going on? Are you falling behind on the trend?
You whined and complained to get it, did I strike a nerve?

► from "Spine Breaker"

There was a time when a certain North Face jacket, costing close to ₩1,000,000
(approximately $1,000 USD), was popular among young people. Because these young
people would beg and coerce their parents into buying it for them, that jacket
became known as a 'spine breaker.' In their song Spine Breaker, BTS criticizes a youth
culture of burdening one's parents and childishly chasing after materialism. Nowadays,
wouldn't it be Kolon Sport, Nobis, Canada Goose or Moncler? Brands change every
year, but there will always be popular high-end jackets and name brand items. We
use logos to exhibit our tastes and attempt to enter into a higher class category.

Norwegian philosopher Thorstein Veblen believed that the excessiveness of the leisure
class is entirely for ostentation, and that the bigger problem was the 'instinct of
imitation' in the classes below. He said that though it is the labor class that maintains
the leisure class, the labor class doesn't criticize them, but rather overwork and
overspend themselves in order to imitate them. According to Jhering, once the middle
or labor classes begin to imitate them, the leisure class immediately disposes of those
items. Then those in the leisure class buy new items, the lower classes imitate them
once again, and the vicious cycle continues unbroken.

We have been trained into being accustomed to consumerism, and this drives us to
consume and keep consuming. Even if we aren't trying to imitate the upper class, the
cycle of consumerism has no end. Completing a payment doesn't alleviate our desire,
but rather our desire to desire, and a new appetite will soon be ignited.

No money but I wanna go far away

I don’t have money but I wanna relax
No money but I wanna eat Jiro Ono’s sushi
Worked hard to get my pay
Gonna spend it all on my stomach
Pinching pennies to spend it all on wasting it
Leave me be, even if I overspend
Even if I break apart my savings tomorrow
Like a crazy guy

► from Go Go

BTS mentions this culture of consuming as if there is no tomorrow in their song Go Go.
They use the phrase YOLO (You Only Live Once), which was a hot keyword in Korea in
2017, and criticize a culture of excessive enthusiasm towards consumerism. YOLO is
an outside shell that prioritizes the happiness of the now, but in reality it is a
consumerist behavior that borrows against the future in order to spend on today. The
problem is, of course, focusing on buying happiness with money.

Zygmunt Bauman said that the infinite loop of consumerism could be broken through
an educated 'cultural revolution.'

BTS criticizes the display of consumer brands and the phenomenon of putting on airs
with logos, as well as the culture of buying present happiness by taking the future as
collateral.

Through the cultural influence they possess, BTS have continuously suggested that
there are problematic aspects to today's consumer culture. They use their music to
illuminate and display not brands, but the caved-in parts of today's society and
culture, its problems and its broken places. Couldn't this be what Bauman meant
when he referred to an 'educated cultural revolution'?

02. Giving-Up Generation, Not Your Responsibility

"The opinion of the Right, that the injustice and poverty experienced by young people
is a result of laziness and poor choices, is something incomprehensible. A child cannot
choose its parents." — John Rawls

3포 Generation: Love, marriage, children

5포 Generation: The above + homeownership, employment
7포 Generation: The above + hobbies, human relationships

(Note: The '포' in the giving-up generations comes from the Korean word 포기, or
'pogi,' meaning to give up on something.)

These are the things that young people give up on as time passes. Why do they give
up? Could it really be because they're weak-minded, like the adults say? How could
someone speak so carelessly about that abandonment in the face of such a
generational gap? At the heart of the question of abandonment is an issue of
economics.

Who is the one who made us into studying machines?

They classify us to either
Being number one or dropping out
They trap us in borders, the adults
There’s no choice but to consent
Even if we think simply,
It’s the survival of the fittest
Who do you think is the one who makes us step
On even our close friends to climb up? What?

► from "N.O"

I did as the system said, lived well and graduated from college, but the only things
that remain in my grasp are the school loans I need to repay and worries about my
employment. Ordinarily, people say that the only reason for being unable to find
employment is because one's standards are too high, but why is it that they don't
understand that it's simply unreasonable to expect to pay back student loans with the
salary one gets working at a convenience store?

