K-Pop and K-Dramas: The Cultural Reset of ‘Daechwita’

Hi! It’s Annie!

I have always been a sucker for anything BTS does, but their solo projects are always amazing. From their solo work we’ve gotten Jungkook’s ‘Still With You’ which is one of the most calming songs I’ve ever listened to, Jimin’s ‘Promise’ which is one of my favorite songs to exist, and plenty more. We’ve especially gotten a lot from the rap line as they have each released complete mixtapes. But I don’t think any project caught people as off guard as ‘Daechwita’ from Yoongi’s most recent mixtape as Agust D, ‘D-2’. Not only did it feel like we had very little warning for the release of this one, but it came with the release of a music video. And this was unlike anything I had ever seen before. So let’s talk about why this was a complete cultural reset.

The Storyline:

K-Pop music videos generally focus more on a feeling than a specific storyline for the most part. There have definitely been music videos with storylines; BTS specifically has had some towards their ‘Run’ era. But I’m not sure I’ve seen any music video as cinematically epic as this one. Yoongi uses Korean culture to blend two different eras of both the culture itself and his role as Agust D. In this music video his persona from the first mixtape is an insane emperor who is shown beheading several people. In walks the new Agust D, who seems to be starting a revolt with the help of some of the citizens of the village just outside the palace. With this new Agust D we see a direct contrast, as he is often surrounded by more modern things, such as him arriving in a car. The new Agust D is captured and led to be executed by the end of the music video when it is revealed that the executioner is on the side of the new Agust D. The new Agust D does kill the old by the end of the music video, but Yoongi did say in a behind the scenes video that we don’t know for sure whether or not the king is truly dead. It seems like we may get more of this storyline should Yoongi decide to release another mixtape under the Agust D name. This entire storyline seemed to be a creation from Yoongi himself who put sincere thought into what he wanted the music video to portray story-wise. This just shows how amazing Yoongi is at storytelling as well as his talent for beats and songwriting.

The Rap:

There is a scene in the ‘Daechwita’ music video of Yoongi tied up surrounded by torches, seemingly right before his execution. This piece of the music video features his fastest rap in the song and this is what went viral. I distinctly remember hearing this piece for the first time and being absolutely blown away. We all have always known that Yoongi is a talented rapper, but this went beyond even that. Nobody could deny how amazing his rap here was. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a Korean rap artist as universally acclaimed for a singular rap piece before the release of ‘Deachwita’. I’ll seriously never be able to get that verse out of my head.

Behind the Scenes:

The behind the scenes for this music video also went viral and I have no questions as to why. For the music video Yoongi learned sword choreography and the videos of him learning were another example of all his hard work. As well as the fact that he looked really good while doing it. I don’t think anyone will ever get over his floppy black hair from the music video or the behind the scenes footage. We also saw a lot of the bond between the boys. Though a few eagle eyed viewers caught the presence of Jin and Jungkook in the music video early on, it was only widely realized when the behind the scenes footage was released. Jin was wearing a beard and he and Jungkook got into a fake brawl. During the day that Jin and Jungkook came on set to shoot that part of the music video, Hobi also showed up with a coffee and churro truck. The truck was completely pink and all of the coffee cups featured supportive sayings, in true J-Hope fashion. I think all of us absolutely love Sope’s relationship and it was no surprise that he showed up. Seeing the close bond between all the members of BTS makes me so soft.

This post is mainly because of the controversy on Twitter today. If you haven’t heard, some person posted a picture of Yoongi beside a picture of G-Dragon and asked fans to choose the better songwriter. This caused a massive fight between fans of both rappers. Somehow even Namjoon and his writing credits were brought into the odd feud. I think it’s pretty ridiculous to compare the two. They are both different and have contributed to the rap scene in different ways. I’m not sure how comparing writing credits prove that one person is better than the other and I’m also not sure why people against Yoongi decided to also attack Namjoon. I am once again going to ask that we all respect each other and each other’s opinions. There is no reason to constantly pit artists and groups against each other. Suga/Agust D, RM, and G-Dragon are all talented rappers who have written a lot of great songs, let’s leave it at that. It is obvious that Min Yoongi has talent. There is no reason to demean his talent because G-Dragon has been in the industry longer. So, I’m here to appreciate things that Agust D has done on a day where people seem to be determined to not appreciate them. Because there is seriously no reason for any of this to be happening. I am very grateful for Yoongi’s continuous work for BTS and for himself and I will never get over how good he is!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie