Recently the lyrics that J-Hope wrote in BTS' song 'Ma City' in honor of his hometown, Gwangju, drew the spotlight because it contained the history of the city.
The JTBC drama "Snowdrop" starring BLACKPINK's Jisoo (Black Pink) and Jung Hae In has drawn controversy for being accused of distorting South Korean history. In the midst of the controversy, the BTS (Bangtan Boys) song "Ma City" was suddenly highlighted by netizens. Why?
“Ma City” is the fifth track from the album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life,” which BTS released in 2015. The members paid tribute to their hometown. As is known, none of the BTS members are genuine Seoul people.
Recently, the lyrics that J-Hope wrote in honor of his hometown, Gwangju, drew the spotlight because it contained the history of the city. The part of the lyrics in question has the translation, "If you want to see me then gather at 7. Everyone let's call, 062 - 518."
Gwangju is located at 7 o'clock from Seoul, and shows the direction of North Korea on the map. Ilbe is still trying to claim that the Gwangju Uprising on May 18 happened because of North Korea and refuses to see any evidence.
The Ilbe Forum is generally very discriminatory but particularly persecutes the people of Gwangju city because they have 98 percent of the vote for the left-wing party. Ilbe called Gwangju "7 o'clock," implying they were working with North Korea.
Whenever the number "7" was mentioned, it was the moment Ilbe pointed to the city of Gwangju. The number 062 represents the area code for Gwangju City. The number 518 symbolizes May 18, 1980, the day of the Democratic Movement, in which many students and teachers were involved.
While "Snowdrop" was criticized for distorting history, especially since the drama is also airing globally, BTS has been praised for making ARMYs curious about South Korea's important history with their songs.
"These lyrics also satirize Ilbe. And thanks to that, Bangtan's international fans have learned a lot about the Gwangju democracy movement," commented a netizen. "Foreign fans often say, 'If I didn't listen to BTS' songs, I would never know about such an important event,'" added another netizen.
"Suga also made a song about 5.18 before debut and I've seen pann discuss it before. The song is very good and immediately highlights about 5.18," said another. "They deserve credit for this so where's the problem?" said netizens.
"People call this intentional (to insinuate 'Snowdrop')? They deserve to be praised for doing something good. These idols use their influence in a good way to make international fans learn about the history of Gwangju," concluded another. (wk/chus)
