BTS vs K POP: A Video Essay (REACTION) | American Reacts To BTS vs KPOP 

The funniest part is Samsung and Hyundai both work with BTS as well

There are a lot of people reacting to bts nowadays but you are the only reacting to documentaries about them before listening to their songs. I really like it.

A side note for the document series “the rise of Bangtan” that people have been requesting: the series has a lot of song spoilers and clips which I think might have more value reacting to first before diving into the series (unless hearing song snippets is ok). I generally like to go into albums blind, without hearing any songs beforehand, but if that’s doesn’t bother you, then feel free to check it out :)

I haven’t finished completely watching this video yet, but just in case it doesn’t come up, the video you’re reacting to is a little old, bts is now 8 years old, not six. So you can only imagine how much more they have achieved in those 2 years

I’ve been an army for 6 years now and I absolutely LOVE how you’ve approached this and the level of understanding you have for the importance of this group without even listening to the music! You may not need this for a while or you can just disregard this entirely but whenever you decide to venture into their music here is a list of recs that cover their timeline, genres, and messages. I’ve seen many say this before but I recommend watching their bts room live for 2021 festa first to see their live vocals and a mix of their music (or their 2018 or 2019 MMA performances to see their stage presence as well) but once you want to get into individual songs feel free to use this as a guide of sorts! Spine Breaker: 2014 Songwriters: Suga, RM, Jhope This song criticizes the young generation as they’ve fallen into the trap of trends that puts burdens of their parents. “I took the opinion of, "I don’t really understand why." And RM took the view of, "Why can’t you understand? I’m spending my own money." There’s no one answer to this” -Suga Silver spoon: 2015 Songwriters: RM Talks about the silver spoon class theory and young generations struggles and barriers that the older generation refuses to acknowledge. Society promises the youth wealth, happiness, security, and freedom if they have sacrificed everything but often receive nothing back, and then are criticized for not sacrificing enough to a system that is working to keep those with silver spoons in power. I Need U: 2015 Songwriters: Suga, RM, Jhope One of the most notable songs in BTS’s career as almost three years after their debut they received their first music show win and can be considered their “breakout hit” when larger companies started to see them as competition. The MV is the beginning of their BU storyline, a storyline that’s expands through multiple mvs. This is also when they introduced many new sounds to their discography and embraced their “youth” concept more. Epilogue: Young forever : 2016 Songwriters: Suga, RM, Jhope One of their saddest songs in my opinion, this song is about their desperation to be young forever and not lose the recognition they have been working so long and hard to get and it seems like this song is them bracing of the fall they are waiting to happen. Not all is sad though! In 2019 at a sold out Wembley stadium show in London Army’s surprised them by singing the chorus of this song before their closing song to show they have “made it” and are past that desperation and the boys SOBBED haha Blood Sweat & Tears: 2016 Songwriters: Suga, RM, Jhope Another noble song in their career as it shows their departure from their “youth” era and instead venturing into more adult themes, showing that these boys are growing into men. This song was featured in the wings album (probably my favorite album) that displayed darker themes as well as stood out from their discography as well as all other Kpop groups albums as each member had their own song in this album that were personal to them ranging from fighting to accept oneself (Lie: Jimin), hating oneself (reflection: RM), and the love for piano (first love: Suga) Spring Day: 2017 Songwriters: RM, Suga !!!!!!!!!!!THIS SONG!!!!!!!!!! Armies call her the queen, bts call her a zombie lol. Since this song came out if has stayed on the Korean charts never once leaving and makes a comeback