When taken as a single chunk, chapters 4-6 of Beyond the Story: a Ten Year Record of BTS tell a clear story of the band’s rise to almost unimaginable popularity, and the mental conflict it caused. These chapters examine all of BTS’s work from WINGS to Map of the Soul: 7, a timespan of about four years. In those four years, the band continuously rose in popularity, faced a crisis, and came out stronger.
Chapter 4: “Inside Out” opens on a low note. Things weren’t necessarily going wrong in BTS’s career, but in their mentality, as they were burnt out from working non-stop. The members were experiencing conflicting emotions that they poured into their second full length album: WINGS. This album came onto the scene with a more abstract aesthetic, focusing on art and metaphors. The text points out what a risky move this was in terms of business, since the album might be intimidating to new fans who weren’t familiar with BTS’s musical themes. Myongseok Kang goes on to explain: “However, WINGS was a necessary step for BTS at the time. They had entered a new stage in their career, and no one could give them all the answers. WINGS reflected BTS’s path forward as they grew personally, pursued their careers, and grew into adulthood; a concept album packed with the members’ coming-of-age stories, with all the pain and temptation that came with them.”
This unique album contains a solo track by each of the seven members, which are all described in the text, including the making process, the emotions of the songs, as well as descriptions of the songs from a musical standpoint. The solo songs were their own form of self-discovery, which came together like puzzle pieces to present the emotions in the album. The time described in this chapter is the same period in which the acronym BTS took on an additional meaning: Beyond the Scenes. This new name reflected how honest BTS was about the entire process behind their albums, as well as their lives as a whole. This is something that’s still an appropriate name today, if the book Beyond the Story is anything to go by.
As BTS’s popularity went up, emotions in the group also ran high, especially during the creation of LOVE YOURSELF: TEAR. This is described in the next chapter: “A Flight That Never Lands.” During this time, the group was in a cycle of “album, tour, album, tour” that was both physically and mentally exhausting. BTS’s popularity had exceeded their own expectations, and at that point they began to lose direction, not knowing where to go from their high status. The members were in a constant state of worrying where they would go next and when everything would come crashing down. More pressure was placed on the situation by the group’s upcoming contract renewal and their increased global influence which required the members to speak in English. The author approaches these issues and concerns analytically, giving a straightforward and detailed rundown of the complicated emotions. This explanation takes up most of the chapter. Throughout the crisis, the group never stopped working on their music, producing songs to fit their own situations. In this BTS found some form of resolution, as they realized that music was what came naturally to them. “...The latter part represents their intentions for the future–to remain a source of strength of ARMY no matter what. That was the reason they could somehow practice, and somehow do the ‘album, tour, album, tour’ thing and have strength to finally release a new album while also getting through all their additional engagements aside from music. Perhaps as they were finishing up the album, BTS were once again coming to understand what lay at the foundation of their work, without even realizing it.”
Ultimately, BTS made it through the rough period with the help of music and their dedicated fans. The next chapter, “The World of BTS”, goes more in-depth talking about this global fandom. Each and every BTS fan, collectively called ARMY, feels some sort of personal connection to BTS and their music. This isn’t an isolated connection, but one that generally bleeds out into these fans’ personal lives, changing how they live in the world and interact with other people. The text reads, “As much time as their fans spend on raving over their favorite band, they also each have lives they are living as individuals. Which is why, perhaps, the question to ask ARMY and any K-pop fan, or any fan of any artist around the world, isn’t ‘Why are you a fan?’ but ‘What life, beyond being a fan, are you living now?”’ BTS does not become the center of ARMY’s lives, but instead gives them renewed motivation or a new direction in life. As a group, BTS wanted to dig deeper into the thoughts and feelings of their fans, making ARMY the “main character” of their album, Map of the Soul: Persona.
The entire contents of these three chapters, as well as in Bangtan’s story as a whole, can be summarized by their song “ON” off of Map of the Soul: 7. This song is about moving forward even when it’s difficult. The message isn’t necessarily one of victory, but of persistence. No matter what happened, the band continued pursuing their passion through it all, finding themselves and their fans along the way. Beyond the Story illustrates this clearly, giving an understandable and impactful synopsis of Bangtan's story.
As BTS’s popularity went up, emotions in the group also ran high, especially during the creation of LOVE YOURSELF: TEAR. This is described in the next chapter: “A Flight That Never Lands.” During this time, the group was in a cycle of “album, tour, album, tour” that was both physically and mentally exhausting. BTS’s popularity had exceeded their own expectations, and at that point they began to lose direction, not knowing where to go from their high status. The members were in a constant state of worrying where they would go next and when everything would come crashing down. More pressure was placed on the situation by the group’s upcoming contract renewal and their increased global influence which required the members to speak in English. The author approaches these issues and concerns analytically, giving a straightforward and detailed rundown of the complicated emotions. This explanation takes up most of the chapter. Throughout the crisis, the group never stopped working on their music, producing songs to fit their own situations. In this BTS found some form of resolution, as they realized that music was what came naturally to them. “...The latter part represents their intentions for the future–to remain a source of strength of ARMY no matter what. That was the reason they could somehow practice, and somehow do the ‘album, tour, album, tour’ thing and have strength to finally release a new album while also getting through all their additional engagements aside from music. Perhaps as they were finishing up the album, BTS were once again coming to understand what lay at the foundation of their work, without even realizing it.”
Ultimately, BTS made it through the rough period with the help of music and their dedicated fans. The next chapter, “The World of BTS”, goes more in-depth talking about this global fandom. Each and every BTS fan, collectively called ARMY, feels some sort of personal connection to BTS and their music. This isn’t an isolated connection, but one that generally bleeds out into these fans’ personal lives, changing how they live in the world and interact with other people. The text reads, “As much time as their fans spend on raving over their favorite band, they also each have lives they are living as individuals. Which is why, perhaps, the question to ask ARMY and any K-pop fan, or any fan of any artist around the world, isn’t ‘Why are you a fan?’ but ‘What life, beyond being a fan, are you living now?”’ BTS does not become the center of ARMY’s lives, but instead gives them renewed motivation or a new direction in life. As a group, BTS wanted to dig deeper into the thoughts and feelings of their fans, making ARMY the “main character” of their album, Map of the Soul: Persona.
The entire contents of these three chapters, as well as in Bangtan’s story as a whole, can be summarized by their song “ON” off of Map of the Soul: 7. This song is about moving forward even when it’s difficult. The message isn’t necessarily one of victory, but of persistence. No matter what happened, the band continued pursuing their passion through it all, finding themselves and their fans along the way. Beyond the Story illustrates this clearly, giving an understandable and impactful synopsis of Bangtan's story.
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