The Kulture Study: ATEEZ ‘멋(The Real) (흥 : 興 Ver.)’ MV REACTION & REVIEW 

"It’s clear that ATEEZ have something most young groups do not: a sense of humor." At the time it was very clear to me, now even more so

I'm legitimately scared of what they're gonna do in the future to top this masterpiece if that's even possible

they really went beyond everyone expectations, the quality and production is immaculate and THE ENERGY!! THEY ATE!!

Yeosang his role was to bring the peace you can see when he comes out everyone started dancing together they are not battling anymore

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS COMEBACK WAS PERFECT!

Seonghwa told us that: Hongjoong & Seonghwa: calligraphy club Wooyoung & San: baseball club, Wooyoung is the Captain but San is the ace Mingi: the transfer student And Yeosang: is the role and symbol of peace (at the school ) So that’s why everyone was waiting for what he’d say when he showed up at the end but he was like 💃 and enabled them to continue, and so they all made peace by enjoying dance offs (my guess lmao)

This was one of the funniest, craziest MVs of this year in my opinion and I came running to see PDs reaction. Personally I enjoyed it and the storyline AND the guys acting so much.

the songs lyrics are also so fitting for this album's situation. the real they performed on kingdom was actually a draft they sent in to mnet, and since they knew mnet would own the rights to it and because of the way they were treated poorly on the show, they saved this BETTER version for themselves to release as a title track and promote! its absolutely brilliant you have no idea how much i love ateez for that!

Mingi's rap has always been in the song, only in the Kingdom live performance it wasn't cause he wasn't there, but he was in the original song The dance break was never in the song, they just added it for Kingdom

THE PRODUCTION TEAM, MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR, VFX EDITORS, PRODUCERS, and ATEEZ did a fantastic job

Anime ATEEZ was the concept I didn't know I wanted BUT NEEDED THIS WAS WAY TOO FUN! If anybody knew how to make a months old song's M/V a must watch, it's them!

One of the best MV this year, hell yes. We needed this, this sh*t is fire.

i think something everyone can admire about Ateez is their compromise with concepts, if they do something they gonna go all the way. the definition of go big or go home

about yeosang! He's the one who conducted the rest of ateez to connect and meet in this universe. in the fever.pt2 diary, he wasnt with the other 7 members bc he was assumed to be not-alive from an attack in the anti-art universe. yeosang did not exist there, but due to the cromer's reverse (he saved it at the end of the deja vu mv!) he went back in time and reversed the split of all 8 members in inception/the first diary film. he essentially saved youth ateez from splitting up by being a different-universe yeosang conducting their meetup. there's a chance that they're hinting his presence as the white masked man w his white suit entering the scene and assimilating himself with youth-ateez. i assume that's why the english title is "The Real", not to try and transliterate 멋, but rather to let you know that this universe is the real one. Not the events in eternal sunshine, not the dreamscape of Inception, but this... this is real!

I think Yeosang is like the "hidden king" of the school, who like stands above all the clubs. Pretty sure there's also a trope like that

Yeosang is the symbol of peace (Seonghwa said this in universe app). You can see the doves 🕊 around him and when they about to fight he came to make them dance together.

Part of me hopes they perform this for MAMA and just make everyone’s jaw drop. Their talent never cease to amaze me. Yeosang just illuminates “etherealness” in this video. There is just sooooo much to take in. It’s the best in every way.

ATEEZ just never disappoints ! Personally This music video is their best one yet. And omg this song is just soo good. The energy, the vibes. Just everything in general about Ateez is on another level !

Well this was the cherry on top of my top 5 K-pop comeback of this year.

THE QUALITY OF THE MV WAS GOOD WOWWW

It's incredible how they pulled this comeback in such a short time, not only the amazing mv but the concept photos and everything was so well done

This is honestly my favorite Ateez Music Video, and the fact that it was produced by Digipedi just proves why.

Speaking as a Non-Korean here, the reason why I love this so much is BECAUSE its so rooted in Korea. There's something special in releasing music related to the artist's own identity, cultural - what they grew up with. The track feels more personal and meaningful imo, making it that much better.