A person gets a job in an effort to compromise with the reality of the situation. But
the strange thing is, even though they're working and earning money, they have no
money. Not that they don't have a huge amount of money—it's that they lack the
money to enjoy dating or their hobbies. The reason for this lack of money is due to
school loans or their monthly rent. When the cost of living exceeds the money earned,
that's when someone falls into debt.

If that person's parents aren't well off, usually people are thrust into society even in
that indebted state. It's the same reality all around the world. In 2017, the British
think-tank IFS (Institute of Fiscal Studies) predicted that the average college student
would graduate with around £50,000 (USD $66,000) of debt.

Italian sociologist and philosopher Maurizio Lazzarato said that "debt has become the
primary power that moves contemporary society." It seemed to him that the thing
that made debts sway the individual is a neoliberal system that supports those who do
well and is unable to control the scaling of benefits to those who are already rich.

To put it briefly, neoliberalism is an economic policy arising from America and the
United Kingdom in the 1970s-1980s, a system that decreased government involvement
and prioritized the wealthy. Although 'globalization' and 'financial liberalization' are
difficult names to understand, in reality there is little difference between those terms
and an overall acceptance of 'international moneylending.' That is the governmental
and economic hegemony that influences the entire world today.
When someone earns money through this moneylending without doing work, someone
else becomes the sacrifice. The profit from moneylending comes in the form of
someone else's backbone.

Hans-Peter Martin said that in the snare of globalization, as 20% of people become
focused on earning, things become increasingly more difficult for the remaining 80%.
He said that those sacrifices include all wage workers from white collar workers to
the lower labor class. He also worried about the weakening fence of social security.

Modern philosophers Deleuze and Guattari said, in their book Anti-Oedipus, that "the
circulation of money is a means of creating an endless debt," and reconfirmed that we
lived in a world where money only returns to the hands of the rich.

It's the neoliberal system that needs to take responsibility for the 'giving-up
generation.' The bigger mistake is to cover that responsibility up with individual
responsibility and senses of guilt. Because of the criticism of the older generation,
who believe that they lack effort and willpower, the young people who were raised to
be brainwashed by the neoliberal system of monetary influence live the most
beautiful moments of their lives in agony, holding on to a sense of guilt and the idea
that it is their own fault.

sampo generation? ohpo generation?

Well I like beef jerky so it’s yookpo generation
The media and adults say we don’t have willpower
condemning us like stocks
Why are they killing us before we can even try, enemy enemy enemy
Why are you hanging your head and accepting it already? energy energy energy
Don’t ever give up, you know you not lonely
Our dawn is prettier than the day
So can I get a little bit of hope?
Wake your sleeping youth, go

► from "Dope"

BTS are saying that it isn't your mistake, to ignore those criticisms and form your own
discourse. Rather than the daylight, where creditors loan out and take back their
money, this is the dawn where you and I can exist outside their surveillance. They are
telling us that our youth has the potential to be defiant, and that we should awaken
that youth to carve out some hope for ourselves. We aren't alone—BTS are by our
sides.

BTS' stance is the same as that of Lazzarato. Lazzarato tells us to reject the regulated
life suggested by the rulers of the neoliberal system, and to instead play a different
game and live a different life. This is the class struggle, and a struggle for individual
independence and identity.
Whether the older generation intended so or not, young people have been branded
with the name 'giving-up generation.' BTS is telling these young people that they need
to escape from this system. This is the beginning of that escape.

"To keep moving toward the future means to believe in the world and in the new
possibilities in life that unfold there."

This 'world' is not the world provided by the system, but rather the world of individual
independence.
03. Gold Spoon and Dirt Spoon
"The children of a businessman and the children of a laborer can never have the same view of life, and
when the injustice between the two is corrected, liberal society can be justified." — John Rawls

what spoon are you to say that to me?

you say spoon this and spoon that, but I'm a person

► from "Fire"

People who dream of being a building owner or a millionaire can be seen as ordinary.
In 2017, Korea is a place where those values are awkward neither for the person
talking or the person listening.

The issue of having a lot of money can be resolved, but the new caste system that
stratifies people based on the amount of wealth they were born into—the theory of
'spoons'—is like a poison to a generation of youth who are in the process of trying to
create their own values, rather than creating a society where money is both a dream
and a virtue.