to the top every comeback bts has. That aside, this song is an incredibly reflective and meaningful song about love, loss, and yearning that by itself creates a heartfelt song that touches many but is especially meaningful for Koreans. I recommend watching an explanation video for the music video to get details but this song provided a lot of comfort to Koreans, especially the youth, for its message and imagery allude to the sewol ferry tragedy. In times where the government silenced everyone from speaking about what occurred and the children that were lost, spring day and it’s message helped many in keeping the memory alive in the years after the tragedy. While many can find it a beautiful song without interpreting it in that way and simply taking it as a song of of longing and carrying on, it’s comfort it provided many makes it to be the best song bts has ever created (in my opinion). Fake Love: 2018 Songwriters: RM This song is a bit of a continuation of the sorrow seen in blood sweat and tears but with more of a heartbroken twist to it. It revolves around the agony of a toxic relationship where one is dependent on the other and is willing to change themselves and the heartbreak of being lost. Fake love came out during the love yourself trilogy albums and it fits into the deeper message that this trilogy sends. “We're saying that if you're not true to yourself, your love won't last forever. The love could be person to person, it could be between me and myself” -RM IDOL: 2018 Songwriters: RM During this time BTS were becoming more stable in the western music world and were receiving a lot of criticism from the Korean music world for “becoming too westernized” as well as major push back from the western music world for “being too Korean”. They released this song as basically a “fuck you” to everyone saying those things to them, a song that audibly has a Korean influence to kill two birds with one stone as to say “we are not become westernized and we will always be Korean”. The MV is an acid trip haha really a push back to people saying they were “too eccentric” Black swan: 2020 Songwriters: RM This song compares the day they (the members) might fall out of love with music as their first death. Instead of them writing about their desperation to not fall from frame like they did in young forever, they instead write about the desperation in not wanting to fall out of love with their craft.(There’s an orchestra version of this song released as a single and it’s the most majestic shit ever, highly recommend). Their choreography for this song is also notable because of its heavy contemporary inspiration, a first for the group (jimin is highlighted in the MV due to him being a trained contemporary dancer) UGH!: 2020 Songwriters: Suga, RM, Jhope I really just wanted to throw this in here to showcase how diverse their genres are to this day and this song always gets me pumped. It’s a sub-unit song (only the three rappers are in this song) and it’s a heavy rap song that is exploring the emotion of anger and how anger is a powerful emotion that can move the world to a better place but has been constantly brushed under the same rug as anger towards things that don’t matter (like their haters). I recommend watching a Korean explained video of the song because it really highlights the great lyricism these men have that can easily be lost through translation. Telepathy: 2020 Songwriters: Suga, Jhope, Jungkook This song was released in their last album “BE” and this album is notable because 1) this album was written during the pandemic 2) the members had COMPLETE control over this album (I.e. visual director, director of MV, music director, choreography). This whole album is “a letter of hope” that encompasses the feelings that the pandemic brought. This song is a commemoration of the love that exists between BTS and ARMY (there are many songs in their discography about that love), but is especially touching in an album that was written when we can no longer go to concerts and meet them like we used to and is a song that provides comfort for their fans. Sorry for the absurdly long comment but I love seeing this journey of yours and hope this is a bit of use to you ahaha! Hope to see you upload more and looking forward to seeing you dive deeper into BTS! 💜