Since Kingdom I have been thinking about one thing, when it comes to Ateez. Since BIGBANG went on hiatus, Kpop misses a group, which would have the “party atmosphere stage presense”. Mind you, there are groups with phenomenal live stages with god-like dancers, but this is not, what I am talking about. When BIGBANG were on stage, it wasn’t like: “We came here to show you, what the hell we are capable of”, they were like: “This is our stage, we are having fun as there is no tomorrow, we live in the moment and everything becomes ALIVE with us and you came here to watch us and enjoy that moment all together”. And here comes my thought about Ateez. I feel like they have this unique charm, which BIGBANG had. Of course it depends on each performance, so I am not saying they are the same, but when it comes to The Real… OMG, THIS SONG, THIS MUSIC VIDEO, THAT PERFORMANCE FROM KINGDOM, I’m just speechless.

Seonghwa mentioned on Universe that Yeosang is the peace maker. He’s the uniting point.

the pure look of joy on pd’s face while watching this music video brings me life, and honestly when you think about it properly ateez has had such an amazing year, they have been working so hard and to end it with such a bang felt appropriate for them, i’m honestly not sure how they are going to top such an amazing series like the fever series but i also wouldn’t put it past them

There's something to be said about gunning for that 80's style because the letterman jacket San is wearing has all of the MLB logos, and the Padres logo is the colors from 1985

PD, explaining what 못 means: What does it mean to be real? To be a "real, honorable person"? my black ass: …damn, ATEEZ really made a song to let everyone know they're Real Niggas and what it means to be one 😭

The way I literally just finished watching it for the first time. Mingi break dancing threw me off and it made my jaw drop for the entire ending. Literally made the same face as you because my bias came back full force this year. Then to have the apple breaking at the end was so cute. Our theory is that the masked guy in white might be Yeosang or at least his double since we see him watching himself. The setting looked like the same on they used for Fireworks especially some of the scenery you could see in the background. Loved how huge the scale and I would assume the budget looks with the outdoor scenes specifically all their "groups fighting". Also I'm really happy I didn't watch Kingdom just so this was really the first time I heard and saw the song as a whole. Thank you for another great reaction.

I don’t know if anyone else thought it, but this mv gave me “Kung Fu Hustle” vibes. It’s one of my fave Chinese movies made by Steven chow. And the theatrics really made me want to go and watch that movie. If anyone has ever seen that movie then you would get it. Through the plot isn’t the same, it’s just the way things are done. It’s hard to explain but definitely worth a watch lol.

love how they gave Yeosang and Mingi their time to shine

Seonghwa said that Yeosang is a symbol of peace in this MV ! That's his role, the white doves are a big clue.

The humor, the aesthetic, the video, the vibes...only ateez can pull it off so immaculately

I think Hongjoong and Seonghwa generically represent scholars. If you think about the three most common groups at schools, there are the jocks (represented by San & WY), the academics (represented by HJ & SH), and those who consider themselves too cool for school (in the American sense) which could be musicians, racers or here bikers (represented by YH & JH). At first Yeosang reminded me of the rich kid, living in his own world, but I think he's more the wise kid who understood what 멋 was from the beginning which is why he's revered when everyone else finally gets caught up (comes together)--he was himself the entire time. It was such a cinematic masterpiece.

they went off and gave the biggest bomb in the end of the year eyy ateez best boys

Mingi has always been in the song, in the original, only in the Kingdom live performance he wasn't cause he was absent. Also the dance break wasa never in the original song, they just added it for Kingdom's live performance. I think you've heard only the Kingdom's live version. The boys said that in the video Mingi is a new tranfer student and Yeosang is the piece defenition.

just fyi… 興in Chinese can also be used as mood or desire to do sth.; interest; excitement. which fits the MV… it is most definitely a MV filled with excitement 😄

When you mentioned the “grande scale” of the MV. I immediately thought of the background for Block B’s “Shall we Dance”, not that it can be compared to this video. I love everything about this video and I totally agree with you and respect your opinions. This MV really is the cherry on the cake!!

I hope they keep “the real” as the last song of the concert forever. It such a good way to end a concert!

