The truth untold
Yeah, we knew this was getting heavy, but we needed to hear it from them. The BTS Beyond the Story book review.
When the fandom correctly deduced, in like under 5 seconds, that this summer’s big tell-all book was not from Taylor Swift (sorry!) and would instead be from BTS, I had it marked down as a must-read.
I know I am a tough audience for books. I am a professor of journalism, a book author myself, ARMY in the wild, and somebody who obsesses over typos, cadence, flow, and continuity in works. If a book sucks, I either put it down right away, or decide to hate read it to the end, just to be that person if I need to discuss it.
Beyond the Scene: a 10-year record of BTS, originally authored in Korean by Myeongseok Kang, and translated into English by Anton Hur, Slin Jung and Claire Richards, is a book that goes a long way to explain the group’s origins, struggles, and triumphs on a personal level. The translation was done well, it was fully formed with flow, meaning, care was clearly taken to retain form while having sophisticated syntax. That’s not easy.
SPOILER ALERT - if you have not read the book yet, and don’t want me to ruin any surprises, stop now. It’s OK. Come back when we’re all together in the book club.
Here we go…
Good parts:
WE HEAR YOU: I appreciated hearing from the guys directly, letting them speak their truths. I don’t think I fully realized how Namjoon, for many reasons, dominates their group interviews. Sure, Jin and Jimin speak up too, but I never thought about how I don’t hear enough - in depth - from Tae, Hobi, and Yoongi. JK is the exception, because I see his mega-lives sometimes filling in stuff for us outside the traditional media. Tae and Hobi speak their truth here. They tell of how things sucked for them at times, and how they didn’t know how to cope. Same for having a serious Jin. You know, not the WWH gambit, but the smarty-pants elite college grad who has a lot of thoughts but chooses to keep things light for the vibes. Hearing all of them discuss the ways they have sacrificed and suffered for BTS, wandered confused and lost at times, and still found their way the good place is important. They are far from an overnight success. Their wealth and social clout has been paid from the bank account stuffed with the deposits of their hard work and youth. Hearing them talk about not being able to go anywhere or be normal made me sad. I know it’s true, but still - I think they crave normalcy, and that status is stripped from them forever. Jin and Hobi are probably closest to being there right now through their military service. They’re nothing special - ahem, except Special Class Elite Warrior Corporal Kim Seokjin. Snappy salute, sir.
SAY THEIR NAMES: The ongoing harassment of BTS, both collectively and individually, by the industry, social media trolls, Korean tabloid media, rap wanna-be’s, and straight up scary scary stalkers is wrong. It was criminal when JK, Tae and Jimin were high school babies, and it is wrong that they are closer to 30 than 20. BTS has been nearly torn apart mentally and emotionally by hate, and it hurts - a lot - to see the scorecard. Name checking Bobby, B-Free and subtweeting other fools for their actions is only right. Reap what you sow. And if you call out Joon for a rap battle, he gonna come at you like B-Rabbit. The rest can go to hell. Seriously. I will say it for them. Stalkers, like the ones at the airport yesterday lunging for JK…need to be put in jail. This is not cute.
GOOD PACING: The book is not short, checking in at 496 pages for the manuscript. But it read fast. I did it in like 4 hours. (Yes, I read with speed, professional habit.) Moving through 7 voices, multiple characters, 10 years of time, yeah, not easy. Also appreciated the QR codes that referenced the video material mentioned on that page. There are well over 300 QR’s, which can send you down the ultimate Bangtan Bomb/BangtanTV rabbit hole. I love having additional source materials.
Missed opportunities:
MIA PD: Obviously I do not know the editorial plan for this book. According to one of the translators, Hur, the Korean manuscript was still be worked on in March. That truly puts the dead in deadline. That being said, PD/boardroom ninja/composer Bang Si-hyuk is all over this book…but never talked to in person. There are moments where Bang, on the record with a quote, is clearly needed. Like…when the guys were suffering mentally and physically, how/why do you know to keep pushing them? What was your reaction when the team pushed back on your original version of DNA? Why did you support the switch to English with Dynamite, Butter and PTD? Has your plan for BTS changed a lot, given that the team are now grown, educated and experienced? Are they partners, or are you still the king of the show? Is the K-pop Idol system worth the amount of damage it causes? (As you can see, I HAVE QUESTIONS.) Not directly quoting Bang, or having others like PDogg, Supreme Boi (the defacto 8th member of BTS in a way), Son Sung-Deuk not actively present in the book is a loss and I think hurts the final product. They have been a long for this whole ride.
WHITEWASHING: There is a half wrap around the hard-cover book, with the seven guys photographed starkly with a white filter. I hate it. They look great, leave it to Tae to smoulder like a sex god and Jin to peer straight into my soul. BUT, they are not pale, pale white-skinned. (Except for Yoongi - that boy is as pale as a sheet mask.) It is a crime to filter out their natural skin tones, which are honeyed and perfect. The whitewashing effect is deployed frequently in ads with BTS, and I hate it. They have melanin in their skin, Tae and Namjoon especially. I don’t like that they were done like that in a book coming from them. Sends a bad beauty message. Love yourself, right? Right.
NO ENDING: The book ends with UN/PTD on Stage LA/3 J dance video saga, but I feel something could have been pushed farther about where they are going as a team. We know about the solo projects, can you believe it has been a year since Jack in the Box was released? JK is about to send us to the floor with his “Seven” single, MV and GMA appearance. I think hearing a little from each of them about where they want to take BTS, even if it is more like a dream/guess. after they do the military would have been a lovely way to end the book. You are setting up the future because you put the past to best. We understand where BTS came from and what shaped them. Time to look forward. That was really not done, outside of the guys all saying how much they like each other and lean on the group for support. Good books always come with the kicker or ride to the end.