Namjoon's interview from Time: "As K-pop is becoming bigger, we should have some debate: What is K-pop?" RM pondered. "Some might say that ["Dynamite"] is not K-pop ... but what is K-pop? We don't want to limit this music or our heart to this boundary called 'K-pop.'" Namjoon's interview from Rolling Stone: "That’s a very important debate. Because what they call K-pop, that genre is expanding very fast. For example, some so-called K-pop groups have only foreigners, from Europe, India, China, like, everywhere. There are no Korean members, but they do the K-pop thing, they’re switching the parts, and so on. BTS is expanding very fast as well. And K-pop is now so wide. Somebody could say that K-pop is for Koreans who sing a Korean song. That could be K-pop. But what about “Dynamite”? We sing the song in English. But we’re all Koreans, so somebody may say it’s a K-pop song. Or they may say it’s just a pop song, because it’s in English. But we don’t actually really care about whether people see us as inside or outside K-pop. The important fact is that we’re all Koreans, and we’re singing a pop song. So that’s the reason why we said that our genre is just BTS. That debate is very important for the music industry, but it doesn’t mean very much for us members.”

I;m a 63 year old grandmother from Australia, BTS has saved me . I'm a true Army , they give a positive message and they love Army . I will always love BTS and other army, I have met with a few on facebook and we message each other alot. True Army are like family.

here is a full list of bts albums for you to follow along, in order of release: (that took me ages just now, i didn't include single CDs, here we go) SCHOOL TRILOGY 1. 2 cool 4 skool - EP (2013) 2. o!rul8,2? - EP (2013) 3. skool luv affair - EP (2014) 4. skool luv affair (special addition) - features basically one more original song and a remix of a song from 2 cool 4 skool (2014) 5. dark & wild - 1st full album, standalone (2014) 6. wake up - 1st japanese studio album - 5 original songs + japanese versions of some korean songs (2014) YOUTH TRILOGY 7. the most beautiful moment in life, pt.1 - EP (2015) 8. the most beautiful moment in life, pt.2 - EP (2015) 9. the most beautiful moment in life: young forever (2016) - compilation album, features tracks from the first 2 albums + 3 new songs and several remixes 10. youth - 2nd japanese studio album - 4 original songs + japanese versions of some korean songs A DUOLOGY? 11. wings - 2nd full album (2016) 12. you never walk alone - repackage of tracks from wings + 3 new songs (2017) LOVE YOURSELF SERIES 13. love yourself: her - EP (2017) 14. love yourself: tear - 3rd full album (2018) 15. love yourself: answer - compilation album of the first two ly albums + 7 new songs and several remixes (2018) 16. face yourself - 3rd japanese studio album, 5 original songs + japanese versions of some korean songs (2018) MAP OF THE SOUL SERIES + an extra in there 17. map of the soul: persona - EP (2019) *the extra* : 18. bts world - OST album for their game bts world, features 4 songs they worked on (3 of which are collaborations with western artists) + many instrumentals that weren't created by them for the game (2019) BACK TO THE MAP OF THE SOUL PROGRAMME 18. map of the soul: 7 - 4th full album (2020) 19. map of the soul: 7 ~ the journey - 4th japanese studio album - 5 original songs + japanese versions of some korean songs (2020) 20. BE - 5th full album (2020) and here we are today. i didn't include the dynamite CD or the butter EP because those are like, one song, three song standalones with their english singles. that took me a long while, i hope i got everything accurately there. don't feel overwhelmed!! it's all great music. i hope i didn't miss anything.

Can we talk about how honest this guy is with us armies. He flat out told us how he perceived kpop before getting a better understanding of kpop, which I feel like we need more of this kind of honesty from reactors out there. I'm excited for you to get to know BTS and understand the Korean Music industry on a different level!

Pdogg's (BTS' in-house producer) salary is now more than the Hyundai's Chairman. He took home US$34 mil in the first half of 2021. This excludes his stakes (shares) in the company.

“The rise of Kpop and the rise of BTS are distant cousins” Ooo! That line hit!! As someone who became a BTS fan in late 2015 and basically got to see their global rise and then fell in love with Kpop through BTS and then went on my own journey to learn Kpop history, they definitely have different trajectories. To me BTS are Kpop but with just a bit of their own magic. Like I love them most of anyone and believe they deserve every bit of success they have but can’t even tell you why. There are other groups filled with great humans, other groups who actually sing better, dance better, perform live just as well, have rapppers on par or close to BTS rappers. Nearly every single Kpop group is filled with incredibly hard working people just like BTS. But BTS has that magical chemistry and I think their biggest strength is their online presence and how even from very early on they were allowed to upload unedited content and just connect freely and unfiltered with fans. They release more behind the scenes content of any celebrity, eastern or western, I have ever seen. It makes for an incredible loyal and active fanbase

Elliot is probably one of the most astute content providers and rarely gets play from reactors. Thanks for not only exposing yourself but others to his work which is consistently thoughtful and well developed.

10:15 Yearh, that was actually Jin freaking out to the music at an award show. The guy just cracks me up! 😂🤣😂🤣😂

Yeah "The Rise Of Bangtan" is a great docu-series. Currently it has 14 Chapters.

