Oh wow - this is a very cool analysis of JK’s background/chorus vocals and why he is credited the way he is. As newer ARMY I have wanted to understand this for a long time.
I think RM felt uneasy with what the Love Yourself era had become. In 2021, he told Zach Sang that when they first reached BB in 2017, they thought Love Yourself might be their direction for “half a decade or 4-5 years.” Instead, “it ended really soon, like in 2 years”
In his Persona behind, he explained that the LY message had become too grand & that things were becoming “too big for us to handle.” They deliberately turned inward and toward “smaller things”
On The Dictionary of Useless Human Knowledge, he shared, “There was a time when BTS had become representatives for minorities around the world.” He found this “extremely confusing.” He had simply been saying what he wanted to say, yet their support helped carry them to places like the UN & the White House. He questioned whether he was qualified for that position & whether believing he possessed some moral or social mission demanded by the times might be arrogant
And I understand the temptation to put him on a pedestal. He asks profound questions. Some of the ideas he’s been working through for years about identity, love, art, contradiction & how to live are enlightening. It’s easy to start expecting him to be a role model or even President
But he’s resisted this framing for years. When asked how he reconciled his identities as RM & Kim Namjoon, he replied, “I don’t have the answer”
He had ended the Love Yourself tour with a similar answer. More than 2 years after the start of the tour, he confessed that he still didn’t really know if he loved himself
He put it even more bluntly in Groin:
“I can’t be a monk”
“Not a f— diplomat”
Rejecting the assumptions that he knew or could represent something beyond himself
I think this comes back to the role of the artist in society. Artists experience life, notice things & make something from it. Their work can move people, help us see ourselves like a mirror & preserve a moment so others can encounter it years later. Almost like time travel. But making art & being articulate about the human condition does not make him a saint
He’s been saying this for years. He doesn’t have the answers. He questions his right to represent others. He’s trying to protect his own humanity. He wants to keep making music
This sounds like a very human artist to me
🐨 To my 32-year-old self,
Are you well? Nothing hurts?
Like me now, are you still living a life of proving the worth of your own existence?
To you, how much clearer have you become? I wonder
Or have you grown even more blurred?
I’m still making music
20 years ago, you wrote poetry.
10 years ago, you made music
Whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re still you
I now believe in fate, but don’t forget that everything about you is yours to decide
The British printed & online dictionary, The Collins English Dictionary has included ain their new word suggestions "namjooning" with its definition! The suggestion was made back in December 2023.
Namjooning is a searchable word with a result in this online dictionary.
►namjooning:
The act of living as Kim Namjoon, including taking walks through parks, admiring nature, and feeding your mind and soul by doing the things you love.
🔗https://t.co/c0GeeFm9ST
🔗https://t.co/aN0Nv00k4D