The members explained on Universe PM that Mingi indeed is a new student, and Yeosang symbolises peace... I guess it makes sense looking at the last secenes where they're about to fight, but realize that they can work and have fun together. Yeosang sees this, smiles and then appears dressed in white (the color of peace).

Honestly I think you hit the nail on the head, they took everything I would have wanted for an mv for 멋, and then elevated it to a scale beyond anything I could have expected, and I love it so fucking much, I just keep watching it to find all the little details

My theory about Yeosang's role in this MV: After the chrome broke down, Yeosang got lost in dimensions(?) He stiil somewhere in school (For example, you can see him in the background, sitting in front of a window while Woosan and 2Ho recruited Mingi). And to find him, Ateez dispersed to different time periods (i think so because of Hongjoong and Seonghwa). But they couldn't find him because Mingi was not with them. When they finally got together they summoned this strange light and Yeosang was able to find them. Happy end

This was my fave song out of all the kingdom final stages and the music video and new version didn't disappoint 🔥🔥🔥

There’s this Japanese movie called HIGH&LOW. The aesthetics and the gangs were really similar to that movie too it was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the mv. They did an amazing job! P.s still stuck with yeosang and his bread part😂

Just 4th Gen leader things These boys never cease to amaze me.

THIS MV IS SO GOOOOD!! THE REAL IS A MASTERPIECE

I don't need a coffee to have energy, I need this song.

Man i love Ateez, they are so perfect. And i love PDs reaction on them so much too, because he really understands them. It almost feels like PD also gets the assignment that Kq gives to Ateez members before a comeback so they would know what is this cb is all about. Marvelous

In the calligraphy club scenes there are also "BE POLITE" and "RESPECT" in English, along with a word that ends in ESS that I couldn't read in entirety, but might infer would be "KINDNESS" since it's a song lyric. I might guess that "HUMBLE" is somewhere in there, too.

Jang Hyuk my favorite actor ever. I love Volcano High so when I saw the MV I immediately recognized the similarities too lol

What they actually added is the traditional music into the instrumental. I kinda wanna see them perform this in hanbok tho they would look so good in that.

There actually was a similar English concept--chivalry. Because it has more than one definition, most people think of the knightly system in fuedal times, or the concept of a man being kind to a woman on a date like opening doors, but it also means: "the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak." We should bring it back.

They actually changed the song for Kingdom. Mingi's rap part was always there but bc he wasn't active during kingdom they made the break dance

I now after the Amsterdam concert have ptsd every time I hear that flute in the beginning. It triggers my flight or fight mode lmao😭

YES I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!! I saw it was going to be directed by digipedi and knew I needed to see your reaction! It's such a good mv!!!!

My favorite comeback so far, this album is pure art and I really love how they show us korean culture but in a different way, the production, dance, everything was so good.

This is the most ateez video ever. The ateeziest. The most ateeziest video ateez could ever do. It's so, so, so, so, so much fun !!

I love how much Yeosang we got in this video and how cute jongho is during his ending part 😭

IDK if you noticed or anyone but on the past MV of fireworks this song is played. Right on 3:49 minutes on this song is played. I didn't noticed it until I now I was falling asleep and started humming to it.

This is one of their best CB. This song is fire and I appreciate your insight into the culture it represents!

Loved this reaction, this MV was everything we needed! I saw on Twitter that the book Mingi is reading is about morality, so it's like their morals and beliefs are what's protecting them and making them strong; that aside, this song was teased at the end of Fireworks and first released for Kingdom's finale and appeared at the end of Eternal Sunshine too, and this version seems to have added traditional instruments in the instrumental! Yeosang was trapped somewhere else and instead of normal nice yeosang coming back, hala yeosang came and he’s pretending to be normal yeosang, he also symbolizes peace here that’s why when he came they stopped fighting and started dancing together that also explains the bread thing because birds eat bread and they symbolize peace wow i said yeosang so many times but yeah i hope that makes sense. THANK YOU FOR THE BEAUTIFUL REACTION AND KISSES FROM BRAZIL.👏👏💋💋💋🎽

Amazing review as always. Can I just say that it makes me a little emotional sometimes to go to your channel page and see your LA Forum concert with Ateez recording on the main part? It just reminds me every time how you saw something so special in them so early and how your earnestness really got a lot of other people interested, too. I really learn something new every time I watch one of your reactions. Nice job as always and I hope that life is treating you well.

