YTC Busan movie...all the feels

SPOILER ALERT: the BTS movie out now is going to make you happy, sad, and wishing for WWH to be out among us again.

It had to be done, because I was stuck in the global fail loop last October 15. Y’all remember the day Weverse Live died in utter flames. It was the free livestream of the BTS Yet to Come Busan concert, and the whole world showed up online…and Weverse gave up like 10 minutes in. Oof. I did not resort to VPN and shady links. I like my clean computer life too much. Sorry, shady virus bots.

I saw the replay that Hybe offered a week or so later, but it was not the same. Seeing it in the movie theatre, on a hella cold Midwestern evening, seemed heavenly. BTS was roasting in the heat on the screen, and I was bundled in all the warm clothes in my reclining seat. Perfect.

My theatre was half-full, but the enthusiasm was real. I brought my stash of photocards and traversed the two rows around me to pass them out based on bias. I was surprised at the amount of Yoongi stans, followed by JK and Jimin. It made me happy to see the joy on people’s faces when I handed them a photo card. That is the essence of BTS Borahae.

My whole row was PREPARED: Army bombs were ready to go. Or as my friend Stacey calls them, “your BTS flashlight”.

The movie started, and we were all like…wheeee!

I am still in awe of Run BTS. That choreo is insane. And Tae’s intensity is off the charts. Jimin’s head whip into the chorus choreo. Their alignment by maknae, and hyung lines. They’re all so on point, their joy is infectious.

The movie is edited down from the actual performance, with added effects of animated pieces and the ending ments a little chopped up. SPOILER ALERT 2: The ending ments of Jin were…heartbreaking. They did some things, by breaking up his speaking parts with crowd chants/scenes, that ended up hitting us with all the feels. We now know what went down right after this concert: BTS announcing they were going into the military, with Jin, the oldest, going first. The editing mix of some things just added to the ouch. We knew what was coming now, but we didn’t then. Jin did, and was clearly living in the moment. (Aside, I do not like that they cut out the part where he discusses his throat being shot…and the recovery for the concert. I think that is important context to let us appreciate how well he did.)

BTS had tears in their eyes, sweat on their backs and faces (NAMJOON!) and quivering lips. They were holding it together, barely, because they knew everything was about to change. Thank God we didn’t know. But the re-watch, now on the big screen, showed the moments we didn’t have the context for the first time around. Or, ahem, the first time around we never saw because the Weverse servers had burned up 90 minutes before. Hajima.

Jin, get down.

I will admit my Elf-like philosophy for this movie: I sang as loud as I could, to spread all the Bangtan cheer. Others did the same. We were all in the moment, enjoying life. Please forgive us for butching Korean with love.

My other highlight, after the Run BTS throwdown, was the hellacious force of the rap trio on their unit songs. Ugh, and Cypher 3: Killer destroyed. Again, some perspective granted by time clued me in to more to watch. Namjoon was fresh off all the prep/recording/videos for his Indigo album, which had not yet come out. He was so tight and raging in his flow. Like he wanted to pop off hard. He was engaged. I feel Hobi came out in Hoseok/Jack in the Box mode, I mean, he certainly looked like it. He was so intense and you could not take your eyes off the screen. He commanded you watch and he was going to hit you with everything. Down to lyric reworks.

My bias, Yoongi, was not coming to play. He was smooth, sneering, and yes, taking us to Hong Kong. Complete with his little hip thrust. Sassy kitty mode. He was king and boss.

You wanted to scream, “Let’s goooo…” with Namjoon.

My small smile during the rap unit’s performance also come from knowing the audience was filled the who’s who of Korean government officials. This concert was part of Busan’s bid to host the 2030 World’s Expo, and BTS was the showy part of their application. The mucky mucks came to see BTS, and some were still doing the two-step about the group’s military enlistment future. The guys had a point to make, and I think it was clear. You want this? Nah, brah, you don’t. You don’t control this. (Of course, the perfection came the next day, when the government was caught off-guard by BTS telling the world they were going to enlist. Whacked the fools off their stools.)

I am glad they had this concert, and I am happy they made a movie of it. They invested all the toys, from multiple cameras, drones, and the fireworks to make it come alive. It’s like a time capsule. It was the ending of chapter one, the moment where they were all so powerful and together. Like acing the final exam and getting a diploma for hard work and smarts. I am enjoying all the mini-chapters right now, from the Weverse Lives in the middle of the night (Hi JK and Bam! Hi Tae! Hi Jimin!), to the solo stuff, to the fashion shows. When they get back together, sometime in 2025, things will be different, but likely better. They’ll have more life to write about and share with us.

Until then, we can remember the day that was in Busan.

(However, we still do not know what is tasty in Busan…that’s another topic for another day…)

If you saw the concert, let me know what your favorite moment was in the comments.

Borahae!