True Taste Korea

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  • I Miss the Old BTS — But I Don’t Want Them to Go Back

    I have a confession to make.

    I miss the old BTS.

    I miss the harder beats.

    I miss the aggressive rap.

    I miss the energy of songs that sometimes felt as if seven young men were trying to break through a wall.

    That was one of the things that first attracted me to BTS.

    And even though I have enjoyed many of the songs that came later, I sometimes feel that something changed as BTS became bigger.

    Their music became broader.

    More polished.

    More diverse.

    Sometimes brighter.

    And perhaps a little less raw.

    Apparently, I am not the only person who feels this way.

    “I Miss the Old BTS” Is Actually an Old Argument

    Spend enough time reading discussions about BTS and eventually you’ll encounter the same sentence:

    “I miss their old music.”

    Some longtime listeners say they miss the heavier hip-hop influence. Others point to The Most Beautiful Moment in Life or WINGS as the era they miss most. Others believe BTS became too pop-oriented as their international audience grew.

    But there’s an interesting problem with this argument.

    Fans have been saying BTS changed for years.

    Reddit discussions show that complaints about BTS changing didn’t suddenly begin with “Dynamite” or “Permission to Dance.” Some fans disliked the move away from the aggressive early hip-hop sound when the The Most Beautiful Moment in Life era began. Later changes produced the same argument again.

    Which raises a surprisingly difficult question:

    Which “old BTS” are we actually talking about?

    The BTS I Miss Was Built on Hip-Hop

    In BTS’s earliest music, the hip-hop identity wasn’t subtle.

    BIGHIT’s own description of their 2013 debut 2 COOL 4 SKOOL introduced BTS as a hip-hop group and described “No More Dream” as drawing on 1990s hip-hop. The company also emphasized the members’ participation in the album’s lyrics and music.

    Then came DARK & WILD.

    Its official description explicitly highlights different forms of hip-hop—Boom Bap, Trap and others—and describes “Danger” as a hybrid hip-hop track combining forceful rap, guitar and shouting.

    You can hear the youth in those records.

    But more than that, you can hear hunger.

    They were young.

    They weren’t yet the biggest group in the world.

    They still had something enormous to prove.

    And the aggressive music suited them.

    Maybe that’s part of what I miss.

    But BTS Started Changing Much Earlier Than We Remember

    Then something happened.

    They grew.

    With The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1 in 2015, BIGHIT itself described a musical transformation toward more poetic and pop emotions as BTS moved beyond their earlier school trilogy and began exploring youth and uncertainty. Vocal members also began appearing in production and songwriting credits alongside the rappers.

    By Pt.2, several members across the group were again credited in production or composition.

    So perhaps the idea that there was once one “pure BTS sound” and then suddenly someone changed it isn’t quite right.

    BTS had been changing almost from the beginning.

    And Reddit discussions reveal something fascinating: the era one generation of fans complained about eventually became the “old BTS” that another generation became nostalgic for.

    That made me reconsider my own nostalgia.

    Seven People Cannot Have One Musical Desire Forever

    There is another thing we sometimes forget.

    BTS is not one person.

    It is seven.

    Seven people entered the group when they were young.

    Then those seven people grew older.

    They listened to different music.

    They developed different tastes.

    They became songwriters, producers and solo artists in different ways.

    They experienced fame differently.

    And eventually each member began showing more of his individual musical identity.

    So when we ask:

    “Why doesn’t BTS sound exactly like BTS used to?”

    perhaps we’re asking the wrong question.

    How could seven musicians possibly have exactly the same musical desires after more than a decade?

    The surprising thing might not be that their music changed.

    The surprising thing would be if it didn’t.

    Then Add Millions of Fans

    And the seven members aren’t the only people involved.

    As BTS became global, their audience became enormous.

    One fan might want another “MIC Drop.”

    Another might love “Spring Day.”

    Someone else discovered BTS through “Dynamite.”

    Another prefers the rap line.

    Another prefers ballads.

    Another wants experimental music.

    Another wants something they can dance to.

    Once an artist reaches that scale, there is no longer one thing called “what the fans want.”

    There are millions of answers.

    That creates a strange problem for any successful artist.

    The more people love you, the more versions of you people want you to remain.

    And Then There Is the Business

    We shouldn’t pretend the music industry isn’t an industry.