Exactly!!!...Volcano High, the first scenes remind me so much of this. I knew it, I knew PD would definitely catch it 👍 I was doubting at first 🤔

Hey PD! Mingi's rap portion was in the original song since the songs for kingdom we're released officially before their kingdom stage therefore it's not added

Thanks for always supporting Ateez!!! Im Spanish, and this has been one of my fave comebacks lately!! I didnt understand some references, thank you for explaining them! (now I want to watch the movie you mention) but the energy and the vibes in this video are amazing!!! Thanks again!

This song is an absolute bop. The instrumental in the chorus is so fucking good. The rap line parts slaps and all the boys are insanly hot. The Tokyo revengers references in the MV???? OH MY GOD. my otaku heart can't handle this.

This was a movie and a masterpiece

I love how they just added the hilarious ending of them messing around

Loved this video! I really like that Yeosang and Jongho had much more screen time than they normally get. Through the years their management seems to have gotten really good at letting each member shine in each video.

The first thought that came to my mind when I watched this mv for the first time was "this is very Korean, and I don't have enough knowledge or experience to understand and appreciate this song and mv to it's fullest". Nevertheless I'm absolutely in love with this comeback. I haven't seen the Kingdom, so for this was a new song. It's a banger. I believe it's my favorite ATEEZ title track and mv now.

Using this song for the comeback makes so much sense. Like PD said the MV needs to one up the amazing kingdom performance and it did. But also the dance breaks and the huge scale is so perfect for award season

The first dance break wasnt there originally, actually. It was always Mingis part but they had to change it for Kingdom because Mingi wasnt there. If you serach for the official Kingdom audio of The Real, Mingis Rap is in there

Yes! Thank you for the Volcano High reference. I totally thought that when I saw this. This is everything I wanted from this official MV.

Hi PD! Thank you so much for filming this analysis, I’m very happy to know you were a fan of this cb :) it’s actually very much likely that Ateez took elements from the movie Volcano High as it’s not uncommon for them to reference famous films in their mvs - we got inception, we got eternal sunshine, pirates of the carribean, and I’m pretty sure they referenced Peter Pan too at some point (can’t quite remember where and when tho). I also think it would make sense because the references in here, as you stressed out multiple times in the video, are deeply connected to South Korean culture, and I believe the whole concept of Kingdom had something to do with promoting and showcasing Korean culture (anyone please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on this). So I think it would make sense for them to do such a thing :) it was perfectly well done, I love love loveeee this version of The Real and the MV is brilliant and perfectly executed. I actually feel quite confident in saying it’s the best music video I’ve seen this year together with txt’s “0x1=lovesong”! I’m really curious to see how they’re gonna plan to top this 😌

The MV is so entertaining I love it so much and it's so fun, absolutely amazing. Mingi's parts are insane, Ateez really never disappoints

YEOSANG REPRESENT PEACE. It’s talked about on Twitter that he’s also the BIRD! That’s why he has the toast/bread. He represents the bird of peace. In this video he was finally free which is why the birds are flying. In the story he wasn’t accepted doing music and dancing within the fever era, but now he’s free and willing to do what he loves. It truly makes more sense now and it’s thanks to Twitter atiny who are going on about Yeosang’s part of the music video and Seonghwa telling us what is Yeosang’s role.

Ateeziest ateez ateez has ever ateezed

actually, what i thought was really cool, was the original audio that was pre released to the finale included mingi. in the finale itself, i think hongjoong had “two” rap portions, and it was unique from mingi’s

Thanks to you I just watched the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen in my entire life and loved every second of it. I have joined Volcano High's cult following. hahahahahaha

To this day this is still one of my fav Ateez MVs. I remember watching the dubbed VH a lot growing up and the moment I saw this MV for the first time I could spot the heavy influences. I love it.