While criticizing a culture that divides people into classes with the name 'spoons,' BTS
says "I'm a person," emphasizing the inherent value of a human that can't be
stratified.

The problems with the theory of spoons are that it diminishes a person's value by
solidifying their ranking before their dreams have a chance to unfold, and that it
makes rising through monetary ranks into a goal.

If rising through the monetary ranks is one's dream, then the process becomes
meaningless. No matter what you do, it doesn't matter as long as you earn enough.
What you want to do, what you can be happy doing, the value of doing something that
contributes to the world—none of that is important. The spotlight falls on jobs that
pay well and people with a lot of money, and those who work hard for the world
without earning much money—people who protect polar bears or whales, people who
work on behalf of the environment—are treated as fools.

One must not assess a person by the value of the currency they possess. The pursuit of
wealth must not be one's only dream.

Even Warren Buffett, one of the world's wealthiest men, said that "if you enjoy your
work, money will follow," and that achieving one's dreams is more important. He also
emphasized the morality of the process of earning money by saying that "the most
beautiful money in the world is money earned fairly."

Michael J. Sandel, who wrote Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?, worried about
the way that economic abundance was becoming biggest virtue in modern society,
and about the loss of basic values and morality.

I have crow-tit legs, you have stork legs

they say their legs are worth a million dollars
my legs are shorter, how can we do the same events?
they say it's okay, we're all from the same place
never never never
you say it's my fault? you must be joking
you say this is fair? oh, are you crazy?
you say this is justice? you must be kidding me!
quit going on about 'effort'
ah, it makes my skin crawl

► from "Crow-Tit/Silver Spoon"

While comparing the 'dirt spoons' to the Korean crow-tit and 'gold spoons' to a stork,
BTS starts a conversation about the injustice that follows monetary stratification.
They also discuss how the textbook story that "anyone can achieve anything through
effort" is something that makes the reality even more impoverished.

American philosopher John Rawls referred to something he called 'the contingent,'

meaning the societal fortunes into which one is born—such as being born into a rich
family, the educational benefits received during one's growth, and one's inheritance.
These things can be enjoyed without any individual effort simply thanks to the
circumstances of one's birth.

BTS says that a competition under unfair terms is unjust. Since it isn't something that
can be easily overcome only with effort, it also isn't the fault of the individual.

In that case, what is the method for transforming injustice and impropriety into
justice and correctness?

change the rules, change change

the storks want to maintain, maintain
we can't do that, bang bang
this isn't normality
► from "Crow-Tit/Silver Spoon"

BTS says we must change the rules that were made only for the storks.

Is it really 'normality' that a poor truck driver who dents a rich man's billion-won Rolls
Royce must compensate him for the entire value of the car? Plato said that the assets
held by the richest man should not exceed four times that of the poorest man. Even if
it isn't perfect justice, or the ideal society Plato imagined, a rational system for unfair
settlements must be continuously imposed. If a system of insurance gradation is
implemented to protect poor drivers—one that changes according to the scale of the
driver's assets—then we can also put a stop to the number of families destroyed by
difficulties following an accident.

In the 1900s, the way to change the rules could have been a revolution. With those
thoughts, the communist revolutions in Russia and China succeeded.

But in the 2000s, it is not a generation of coercion and revolution, but rather the age
of digital action and gentleness.

The 21st century is not a world of total fairness like the utopia imagined by the
Marxists. And I don't believe that a progressive tax system would make the wealthy
change their nationalities.

The direction in which we need to proceed is towards the diffusion of a voluntary

culture. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have established charities and are working on
behalf of society. LG, Ottogi, and athlete Yuna Kim have taken these standards and
donated their money and skills to take care of our society, taking clear-intentioned
actions to establish societal capital.

Just as people look coldly upon the neglect of a cat or dog, societal capital is a
thought that refers to the sharing of values among people. The awareness of, and
agreement with, the thought that things in abundance should be shared—whether it's
knowledge or skill—can also become societal capital if it's proliferated. If we
proliferate the awareness that monetary stratification must disappear, then faith in
society will also be proliferated, and we can cultivate this intangible societal capital.