    BTS became one of the biggest music acts in the world.

    That means bigger markets.

    Bigger expectations.

    More commercial opportunities.

    More collaborations.

    And access to songwriters and producers from around the world.

    It is reasonable to ask whether those forces affected the group’s sound.

    Some listeners certainly believe they did. Reddit discussions around BTS’s later releases have repeatedly debated whether increased Western-pop influence weakened some of the distinctive qualities listeners associated with earlier BTS.

    Other fans strongly reject that interpretation.

    They point out that BTS has always experimented with genres and argue that judging the group’s artistic direction from a handful of English-language singles ignores the much broader body of music they continued to release.

    I think both reactions reveal something important.

    The bigger BTS became, the more forces surrounded their music:

    seven individual artists, millions of fans, a growing company, an international market, and an expanding network of songwriters and producers.

    How could the result remain exactly the same?

    But Here Is Where My Opinion Changed

    For a while, I thought I simply wanted more of the old BTS.

    More hip-hop.

    Harder rap.

    More of that raw early energy.

    Then I asked myself a different question.

    Would it actually be cool if BTS simply recreated their 2013 or 2014 sound today?

    I’m not sure it would.

    And that surprised me.

    Every Age Has Its Own Music

    The early hip-hop sound worked partly because of who BTS were at that moment.

    They were young men.

    They were hungry.

    They were fighting for recognition.

    Their aggression felt natural.

    Their defiance felt natural.

    Their youth felt natural.

    But BTS aren’t those young men anymore.

    They have lived another decade.

    They have stood in stadiums.

    They have topped global charts.

    They have pursued solo careers.

    They have experienced military service, success, pressure, separation and reunion.

    Trying to recreate exactly the same youthful aggression now could easily feel less authentic than leaving it behind.

    Maybe every era has its own sound.

    A person in his thirties shouldn’t necessarily speak exactly like he did at eighteen.

    Why should musicians?

    Growing Older Should Change the Music

    This is something I increasingly appreciate as I get older myself.

    Growing older doesn’t have to mean becoming weaker.

    It means experiencing different things.

    At twenty, anger may dominate your world.

    Later, there may be responsibility.

    Loss.

    Love.

    Regret.

    Success.

    Loneliness.

    Family.

    Memory.

    Peace.

    Different stages of life produce different questions.

    And different questions should sometimes produce different music.

    That’s why I now think asking BTS to simply “go back” might actually be asking them to become less authentic.

    Perhaps growing older with dignity also means knowing when not to imitate your younger self.

    Maybe What I Really Miss Is the Hunger

    And this brings me back to the music I loved.

    When I listen to older BTS songs, maybe hip-hop isn’t the only thing I’m hearing.

    Maybe I’m hearing hunger.

    Seven young men who didn’t yet know exactly where all of this would lead.

    There was uncertainty in that music.

    Ambition.

    Youth.

    Something to prove.

    You can reproduce a drum beat.

    You can reproduce a rap style.

    You can bring back old clothes, choreography or production.

    But you cannot reproduce being that age.

    You cannot recreate not knowing what happens next.

    You cannot manufacture your own past.

    Perhaps that’s why returning to the old sound wouldn’t necessarily bring back what I actually miss.

    So Yes, I Miss the Old BTS

    I still prefer some of their harder music.

    “MIC Drop” remains especially important to me because it was one of the songs that pulled me into BTS in the first place.

    And if BTS released another powerful hip-hop track tomorrow, I’d certainly want to hear it.

    But I’ve realized something.

    I miss the old BTS.

    I don’t necessarily want today’s BTS to become the old BTS again.

    Those are two different things.

    The music I loved belonged to seven young men at a particular moment in their lives.

    Perhaps that’s exactly why it remains special.

    And maybe the most interesting question now isn’t:

    “Will BTS return to their old sound?”

    It’s:

    “What should BTS sound like at this stage of their lives?”

    I don’t know the answer.

    Maybe BTS doesn’t know yet either.

    And perhaps that’s what makes their next chapter interesting.

    Because after everything they’ve experienced, simply recreating the past would be the easy answer.

    Finding a sound that belongs to who they are now would be much more interesting.

    So maybe I don’t only miss the old BTS sound.

    Maybe I miss the hunger I could hear inside it.