BTS may have started as KPop, but they went --- BEYOND KPop - BTS does it all, Sing, Rap, Dance, Tours, Digital Communications and Performances that have out thrilled millions world-wide. Seven young men from Korea are changing the world of music. Their names should be recorded in the history of music. BTS is recognized worldwide and BTS has ARMY who stand beside and support them. At This Time - BTS is On Top.

if you're talking about watching the rise of bangtan series next, i would also recommend watching the deleted scenes and bonus content for each episode too!! it's honestly a really amazing series and super well made, i'm excited to watch it with you!

When you start listening to their music I think it’s SUPER important that you understand the value of the music videos as well. As amazing as their music is, the MV’s not only add more context to them but it’s a COMPLETELY different experience when watching them as well versus just listening

Omg yess I love Elliot 😭😭 I’m so glad you reacted to him

The best way to understand fully all the story of BTS from the beginning till now is to watch the Rise of Bangtan. Please react to this, even old armies get amazed by the storytelling of the documentary series.

Thank you. I can't wait for next week. So happy you are gonna start the Rise of Bangatan series soon.

The mission vision and core message of the group is really what draws me or leans toward BIGHIT OR BTS that is. It manifests thru their music and even their attitude towards work, artistic freedom and living authentic life.

When you get to diving into their discography I recommend doing so in chronological order. Many reaction channels start with the most recent, most viewed or most recommended, but I feel that approach leaves too many holes, and you end up missing out on their best tracks and growth process that BTS has gone through ( which makes a lot more sense in Map of The Soul 7).

As an older ARMY I respect the journey of how your learning about BTS. Thank you. 💜

Fun Fact: YG was a member of Seo Taeji and Boys (he was one of the “boys” 😂😂)

I'm glad you reacted to this.☺️ About the way you want to start listening to their music: by listening to an entire album from start to finish. I personally think you'd find it even more interesting and enjoyable if you do watch music videos for the songs that have one, since the visual aspect, like the dancing, is so important in their art. Map of the soul: 7 is probably the best album to start off with. Reading the lyrics before, while or after listening to each song would make it a lot more interesting to you as well, I think, since their lyrics are always really good and interesting. I look forward to all your future BTS reactions💜

in my opinion, bts haven't necessarily settled themselves into the label of "kpop" and "idol" even after their song idol dropped. that song itself moreso says, i've struggled with this image because i don't like it too much but call me whatever, i know who i am and i love myself. and even in dionysus, a song dropped a whole year after idol was released, yoongi's verse clearly says: "born as a kpop idol, reborn as an artist". so, i don't think bts want to label themselves as any genre, as part of the kpop industry or whatever, but also couldn't care less to correct anyone, so they just say, we know what we are, but you go on and call us whatever you want, we can't stop you. just my two cents.

I think BTS is beyond kpop. They are uniquely their own. I think people put them in the kpop cateory because they otherwise don't know how to categorize them. BTS is the only kpop group that has reached their level of success because they are uniquely themselves. I always describe them as a musical enigma at the level of artists as Prince, Michael Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, etc.

The "gee gee gee gee baby baby baby" got me!!! That song for sure got me in to kpop in the early '10s

Elliot is thoughtful and insightful. Thanks for checking it out. The Rise of Bangton is so much to watch. I can't wait to your reaction!

Highly recommend reacting to the 7 members of BTS (2021 Updated). It explains the role of each member, and how they contribute to the group.

This video is a couple of years old. They debuted 8 years ago. The map of the Soul Album that people want you to check out is probably map of the Soul 7 which came or later and included all the songs from Map of the Soul Persona plus like, 9 other songs. If you listen to the track list in order it tells a specific story based on Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung’s book Map of the Soul, which talks about learning about and embracing all the different parts of yourself including what Jung calls, The Persona, The Shadow, and The Ego.

i already like KPOP 10 years ago but only BTS touched my heart.. their messages save me from depression ..im forever thankful to them

i saw someone stream every bts music video in one stream. i think that alone was 3 hours. they have so much more music than they have mvs

Yaaasss!!!!! I love Elliot’s videos! Thanks for reacting to this😭💜

This is like going back to school, listening to my lecturers and take notes 😁 Nice essay from Elliot, and nice reaction from you ❤️