I wish ateez got the recognition they deserve

The trope that is being shown in the music video has actually been in a lot of very recent things. The first one that comes to mind is the Korean webtoon called lookism. So I'm not completely sure if they're referencing that movie because this type of school dynamic is shown in a lot of online comics and mangas that are still updating this year. I also know that at the very least Yunho has read Lookism seeing as in some of their games and variety shows I've seen him reference specific scenes in the comic that I don't think are made in other media sources. So it may have idea may have originated from that movie but is now more mainstream, especially if you're into reading online comics.

their music video production just keeps getting better and better everytime it’s fascinating. CANT WAIT FOR THEIR FUTURE COMEBACKS

i'm not entirely sure about Yeosang's role but he seems to be the student council president or some other representative since he's also the one that intervenes when the others are fighting. Everyone's looking at him with respect and anticipation and when the song comes back in with his line they all start dancing/partying together. you mentioned the students at the end of Volcano High banding together to fight the teachers so maybe he's the one that brings them all together, hence the main character energy

thank you so much for your reaction!!! i knew there were things i was missing about the mv and song since i am not korean, so i really wanted to watch a korean person explaining them. thank you for making it clearer for me! i love the song and mv now even more, the energy is unmatched. it's so good!!! i can't stop watching it.

My interpretation of Yeosang's role was that he's representing peace. He's never engaging in the fights, has that scene with the white doves ans only joins them in the end when everyone is dancing together.

wow, as a fairly new atiny this to me is so amazing. I joined right before deja vu era and i still have to catch up on some kingdom performances and a lot of their content but this music video was amazing. turbulence is also so beautifully put together, i swear that song made me cry like 10 times and i couldnt stop listening because the lyrics meant so much to me and were so relatable. understanding some of the culture behind the name is super cool, thank you for the video! i also have a theory about yeosang....ever since i picked up on their storyline, i've had a suspicion that yeosang's role was like someone surveying everything- when the hourglass broke (which is known as a kind of haunting omen in a way) he fell with it. and in this mv i think they made it clear he definitely knows something nobody else knows. in here it almost seems like he's the headmaster of their school too, which i found awesome. anyways, i love all their references and their themes in all their music video and this one gets an 11/10 for me too!! it's absolutely crazy and i'm here for all the chaos!

4:26 I can't help but think Mingi's rap was always meant to be there but since he was on hiatus they just did a dance break until he was ready to come back

The moment I saw this, my brain immediately went to Japanese style high school movies - Crows Zero being the biggest example. There's just something about this specific kind of delinquents. Also, Mingi recorded for the original song. They just left his part out in Kingdom and replaced it with a dance break.

I DIDN'T KNOW U ALREADY HAVE A REACTION THIS EARLY AAAAAAAAAA PLS I AM ALWAYS EXCITED FOR YOUR REACTIONS !!

OMG I SUDDENLY HAD FLASHBACKS WHEN YOU SAID VOLCANO HIGH!!!

I've also seen someone talk about how it seemed to take some elements from High&Low. And concerning Yeosang's role, Seonghwa said that Yeosang was a symbol of peace, I won't be able to elaborate on it though lol

This honestly reminds me of the Japanese movie series called High & Low. Definitely should check them out!!!

This was a fast upload! Thank you, it was so interesting to hear abt the references to the movie! I think Yeosang in this mv is from Halateez, and Yeosang in Turbulence was the 'real' one, and the book somehow relates to opening dimensions so they can go back to their original worlds

idk why but whenever pd likes the song/mv of the group i stan, i feel validated as a fan lol

ateez is beyond perfection

It will forever be one of the most iconic songs and mvs out there

It would make a lot of sense that they drew parallels from volcano high since ateez videos are known to be inspired by movies before (inception, Peter Pan, even the Truman show) so it really wouldn't be far fetched to say it was inspired by it

ATEEZ has yet to put out a song I can’t find a reason to be absolutely in love with.

Thank you for your break down & your perspective! I loved the kd stage for The Real, but I'm glad they got a chance to make it more ATEEZ (and with Mingi).