    And maybe the most honest thing BTS can do now is not try to bring that hunger back—

    but find the music that belongs to the men they have become.

    BTS’s musical evolution is about more than moving away from their early hip-hop sound. Songs like “Spring Day” show how the group built an enduring emotional connection with listeners across different eras. Explore why BTS’s “Spring Day” is called the Zombie Queen and why its popularity has lasted for so many years.

    As BTS’s music has evolved, fans have developed different expectations about what the group should sound like. Those disagreements reflect a larger conversation about the passionate community surrounding BTS. Explore whether BTS ARMY is really toxic or simply too big to ignore to understand how fandom culture shapes the way the group’s music is discussed.

  • BTS Changed More Than Music — The Message That Built a Global Fandom

    I have never been an ARMY in the traditional sense.

    I didn’t organize my life around BTS schedules.

    I didn’t participate in every fan project or follow every update.

    I was simply someone who discovered their music, became fascinated by their performances, looked back at their difficult beginnings, and eventually watched seven young Korean men become global stars.

    But somewhere along the way, I started watching something else.

    Their fans.

    And I began to wonder whether one of BTS’s greatest achievements might have very little to do with music charts.

    I Had Seen Korean Fandom Culture Before BTS

    I had watched Korean idol culture for many years.

    Fan passion was nothing new.

    Korean idol fandoms had always been extraordinarily devoted. Fans bought albums, attended concerts, waited for their favorite artists and defended the groups they loved.

    But there was another side to that passion.

    Competition between fandoms could become intense.

    Who sold more albums?

    Whose group was more popular?

    Who deserved an award?

    Whose idol was better?

    Arguments and rivalries could sometimes become almost as important as the music itself.

    Of course, BTS didn’t magically make fan conflict disappear.

    ARMY is enormous, and no community containing millions of people can be described as if everyone thinks or behaves the same way.

    But watching BTS and ARMY, I began to notice something else.

    What if the power of a fandom could be directed toward something beyond winning?

    “Love Yourself” Was More Than an Album Title

    This is where BTS’s message becomes important.

    The idea of loving yourself wasn’t confined to lyrics.

    In 2017, BTS and BIGHIT joined UNICEF in the LOVE MYSELF campaign, connecting BTS’s message with efforts to combat violence against children and young people and promote self-esteem and well-being.

    Then, in September 2018, RM stood at the United Nations.

    He spoke about growing up, losing confidence, making mistakes and learning to accept himself.

    His message eventually reached a simple challenge to young people:

    Find your own voice.

    BTS’s fans, RM said, had already become an important part of the LOVE MYSELF campaign through their actions and enthusiasm.

    That moment interested me because BTS wasn’t simply saying:

    “Love us.”

    The message was turning in the opposite direction:

    “Love yourself.”

    For a pop group speaking to millions of young people, I think that difference matters.

    The Message Started Leaving the Stage

    Words are easy.

    What interested me was what happened when some of those words became actions.

    By March 2024, BTS, BIGHIT MUSIC and fans around the world had contributed more than 8.9 billion Korean won—about $6.6 million at the time—to UNICEF through the LOVE MYSELF campaign, according to UNICEF. The partnership was renewed to support mental health and well-being among children and young people.

    UNICEF later reported the total at around $6.7 million for the period from 2017 through 2025.

    Those are impressive numbers.

    But money alone isn’t the part that interests me most.

    It’s the chain reaction.

    An artist sends a message.

    Fans receive it.

    And some of those fans decide:

    “Then let’s do something.”

    Then ARMY Did Something I Couldn’t Ignore

    One example remains particularly striking.

    In June 2020, BTS and Big Hit donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter amid protests against racism and police brutality in the United States.

    ARMY responded.

    Fans organized a campaign called #MatchAMillion.

    The goal was exactly what the name suggested:

    Match BTS’s $1 million donation.

    And they did.

    One In An ARMY, a fan-led charitable organization, announced that BTS fans had raised more than $1 million, with the campaign passing that mark rapidly after BTS’s donation became public.

    TIME has documented how One In An ARMY and other fans organized charitable projects around the world, including medical assistance and support for children, often drawing inspiration from BTS’s own philanthropic activity.

    That’s when fandom begins to look different to me.

    Buying an album supports an artist.

    Streaming a song supports an artist.