16:40 YES!!! That is why BTS is so big. Their label, BigHit and CEO, Bang PD, formed BigHit and BTS in rebellion to the unfair practice of the idol music industry. In doing so, he made BTS stand out and become who they are today. To Bang PD, he didn’t run this business with business in mind, he ran this business with making great music and caring for his artists and helping the general public/audience in mind. THAT is the big difference between Bang PD and BigHit from all these other idol music companies, and it is VITAL to how BTS became so different from other idols since the beginning, with social media presence, artistic freedom, and human connection between artist and label. That is why it’s such a frustration when people put BTS and Idol music together, because BTS never formed or operated under the idol umbrella. They were operating outside of it, especially because they were in a small company, and because of that they went through much hardship and sacrifice, but also beauty and love and freedom and expression through music and sharing it with people. It is why they deserve so much more than the the idol music label put on them, because they are so much more than what the idol music industry gave to them, which is nothing. All this time, BTS was operating OUTSIDE of the idol music system through management practices from the company, social media presence, artistic creativity and freedom, all of which other big three groups and other companies did not have plenty of at all. Because of operating outside of that, and therefore succeeding, BTS have benefited greatly and yet have also gone through so much pain. I really recommend you get into the Rise of Bangtan series. It explains BTS’ journey of growth more and I can add more explanation as you go through each episode, but basically BTS and BigHit were literally nothing in the eyes of the South Korean idol music industry, BTS had no seniors to rely on for guidance or support, BigHit barely had any money and the company almost went bankrupt due to BigHit not having a lot of artists due to how small they were and because a previous artist they had got into a scandal, which meant BigHit reputation went down, so no one went to them, so BigHit had less of a chance to create more artists, you get the endless circle. Due to them having no money that meant their training area was so small BTS’ practice room mirror got fogged up from the member’s breathing and they had to wipe it up with newspaper and the company building being small and in a bad neighborhood so the building rooms with the equipment and dance training for BTS regularly got flooded, so BTS had to always scoop out water with buckets. BTS also didn’t have a lot of money for food and put any money they made towards their music videos, art, etc. so their love for food even today could partially be because of how little they had back then. BigHit had no chance of becoming big, BTS had no chance of becoming big, or at least not compared to the groups who people actually knew due to the power of money and face from the big three companies. The big three had so much money and influence through their word due to them being so well known, they had tons of media coverage and had enough influence to keep it that way, just on them. The only people BTS had to support them, and the people which got BTS to where they are today is BTS themselves, BigHit, and ARMY, no one else.

you should totally watch "THE RISE OF BANGTAN"... and in the process maybe hear the songs i think :)

I think a good example of bts being categorized as kpop when it doesn’t make sense is at the vmas their song was nominated for best kpop and left out of some big main categories even though the song has out performed the ones that made it in the category (such as best video, which they’re in Guinness world records for breaking multiple records with) and the song is all in English. In the past we would chalk it up to the lyrics not being in English (even though their Korean songs have some English and Despacito did just fine in main categories when it came out) but now there isn’t even that excuse, though it was a bad excuse to begin with. Especially, when these main categories have artists from Australia, Canada, England, etc. It’s all in English and these different award shows are highlighting talent from other countries, why not bts? I will say though they did get in the best pop and song of the year, which is long overdue because they’ve been topping charts for a long time, but why not best video or best artist? When they’re on the level as of outselling those in the categories? They’ve definitely come a long way in the awards show category but army are very suspicious of award ceremonies over the years honestly there could be a whole video just on fishy things western award ceremonies have done to bts. One being that kpop categories only popped up after bts started getting big enough to be nominated over here. Why make it at all? Why not let them compete against western artists?