Only if we share the value of belief that we must do this for each other will this
societal capital be spread. Supporting people, companies, and politicians who do the
things you think are right contributes to its diffusion.

BTS' voice on the subject of the theories of spoons and economic stratification is part
of the diffusion of a societal capital that forces young people to think about the
problematic aspects of these theories. Whether or not it was done with the intent to
educate, at the moment they suggested such a topic of discussion, that message was
so valuable that its importance cannot even be estimated.
The term 'dirt spoon' contains within it another meaning: a victim of a broken system.
It also includes discrimination based on the existence or nonexistence of inherited
wealth. It is proof that something is occurring similar to discrimination based on race
or faith, sex or language.

From the time we are born, we as people have an intrinsic value that must be
guaranteed and must be respected. If we believe that stratification and
discrimination based on financial assets must disappear, then the sharing of that
thought is the beginning of the elimination of that discrimination.

04. Change
"Every man is a legislator. In Kantian philosophy, no one has the right to be obeyed."
— Hannah Arendt

Abstract words like irrationality, unfairness, corruption, and injustice may seem to
have no connection with me, but they are the main culprits of a difficult life and a
result of the politics in which I have participated.

Because it's not fun, because I'm too busy eating and living, because I'm busy playing
when I have time off, I have no interest in politics. But that's what they want. For you
to have no interest, and to have no voice. Could that be why they purposely talk in
such a difficult and boring way?

the world's goin' crazy

what about you, how bout ya
you think it's okay?
I don't think it is
…
we're all dogs and pigs, when we get angry we're dogs
storks vs. baepsae, it's war errday
it's a crazy world, yeah
it makes us crazy
…
even when you see the news, if it's nothing
if that comment is nothing
if that hatred is nothing
then you're not normal, it's not normal
►from Am I Wrong

Am I Wrong is a song that simultaneously criticizes a warped society, and raises a

warning to those selfish people who take no interest in politics.

"The public are dogs and pigs anyway. Why are you paying attention to dogs and pigs?
After barking for a while they'll eventually quiet down."
– Baek Yoon-sik's dialogue from the movie ⟨Inside Men⟩
In reality, a politician in our country did say that the population are pigs and dogs,
and stated that it would be good if there were a fixed caste system.

What those politicians are afraid of is that we'll continue to bark. I must open my
mouth and continue to chase after my own rights.

The Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) is an index of inequality and

opportunity with regards to national income, education, and health. In 2017, our
nation's ranking dropped to #32 as a result of the deepening of inequality in Korea.

Around the world, excluding Singapore, Mauritius, and the countries in northern
Europe, social inequality as a result of politics is a severe problem.

Politics is the principal agent that can straighten out this unfairness, irrationality, and
injustice. It is the method for changing society.

Aristotle stated that politics is the process of revealing one's opinion in a public place.
The citizens of Athens, where Aristotle lived, believed that separating rulers from
citizens and allowing them to rule continuously was not democracy. Aristotle said that
"freedom is alternating between governing and being governed."

Politics means raising one's voice. People who raise their voices are people who
govern. It means speaking one's opinion—not to fight or to struggle, but to correct
problems and to create justice.

oh tell me that dark can't never win the light

oh tell me that wrong can't never win the right
oh in this crazy world would I have to be patient
'til we get the pearl
but this world always teaches me
preaches me how to curl, oh fuck the school
…
what should we tell our sons?
you know that they will be the man like you and me
if hope is a taste
what is yours, what you eat all day
and if your love is a game
are we losin', losin'
world is gonna change
…
prayin' for a better place for you and I
► from RM & Wale's Change
In this song, which BTS member RM released in collaboration with American rapper
Wale, he sings about light winning over the darkness and justice winning over
injustice. He also worries about change and the future generations.

Economist Anthony B Atkinson said that the unfair opportunities and unfair results of
the environment we're currently facing will carry over into the next generation. Those
who benefit from the today's unfair results bequeath that benefit to the sons and
daughters of tomorrow; however, damages and loss due to that unfairness are equally
hereditary.

There are more things to be interested in than just whether or not one must buy
toothpaste on their way home today.