    Voting for an award supports an artist.

    But helping somebody you’ve never met?

    That reaches beyond the artist.

    No Fandom Is Perfect

    I don’t want to romanticize ARMY.

    Millions of people cannot possibly behave as one.

    There are arguments.

    There are rivalries.

    There are people who behave badly online, just as there are in virtually every enormous internet community.

    And charitable activity wasn’t invented by BTS fans. K-pop fandoms before and alongside ARMY have also organized donations and social projects.

    That context matters.

    So I wouldn’t say BTS eliminated the old competitive side of idol fandom.

    What I saw was something more interesting.

    They helped demonstrate how enormous fan energy could also be mobilized in another direction.

    Competition could exist alongside generosity.

    Passion for an artist could become passion for a cause.

    And a message contained in a song could sometimes travel much farther than the song itself.

    Perhaps This Is Why Their Lyrics Mattered So Much

    When I first discovered BTS, it was the power of their performance that caught me.

    “MIC Drop” made my shoulders move before I was thinking deeply about what BTS represented.

    Then I discovered their practice.

    Their difficult early years.

    The small things they shared.

    Their relationship with one another.

    And eventually their lyrics.

    That’s when I began to understand why the message mattered.

    Young people face enormous pressure.

    To succeed.

    To look good.

    To be noticed.

    To compare themselves with everyone else.

    To keep consuming the next exciting thing.

    And sometimes simply to survive a difficult period of their lives.

    BTS couldn’t solve those problems.

    No musician can.

    But they could say something.

    You have value.

    Listen to your own voice.

    Love yourself.

    And sometimes hearing those words at the right moment matters.

    UNICEF itself credited BTS with helping spark conversations about self-esteem and mental well-being among young people around the world.

    Then COVID Made That Message Feel Even More Important

    During the pandemic, the world suddenly became smaller.

    People were separated.

    Plans disappeared.

    BTS experienced that too.

    In their 2020 UN message, they spoke openly about the cancellation of their world tour and the isolation and uncertainty they experienced. Their message returned once again to remembering who we are, loving ourselves and imagining a future beyond the crisis.

    I remember thinking about the millions of people sitting at home during that period.

    Some discovered BTS.

    Others already loved them.

    For many, music became a temporary escape from an outside world that suddenly felt frightening.

    A song couldn’t open the door.

    But for three or four minutes, perhaps it could make the room feel a little larger.

    And BTS kept returning to the same fundamental idea:

    You’re not alone.

    Maybe That Is the Real Relationship Between BTS and ARMY

    Artists normally create music.

    Fans consume it.

    But BTS and ARMY often seemed to create a feedback loop.

    BTS spoke about loving yourself.

    Fans told BTS how those words had helped them.

    BTS heard those stories and spoke about feeling greater responsibility because of them.

    RM explicitly described receiving stories from fans who said BTS’s message had helped them through difficult periods and learn to love themselves.

    Then some fans took that inspiration into their own communities.

    The message went out.

    Something came back.

    And BTS sent it out again.

    Perhaps that’s one reason this relationship became so powerful.

    I Don’t Want BTS to Be Remembered Only for Records

    BTS has already achieved things I never imagined when I first encountered them.

    Billboard No. 1s.

    Stadiums.

    Awards.

    Millions of albums.

    A global audience listening to seven Korean men whose language many of them originally couldn’t understand.

    All of that belongs in their history.

    But strangely, those aren’t the things I hope will define them in the end.

    Records are temporary by nature.

    Someone eventually sells more.

    Someone eventually gets more streams.

    Another artist eventually breaks the record.

    That’s how records work.

    But influence is different.

    If a young person who once hated themselves learned to treat themselves with a little more kindness…

    If a fan who once spent all their energy fighting another fandom decided instead to donate a few dollars to someone in need…

    If people who lived thousands of kilometers apart discovered one another because seven Korean musicians brought them into the same community…

    Those things don’t appear on Billboard.

    But they matter.

    From Successful Singers to Legends

    When I first saw BTS, I underestimated them.

    Then I admired their music.

    I admired their performances.

    I admired the extraordinary amount of practice behind their talent.

    I learned about the difficult beginning they shared.

    I listened to their message.

    Then I watched them cross a language barrier I once thought would be almost impossible to overcome.

    And finally, I watched the influence move beyond the seven members themselves.