Down the rabbit hole you go! Don't forget BTS music videos. For me it went like this: "Dope" - I wanted those guys in my classes. "Fake Love" - my dreams & nightmares right in front of my eyes. "Idol" - colors, glorious colors! And dancing. So much fabulous dancing. The BTS appeal is not limited to the sounds of their songs. It's an entire sonic & visual extravaganza. You could divide the group into a rap line and a vocal line and forget the rest. It would be like cutting off an arm & a leg. Not advised.

this is just something funny i noticed, but you and elliot (from the video) have almost the exact same glasses frame lolll

you should react to "you're wrong about Kpop : a video essay" he talks more about the Korean industry and the Korean culture , it's so informative and entertaining

70 yrs old fan of BTS since 2017..when you start reacting to their music i suggest you watch their live performance i.e jimmy fallon and their music cover of Fix You by Cold Play and I'll be missing you by Pdaddy and Faith. Stay safe son

That was nice to react to this one. It's an interesting video to understand a little more about K-pop and BTS in general. The way I would answer the question personally is : Yes BTS is a k-pop group, they actually are what k-pop SHOULD be. To me they actually take the best parts of the concept of k-pop and uses them to create good and deep content. You have the amazing choregraphies, the beautiful visual aspect, amazing cinematography in the MVs, insane stages but they are not using all of that in the superficial and empty way, but to say something and everything is there to add value to the music, not to compensate for what the music does not have. That would be one of the biggest difference with a lot of other k-pop groups/companies (not all of them, BTS are not the only group to have some creative freedom and to have good or deeper music, but these groups are a minority). Can't wait for your next reaction, have a wonderful day ! :D

i love how you’re being open minded about this. that’s the key to good reactions imo. and the initiative to learn more - which you seem to have.

really love what you're doing and just wanted to tell you that when you do get into the music, something I'm always looking for in a reactor is someone that digs deep into the lyricism in BTS's music and the meaning behind the music videos. like as an army it takes me some time doing research about what they're talking about and that means learning about books, mythology, symbolism so it's a lot but it's so worthwhile! love the journey you going thru

Wow, you’ve earned my upmost respect for doing this. It will be so great to watch you react to all of the BTS stuff in order and also learn stuff before you start.

Great video- thanks for reacting to it- it does put trying to categorize BTS and other korean groups in perspective-- one of the things i take away is that BTS and many other groups are multi faceted and attemping to find one type of description for each group is a futile mission --- I see the Rise of Bangtan has been recommended- i recommend it as well-- it does capture BTS journey really well -- it has 14 chapters now and more to come -- stay safe 💜

your journey is really unique compared to most reactors and you can see that you are genuinely interested. it’s really fun to watch this again with you ✨

Can you check out “You’re wrong about Kpop : a video essay”

when are you gonna react to their actual music? i think you have a good grasp about who BTS are, i want to see your reaction to their actual work soon

I can’t wait to see where you go next. I’m here for it! 💜

Thank you. Loved this. I can't wait for next week.💜

Fun fact: Jungkook (youngest member) at 13 yrs old had offers from 9 different entertainment companies including the Big 3, but choose tiny lil Big Hit nobody because he saw a video of Namjoon rapping and thought he was so cool and wanted to be in a group with him. To this day he says Namjoon changed his life 😀

Sorry, one more. When you sit down and react to the whole album the way I have seen reactors do it most successfully is to get the album list and the watch the lyric videos in order. People can tell you which channels have the most reliable translations. But that way you hear the song, it shows you who is singing/rapping with color coded lyrics, and the translation of their beautiful lyrics are there in the same video along with the Korean lyrics written above.

the funniest part of them being compared to samsung and hyundai is that they are literally brand ambassadors for both so technically some of their revenue is from BTS as well LMAO

when you start listening to songs, remember the music and dance are great but the lyrics, videos and background stories often have deeper complex meaning... for which army makes explanation videos and translations. that's even without delving into the BTS Universe

What do you mean you don’t agree? The type of music Lizzo vs Lewis makes is VERY different but still classified as pop music because it’s popular music.

Social platforms has a lot to do with it coupled with the very real fact that BTS and some other Idols are genuinely talented

I love your approach to knowing bts, i appreciate this. Not like others that just give superficial music video reactions and call it a day. I like people who wants a deeper understanding behind the music and artist. More power to your channel.

Yey. Can't wait for the album review. I'll be present 💯% for sure! 🥰

You could not have started with a better video. I like your reaction, thanks ! - you caught that key point about their ethos being the key difference compared to so many musical artists. That is what made me loose my heart to them. Elliot and his channel, to me, is the most articulate and well researched source of information about BTS. I subscribed to him about the same time I found BTS and I think he helped me understand them better. I wish every ARMY could see this.

