K-netizens are accusing BTS of hypocrisy after they tried to explain why they used 'ARIRANG' for their album name

by · allkpop

BTS has personally revealed the meaning behind their new album, 'Arirang'.

Jimin said, “When I first heard the album title 'Arirang', I had a lot of doubts about whether it was appropriate,” adding, “Since 'Arirang' is a word and a folk song that naturally holds great significance for Koreans, I wondered if it was right for us to use it.”

RM explained that at the heart of those concerns lay “what BTS has in common.” He said, “We discussed it a lot among ourselves, and the things that bind us together are that we love each other and that we are Korean,” adding, “We’re just country boys from Korea, so after carefully considering various aspects, we thought this might be the keyword.”

Jimin said, “After we finished working together at the dorm, we talked a lot about identity and what makes BTS unique,” adding, “While there are many groups with members of various nationalities, since we’re all Korean, we thought it would be nice to incorporate something distinctly Korean.”

V explained, “The word 'Arirang' itself is very Korean, but its meaning is also lovely and profound, so there was a lot for us to express.” RM also noted, “‘Arirang' can be a song of longing for a beloved, a symbol of resistance for some, and a symbol of sorrow for others,” adding, “It’s a word that can capture the diverse emotions we want to express.”

The members also view this decision as meaningful. J-Hope said, “I think choosing 'Arirang'as the main title for the album is a fantastic decision in itself,” and Suga added, “If someone told me the new album’s title was 'Arirang,' I might have been taken aback and asked, ‘Why?’ but I actually thought it was great.” V added, “The people around me also said they really liked it,” indicating that positive reactions have been pouring in from both inside and outside the group.

Jin explained, “During our concept meetings, we discussed at length where and how 'Arirang'would fit in, and it ultimately became the first track,” while J-Hope confidently stated, “We’ve released an album that embodies our true essence.

Korean netizens did not remain silent in the face of such arguments, expressing outrage and calling them hypocrites after noticing that despite using terms like "Proud to be Korean" or "We're still country boys," the album clearly contains no Korean words; it is entirely in English, with foreign credits and producers, and the BTS members themselves barely receive any credit, not to mention that Jin has none at all. They expressed:

  • I was looking forward to it, but got disappointed over the English lyrics
  • Thank you for making me leave the fandom
  • Yup, and that's why you guys shoved a bunch of English lyrics in it
  • ARMYs have been bragging that all the members are Korean, and now that's spread all the way over there
  • They are legendary when it comes to being overratedㅋㅋㅋㅋ
  • Everyone was raving about it, so I listened to it, but after hearing it once, I deleted it from my playlist... Even setting aside the fact that it's in English, the music itself wasn't that great either... I became a fan after hearing 'Mic Drop,' but this one... I'm a bit disappointed...
  • Please stop using patriotism. It's becoming annoying
  • "Country boys"ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
  • They just want to elicit pity so they'll get a Grammy, and not a cake one.
  • The fact that he's associating Korea with "country boys" is f*cking so-so...
  • They are solidly trying to use the nationalistic pride. And yet, they didn't say a word during the National Liberation Dayㅋㅋ
  • Then you guys should've posted the Korea flag on National Liberation Dayㅋㅋ...
  • The fact that they did nothing for the National Liberation Day and Independence Day makes them so disingenuous
  • The more they progress, the more unlikable they become
  • I'm not a fan but I found them likable but it's just going down and down
  • If they'd just celebrated March 1st this year, the ARMYs would've been bragging their asses off, but the fact that they stuck to their guns and didn't post anything this year either is just f*cking hilarious.

Other netizens pointed out RM's past words, where he stated, "We don't want to change our identity to get to number one. If we sing in full English, then that's not BTS."

This statement, unfortunately, lost its meaning after the release of songs like "Dynamite" and "Butter," demonstrating a complete contradiction and showing that his words change depending on whether it's favorable or not.

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