    Into ARMY.

    Into charity projects.

    Into conversations about self-worth.

    Into the lives of people BTS would probably never meet.

    I don’t know what BTS’s next chapter will look like.

    But I know what I hope for them.

    I don’t want them to be remembered simply as seven singers who became extraordinarily successful.

    I hope they become legends remembered for leaving something good behind.

    Because ultimately:

    Records are eventually broken.

    A good influence can outlive them.

  • I Never Thought BTS Would Become This Big — Then They Broke the Language Barrier

    By the time I became interested in BTS, I already knew they were special.

    I had seen the performances.

    I had discovered how hard they practiced.

    I had listened more carefully to their lyrics and the messages behind them.

    But there was still one thing I never expected.

    I never imagined BTS would become this big around the world.

    Not because I doubted their talent.

    Because, at the time, global pop music still felt like a world with a very high wall around it.

    And at the center of that world was the English language.

    The Global Pop World Didn’t Feel Open to Everyone

    For decades, the biggest international pop stars overwhelmingly came from English-speaking markets.

    There had been exceptions, of course.

    And Korea already had artists who had reached international audiences. PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” for example, became a worldwide phenomenon in 2012.

    But what BTS was attempting felt different.

    They weren’t arriving with one viral song.

    They were a seven-member Korean group trying to build a lasting global career while continuing to release music largely in Korean.

    As a Korean watching this happen, I didn’t assume the rest of the world would simply accept them.

    Asian artists could face stereotypes. Korean lyrics could be treated as a barrier.

    How far could seven Korean men really go in the center of the Western pop industry?

    I didn’t know.

    Then the wall started cracking.

    America Heard BTS Before BTS Changed Their Language

    One of the first moments that made the change impossible to ignore came in 2017.

    BTS performed “DNA” at the American Music Awards, their first U.S. television performance. ABC described it beforehand as their U.S. TV debut; the audience that night included fans singing along to a Korean-language song.

    Think about what was happening.

    A Korean group was standing on a major American awards-show stage.

    They were singing in Korean.

    And people in the audience knew the words.

    For me, that was significant.

    For years, international success often seemed to require artists from smaller music markets to move toward English.

    But BTS was showing another possibility.

    Maybe the audience could move toward the artist instead.

    Then Came the Billboard No. 1

    In 2018, something happened that would once have seemed almost impossible.

    BTS’s LOVE YOURSELF 轉 ‘Tear’ reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making BTS the first K-pop act to top the main U.S. album chart.

    And this wasn’t an English-language album designed to disguise where they came from.

    GRAMMY.com noted that it became the first predominantly foreign-language album in more than 12 years to top the chart.

    That mattered to me.

    Because BTS wasn’t succeeding after becoming less Korean.

    They were succeeding while remaining recognizably Korean.

    Their names were Korean.

    Much of their music was Korean.

    Their story began in Korea.

    And millions of listeners decided that none of those things prevented them from connecting with the music.

    Music Had Arrived Before Language Did

    This was where their international success reminded me of my own first experience with “MIC Drop.”

    I’m Korean, and even I wasn’t sitting there analyzing every word the first time I heard it.

    The rhythm reached me first.

    The performance reached me first.

    My shoulders were already moving.

    Only later did I look deeper.

    Perhaps millions of international listeners experienced something similar.

    They might not have understood every Korean word.

    But they understood energy.

    They understood emotion.

    They understood confidence, sadness, loneliness and joy.

    And if they wanted to understand more, they could search for translations and explanations afterward.

    That made me realize something very simple:

    Music had arrived before language did.

    Then Seven Korean Men Walked Onto Wembley

    If the Billboard chart proved BTS could compete in the world’s largest music market, another moment showed the physical scale of what had happened.

    In June 2019, BTS headlined Wembley Stadium in London.

    Not a small K-pop event.

    Not a niche Asian music festival.

    Wembley.

    The same stadium associated with some of the biggest names and moments in global popular music.

    BTS became the first South Korean group to headline the stadium, and both shows sold out. Wembley reported that tickets for the two dates sold out within 90 minutes; Korea.net reported a combined audience of about 120,000 across the two performances.

    For someone who remembered wondering how far a Korean idol group could possibly go, seeing that was extraordinary.

    The question was no longer:

    “Can K-pop really become global?”