I’m sooo excited for how you’re doing your journey going forward!!

Thank you for taking the time to become knowledgable. My respect for you just sky rocketed. I grew up with BTS' music (since 2014 to now) and I was like 11 years old then and now Im graduating highschool, so Ive lived and witness through their struggles in the early days and their rise to global recognition in 2017, up this day. Im very proud of them and back then, around the time they debuted, RM spoke to the fans in a fanmeeting and promised them that they will work hard to become the group that we will be proud of-- and I stuck to that promise and they really did kept it. 💜 I hope you enjoy their RnB stuff and especially their message and lyrics. All the love and support to you.

Love this journey you're doing! Just a thought I had while watching: BTS' dance, music videos, and performances in general are such a huge and integrated part of who they are that I feel like the clips in this vid are just as much of spoilers for you of their music as snippets of their actual songs😭😭😭 That's just what I think tho, loved the vid

hey! just found you through explore page (haha) n after watching all ur BTS reaction just subscibed you... even i had same pov like you about BTS before. But as i got to know them deeper and deeper I found out I was already an Army !!! THEY HEAL ME AT PERSONAL LEVEL WITH NOT ONLY THEIR MUSIC BUT ALSO WITH THEIR NEVER GIVING UP ATTITUDE.... now waiting for your bts upcoming videos!! Had so much fun while watching

They are artists!! :)) ARTISTS

Excited for The Rise Of Bangtan series!

loved seeing your reaction and commentary on this

I love your reaction video! Thank you for reacting to BTS so much💜

Im really enjoying your journey with BTS!!!! Thank youuuu for these videos

this is such a good watch! 🥺💛

Cannot wait for more BTS videos!

I’m 60 and have followed BTS sine 2013. I’ve listened to KPOP sine 2017 and I tell anyone who will listen how proud I am of the men they have become.

I’m so glad you are taking the time to learn about them first. I am 55 and my daughter got me into them. None of my friends are even willing to listen to the music and it hurts to know they don’t trust my judgement enough to try. Can’t wait for you to dive in to the music. Question: how do you plan to listen and understand without subtitles?

I continue to enjoy your unique journey, it feels very authentic and I appreciate your curiosity. I hadn’t seen this before so it was fun to watch. I think the entire classification of music is complicated. I really liked the perspective on section 3 and agree with the video and it feels a disservice to their work within kpop to dismiss it as them not being kpop instead of BTS expanding and setting a higher different standard for kpop. The fact people are having these sorts of conversations about a musical act just endlessly fascinates me and shows me they are the right group for me (much to the confusion of friends who won’t listen to them yet, knowing I’m known as an enthusiastic fan of bands like Tool and Rage Against the Machine, one asked if this was my midlife crisis, kpop boy bands lol).

BTS does touch people. They are authentic figures who share their thoughts and feelings and are not afraid to be vulnerable. This makes people see them as very relatable people, who are going through some similar experiences

I’m new to your channel and I’m enjoying your journey to BTS so far! Thank you for reacting to them 💖

I say BTS is beyond kpop only because they changed kpop standards and keep pushing it to evolve. If we're being honest, strictly regimented kpop is still there but is becoming the exception instead of the rule. BTS is the blueprint for the changes kpop needed to push itself beyond the limits of it's cookie cutter formulas and negative image. Since Big Hit's success with BTS and their public critique on Korean society and music industry, more music companies have seen how beneficial it is to open the creative process to idol's involvement, allow more introspective topics and changed to less restrictive managing styles that give more care to the mental and physical health of their idols than they did before. They want to be known for the same modern practices and creative ideals Big Hit made a global name for having too now. BTS still use their standing as top act to advocate for change in kpop like idol appearance pay. Until Yoongi addressed it publicly, I never knew idols go on all the music shows every album release to get their music out for free, yet the shows get rich using their footage. I see why BTS stopped doing those shows and used that time to make paid appearances or film their own footage the profit from now.