For example, what about the people who pay those huge tuition fees at university but
are still unable to take the lectures they want to take? Wasn't the school system
developed so that people could choose for themselves the process of their own
education? Why must it infringe upon the pursuit of education? Isn't it infringing on
student's rights to place capacity limits on lectures that many students want to take?
If all the student government does is get popular singers to perform at the school
festivals, is that enough to satisfy? Who is responsible for augmenting the applications
for courses that students want to take? Who should we choose as student body
president in order to get that person to take action? What is the most effective
method?

There are apartments who do their garbage sorting only once a month. Those people
feel a little afraid at having to remember and follow that rule. Additionally, some
apartments have residents who don't pay their heating bills, and although the other
residents know that that fee is being divided up and paid by the remaining residents,
they stay silent.

People who say "no" or "that's wrong" aren't bad people. Why is there no 'dislike'
button on SNS?

"'Politics are detestable.' People who don't think that way are rare. Politics are like a
moldy, dusty living room, unclean and with a foul smell. It's foolish neglect the living
room for that reason and instead live hunkered and grumbling in the cramped smaller
room. In that situation, isn't it better to gather determination to clean up the dust
and grime, to go into the living room and use your own two arms to clean it up and
make it into a place worth living in? The political reason and action that Arendt
emphasizes are something like this."

Hannah Arendt used the word 'world' to mean a space for politics. Politics is a job that
works to make the world a good place or everyone to live. And the workers are our
very selves.
It would be good if BTS' shining message, which it seems even Aristotle and Plato
would smile upon, didn't end on the flashy stage and instead left a deep impression on
the minds of young people. Society is becoming a place where the general public
extend their hands and feet and speak their minds, and we anticipate it becoming a
great light.

What we must remember is that the 99% are larger than the 1%. Our power is stronger
than we think.

04. Morality and Justice

"People who could not tolerate the existence of a scapegoat and went out into the
wilderness."

In the music video for BTS' song 'Spring Day,' which was released in February 2017,
there is a narration that pays homage to Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Ones Who Walk Away
from Omelas.

The plot of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is that the happiness of the
people of Omelas is guaranteed by the existence of one person, a scapegoat who is
locked away for their entire lives in a basement room. By pretending that scapegoat
does not exist, the other people can continue to be happy. In the story, those who
cannot deny the scapegoat's existence leave the village for some distant, unknown
place.

In the 'Spring Day' music video, there is a scene where some of the BTS members enter
a house that has a sign reading 'Omelas.' There, they find the other members in the
mist of a party. They take those members and leave the house, and all of them ride a
train together that takes them out into the wilderness. But why might they have left?

In his Theory of Justice, philosopher John Rawls endorsed the idea of the greatest
possible happiness for the greatest number of people, but even he did not believe it is
right to sacrifice one for the good of the many.

Political philosopher and Harvard Law School professor Michael Sandel has also
discussed the famous Trolley Car Problem, wherein the engineer of a runaway trolley
car must choose, at a fork in the road, between sacrificing five people working on the
main track or one person working on the byroad.

At the press conference following the Billboard Awards, BTS were asked, "You're no
longer considered 'dirt spoons' and you can't share the hunger of youth as your own
stories. What kind of story will you tell now?" Isn't 'Spring Day' an answer to that
question?

Isn't it the story of refusing a happiness that depends on a scapegoat, and instead
throwing away personal comfort and going out to find a new way, even without
knowing what is to come?
If I achieve my dream, then I become someone else's dream.
I want to be that kind of person.
I want to be your dream, everyone.
► Rap Monster's message from "BTS Letter for ARMY"

After finding one's own dream, and showing that one can exist as oneself, it is
ultimately a story about community.

Even if it is not fixed in law, following one's own value judgments and sense of
righteousness is one's own form of justice.

BTS has donated more than 100 million KRW (roughly $90,000 USD) to the surviving
families of those who passed away on the Sewol Ferry. It makes one think about
community, about care for one's surroundings, and about leadership through action.

They have become something beloved by many, and as their long-term, herculean
efforts build up, there also develops a 'sublimity' of word and deed.

The realization of the sublime is a characteristic of modern art. Creating art and
philosophy in one's own life, taking the right path as guided by the words and actions
that have become 'sublime'—tentatively, I predict that BTS' path will be thus.