    The evidence was standing inside a packed stadium.

    Then the World Stopped

    And then came 2020.

    COVID-19 changed almost everything.

    People stayed home.

    Schools closed.

    Travel stopped.

    Concerts disappeared.

    BTS lost their planned world tour too. In a 2020 message at the United Nations, RM spoke about how their plans had disappeared and how isolation had affected them.

    This period has always felt important to me when thinking about BTS.

    I don’t believe COVID created BTS’s global success.

    By then, they had already topped the Billboard 200 and sold out Wembley Stadium.

    BTS was already global before the pandemic.

    But I do think the pandemic created a strange new moment between BTS and the world.

    Millions of people were spending more time at home.

    They were online.

    They were anxious.

    They were lonely.

    They needed somewhere to escape for a few minutes.

    And music was still able to travel when people couldn’t.

    “Dynamite” Arrived at Exactly That Moment

    In August 2020, BTS released “Dynamite.”

    It was their first song released completely in English.

    Big Hit described it as a song of joy and confidence created amid the discouragement of the global situation—a way of bringing energy through music and performance.

    And then it exploded.

    “Dynamite” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making BTS the first South Korean artist to top America’s main singles chart.

    This was another wall.

    And BTS had gone through it.

    But I think focusing only on the record misses part of what made the song special.

    The world was going through one of its darkest periods in decades.

    And here were seven people dancing in bright clothes, singing something light, energetic and deliberately joyful.

    For a few minutes, people could move.

    Smile.

    Dance in their rooms.

    Forget what was happening outside.

    That’s why, looking back, I sometimes think BTS’s music functioned as a kind of escape route during the pandemic.

    Not because music could solve COVID.

    Of course it couldn’t.

    But music could make a difficult day feel slightly less difficult.

    And Then They Sang “Life Goes On”

    What BTS did next may have been even more meaningful.

    Instead of pretending everything was fine, they released BE.

    Big Hit described the album as reflecting the fear, anxiety and helplessness created by COVID-19 while still expressing the determination to move forward. Its lead single carried an extremely simple message:

    “Life Goes On.”

    The song subsequently became the first non-English-language song to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

    To me, there is something almost poetic about that.

    For years, people wondered whether Korean-language music could truly sit at the center of American pop culture.

    Then, during a global pandemic, a Korean group reached No. 1 with a song whose title needed no translation:

    Life Goes On.

    The Language Barrier Hadn’t Disappeared

    I don’t think BTS magically eliminated every barrier facing Asian artists.

    Prejudice didn’t disappear.

    The Western music industry didn’t suddenly become perfectly open.

    And language still matters in global entertainment.

    But BTS proved something important.

    Those barriers were not absolute.

    A song didn’t necessarily need to begin in English to create emotion in London, Los Angeles, Paris, São Paulo or Seoul.

    An artist didn’t have to erase where they came from before the rest of the world could listen.

    And perhaps that’s what amazed me most.

    When I first saw BTS, I thought:

    They’re a very good Korean idol group.

    Years later, I was watching the world debate where BTS belonged in global pop history.

    I hadn’t expected that.

    I don’t think many of us had.

    They Didn’t Simply Enter Global Pop — They Changed What Seemed Possible

    Records tell part of the story.

    Billboard No. 1s.

    Sold-out stadiums.

    GRAMMY nominations—BTS eventually received five nominations through the 65th GRAMMY Awards.

    But numbers alone aren’t what fascinates me.

    What fascinates me is the change in possibility.

    Before BTS, a Korean-language boy band becoming one of the biggest music acts in the world seemed improbable to many people.

    After BTS, it no longer seems impossible.

    That’s a much bigger achievement than a chart position.

    Because records are eventually broken.

    But once someone proves that a wall can be crossed, the people who come afterward no longer have to wonder whether there is a door.

    They already know there is one.

    And yet, after watching BTS break through those barriers, I began to notice something else.

    Perhaps their most interesting legacy wasn’t happening on Billboard at all.

    It was happening among the millions of people who called themselves ARMY.

    Continued in Part 3: BTS Changed More Than Music — The Message That Built a Global Fandom

  • I Thought BTS Was Just Another Idol Group — Then I Saw What Made Them Different

    I didn’t expect much from BTS at first.

    Maybe that sounds strange now.