Hi this is my first video of yours i have seen. I am really impressed at the way you are wanting to learn about not only BTS but the beginnings of K-Pop/Idol groups but the actual culture. I am a 55 year old ARMY from the US who has been following these amazing artists for 6 or 7 years now. Honestly i had no knowledge of K-pop until my child introduced me too it. I have many groups i like, but i can honestly say i am Army for life. There are so many talented people in the industry from the first Gen Idols to present it is crazy that it took this long for the US to notice. Crazy thing is i am now more into this than my child lol

Of course it's over 8 years now. A couple more albums under their belt since Persona.

Talent clearly sells

Elliot's video essays always blow me away

I love your reaction ! To be honest I feel like you are ready to hear their songs by now 😂

I can't wait for the next videos of BTS!!

OH MY GOSH THANK YOU SO MICH FOR THIS REACTION!!!!!

!!!!--I actually think it will be good to start with there first song, analize the music, then analize the lyrics and dive deeper into the meaning. I think it will be better sense if you do an album it will take a lot of time to get to all the meaning and messages of every song. So i think it will be good for you to do a song at a time, I know they have a lot of songs but trust me, it's worth it.

Love this video so much, when I first watched it I learned so much about kpop! I’m really glad you’re getting to know them first, because while I first became a fan because of their awesome performances and music, their message and personalities is what made me ARMY. I cannot wait until you start learning about each of the members individually! There’s a lot of documentaries that focus on each individual member and there’s some that go through all seven at once, so I’m curious to see what you’ll do or if you’ll do both ways💜

“ im a big fan of bighit for what ive heard so far” I see u i see u They hve mission to give VALUE to the society

It's been a long time you have reacted to BTS... But finally 😄

Im so excited to see u check out their music!

Hi, I am back. Good reaction, ty. Oh i know him. He in NYC like me. I have not watched this video but its funny and informative. He did a good job with his summary. I appreciate u looking into BTS so thoroughly. I love them to pieces. U nice keep going! Hugs. -NY USA 2019 Army💜

I really love your commentary, it's very interesting seeing bts through fresh eyes

Great vid man bts is dope

I would say you should listen to their music and messages behind it, and how people approach their music, whenever bts music comes there will be billions of ideas with it from the fans to the music, totally bts music lets fans choose their own theory about the music, that is what is interesting about their music. Please listen to their music and fans ideas of the music which you listen it will give you ideas of why bts became popular,compared to other idol groups.

This channel has amazing video essays on kpop and korean music history. Highly recommend to continue watching them.

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 I have been an ARMY for a long time but I learned new information from the video you watched. Thanks!

BTS are global ambassadors of both Samsung and Hyundai, and for a reason, suga even produced the new version of Over the horizon, the best samsung ringtone, which basically means hundreds of millions of people are going to listen to his production. I just find that insane, he is so talented

The docu series "the rise of Bangtan"...I suggest you to dive into music first and then do these series! Would be great if you do whole albums review, than music videos + live performances💜

I really appreciate Elliot and his deep dives into Kpop. There are a number of academics who have studied the BTS cultural movement. Courses on BTS are even taught in a number of prestigious universities. There have also been seminars where scholarly papers are presented. I personally own 4 books by some pretty eminent scholars about BTS as an important cultural movement. One example is Dr. Murray Stein’s Map of the Soul 7: Persona, Shadow, & Ego. Dr. Stein is probably the number one Jungian psychology expert in the world. I think it’s important to note that there is a lot of disagreement on what label to put on BTS. My personal opinion is that they are beyond these restrictive labels. When you finally get to their music which is diverse & incredible and when you study their lyrics (especially those of philosopher-poet Kim Namjoon) you may also think as most do that BTS is its own genre. So, while I appreciate these discussions about K-pop, really this is more about Stan culture and fan wars than what BTS is really all about. You will find that Kpop is very competitive & the industry has tried to destroy BTS from the start. Most serious ARMYs are not interested in Kpop but have a deep interest in Korean culture & its rich variety of music. 💜

Happy you found the video so helpful! Enjoying this journey. The only 3 videos i would recommend to really check out are; - introduction to the bts members (ida's video) - Festa Room Live - Spring Day MV + explaination (italian army)