The boat metaphor gives us one way to trace their journey from Map of the Soul: 7 to AIRANG. During Break the Silence (Ep.1) RM described the group as โthe 7 of us are on a boat, looking in different directions, but going the same way. Thatโs how I describe BTSโ
By Right Place, Wrong Person, RM said, โThe shipโs already sailed, and I canโt go back anyway.โ The previous way of being BTS & perhaps the previous way of being RM inside BTS, can no longer simply be resumed
The ARIRANG images suggest that they are still in the process of discovering what BTS 2.0 will be & what shape their renewed commitment to one another might take. Their ask seems to be to KEEP SWIMMING
In the 1st image, the 7 are walking together, but RM is looking at the members. In the 2nd image, all 7 are in life preserver. The 6 are moving left while RM is looking towards them. They are not yet back in the boat. They are in flotation, in transition. Swimming
This makes sense considering they created it immediately after military service & their years apart. It also resonates with their reference to 7 other Koreans who came before them in the late 1800s & documented their own diaspora with an unfamiliar Arirang
ARIRANG is searching for the sound & emotional register through which they can return home. Their Korean roots, the memory of Arirang, the humility of remembering they are still ์ด๋ & the practical reality of 7 members making music together all become part of the same foundation
This also clarifies RMโs leadership. His style is metacognitive because it keeps asking the questions beneath the questions: who are we now & where are we going?
These questions have been present since the school era. BTSโs music has always been a journey of self-inquiry: who they are under pressure, who they are in youth, who they are in love & before their shadows, who they are as 7.
ARIRANG does not begin that inquiry. It returns to it after break. The album documents a group, treading water together before finding their way back into their new vessel
[Translation] RM Weverse Letter
๐จ : Hello.
Iโm writing a letter again after a long time, on such a beautiful day.
Iโm not someone who particularly loves or strongly believes in the phrase, โOne person saves another.โ But after hearing those words directed at me.. (+)
(1/7)
They just made an official announcement for on-site armys that there's still people entering the venue, so the concert would start once everyone's settled.
Urgh, hope they manage the situation well tomorrow...