Hi! It’s Annie!
Since I talked about the upcoming ATEEZ K-Drama, I of course have to talk about ‘Youth’. If you haven’t yet heard about the upcoming release of ‘Youth’, it is a drama based off of the earlier storylines in BTS music videos. Despite conjecture, this won’t be based off of their real lives or their career. While we don’t know a whole lot about this yet considering how many times this project has been put on hold for different reasons; we do know that this drama will eventually come in the next couple years. The original date for it’s release was 2021, but with filming postponed yet again for several reasons, we have no idea when the exact time will be. So, that’s enough of talking about what we don’t know. Let’s start talking about what we do know.
Casting:
None of this has been confirmed, so take this with a grain of salt. What is absolutely for certain is that the members of BTS are not actually acting in this drama. We’ve seen BTS act in music videos before, but that’s not really the same as acting in dramas. But we’ve also seen them act in promo videos, advertisements, and for video games. Seeing Namjoon in particular act in the detective storyline for ‘BTS World’ the mobile app was surprisingly pretty heart wrenching and the other boys did a really good job in their respective storylines as well. But we know that many of the boys don’t really have an interest in acting. Except for Tae of course who has actually acted in a drama. And even if they did have an interest in acting in this project, their schedules are so busy with how popular they are right now, they probably wouldn’t have the time. So, if you were hoping that this meant that we’d be able to see all of BTS act in a drama, you’re probably a little disappointed now. I would recommend watching the voice acting or production episodes of ‘Run BTS’ if you want to see at least some of that. But we do actually have the (at least supposed) names of the actors who will be playing the boys. Seo Jihoon as Kim Seokjin, Ro Jonghyun as Min Yoongi, Ahn Jiho as Jung Hoseok, Seo Youngjoo as Kim Namjoon, Kim Yoonwoo as Park Jimin, Jung Woojin as Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jinseo as Jeon Jungkook. Most of these actors, especially the ones playing the maknae line, are very young so they haven’t done much yet in their careers. The only actor who is the same age as the member of BTS they are portraying is Ro Jonghyun; most of the actors are a bit younger than the members of BTS.
Storyline:
The main video to look at for finding this storyline is probably ‘I Need U’, but a lot of their old music videos follow a similar plot. That particular music video was actually pretty depressing and angsty, so I really wouldn’t expect this drama to be lighthearted. But I’m not sure they’ll end it as dark as the music video ended, that’s not really in the brand of BTS anymore, so I also wouldn’t expect this to be super dark. In this, Jin is so far described as being the son of a National Assembly member who is striving to live up to the image his father has set for him. Yoongi is a loner who attracts some pretty unsavory rumors because of his stand-offish personality, but actually has a warm heart and vents his frustrations into playing piano. Hoseok is a positive dancer who secretly struggles with past memories of abandonment. Namjoon is from a poor family and was forced to grow up too quickly, but is extremely intelligent and good at school. Jimin is a fairly innocent boy who lives with trauma from his overprotective family who continuously tell him lies. Taehyung is living with his abusive alcoholic father who was once kind but changed after Tae’s mother left them. Jungkook is fearless after living with a fearful and insecure family and his character is described as being close friends with Yoongi. The story itself is about young men with struggles who forge strong bonds with each other and become much needed support for each other. Definitely a more raw drama than what many were expecting, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out!
Postponement and Controversy:
Rumors of a BTS themed drama have been around for years, but it seemed too good to be true. It’s insane how quickly the information about the drama came out, but that doesn’t mean that the drama will come out just as quickly. Though we know for a fact that casting is done, (despite the fact that nothing has been officially announced and the information we have is largely leaked) we also know that filming has been postponed twice. The first because of Covid-19, but the second was because of the official announcement that the characters would have the names of the members of BTS. This caused fans to worry that some people might mistake the characters and events portrayed in the drama for the actual lives of the members of BTS. Which, obviously, are vastly different from the lives of the characters they portrayed in their music videos. However, it is also important to understand that the characters in their music videos also have their real names even if they are portraying entirely fictional events. While I understand the concern and I also share it a bit myself, I also know that this drama won’t do nearly as well without specific BTS branding and it’s not altogether different from what the music videos did. However, as I said, I understand both sides of the argument. Right now HYBE and the company producing the drama are trying to come to some sort of conclusion about the names for the characters before they begin filming. Whatever they decide, I’ll be supportive of what the decision was. Please keep in mind that if the drama uses the names of the boys, that will mean they have given their permission and thought about it thoroughly themselves.
So that’s what we know so far! We’ll probably get more information very soon as things start opening up again. As soon as we get more substantial information, I’ll be sure to update! But for now I’ll look forward to supporting BTS with this drama and hopefully it’ll be great! I’m not generally one for watching darker themed shows, but I will definitely make an exception for BTS.
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 