    Today, BTS is one of the most recognizable music groups in the world. But when I first encountered them, I saw them through a very different lens.

    I thought they were just another Korean idol group.

    Good-looking young men. Catchy songs. Elaborate choreography. A passionate young fanbase.

    Korea had seen plenty of successful idol groups before.

    I didn’t expect BTS to change the way I thought about idol music.

    Then I watched “MIC Drop.”

    And something happened.

    I Couldn’t Catch Every Word — But My Shoulders Were Already Moving

    I’m Korean.

    But when I first listened to “MIC Drop,” even I couldn’t immediately catch every word flying through the song.

    It didn’t matter.

    My shoulders were already moving.

    I found myself humming along before I had even thought seriously about the lyrics.

    Then there was the performance.

    The explosive choreography. The confidence. The rhythm. The way seven different people could move with such force while still looking like a single unit.

    It was powerful.

    BTS officially debuted in June 2013, and “MIC Drop” later appeared on their 2017 album LOVE YOURSELF 承 ‘Her’.

    But I wasn’t thinking about dates or charts while watching them.

    I was thinking:

    What is this?

    For a while, BTS made me crazy about music again.

    And that surprised me because I wasn’t the kind of listener I imagined idol groups were targeting.

    BTS had crossed a barrier I hadn’t expected them to cross.

    They crossed generations.

    Then I Started Looking Back

    Once I became interested, I started searching for older BTS videos.

    And that changed things again.

    The BTS I had discovered through powerful performances wasn’t the BTS that had always existed.

    Their beginning looked much smaller.

    They debuted in 2013 with 2 COOL 4 SKOOL and “No More Dream.” From the beginning, the members participated in writing and creating their music, with their official debut material emphasizing that they were telling stories based on their own experiences and emotions.

    Watching their earlier years made their later success feel different to me.

    I saw young men who hadn’t started at the top.

    I saw old footage of them practicing, eating, living and spending enormous amounts of time together.

    What affected me wasn’t only the hardship.

    It was the small things.

    They ate together. They lived closely together. They shared what they had.

    Years later, I would see the same seven people standing on some of the biggest stages in the world.

    But those early images stayed with me.

    Before they shared the world’s biggest stages, they had learned how to share the little things.

    Talent Couldn’t Explain Everything

    Of course BTS had talent.

    You don’t perform at that level without it.

    But the more I watched them, the less satisfied I became with the explanation:

    “They’re talented.”

    Talent wasn’t enough to explain what I was seeing.

    Seven people don’t move with that kind of precision simply because they’re gifted.

    A performance that looks effortless to an audience can be the result of endless repetition behind the scenes.

    Practice.

    Correction.

    Again.

    Again.

    And again.

    That made a surprisingly strong impression on me.

    Because dancing isn’t really the point.

    Think about anything in your own life.

    How difficult is it to devote an extraordinary number of hours to one thing?

    How many of us have talent that we never fully develop because we stop before it blooms?

    Watching BTS made me think about that.

    Talent gives you possibility. Practice turns possibility into ability.

    They were gifted.

    But they also appeared willing to do the work required to make those gifts bloom.

    And suddenly their performances looked different to me.

    I wasn’t only seeing seven talented performers anymore.

    I was seeing the hours behind them.

    Then I Started Listening to What They Were Saying

    Eventually, something became even more important to me than the dancing.

    The lyrics.

    This was where BTS began to feel truly different.

    Korean idol music had existed for decades, and of course many earlier artists had sung meaningful songs. I don’t want to erase that history.

    But as a listener, BTS struck me differently.

    From their debut, their music was already asking young people questions about dreams and the pressures surrounding them. Their first album explicitly centered “No More Dream” around the question: What is your dream?

    As their music developed, the subjects became broader.

    Fear.

    Failure.

    Loneliness.

    Pressure.

    Dreams.

    Learning to accept yourself.

    Eventually, the idea of loving yourself became central enough to define an entire era of BTS music. Their LOVE YOURSELF 結 ‘Answer’ album even concludes its first disc with “Answer : Love Myself.”

    That message affected the way I saw them.

    Young people live surrounded by competition and endless stimulation. They’re constantly being told to achieve more, look better, earn more attention and become somebody else.

    BTS seemed to be saying something remarkably simple:

    Look at yourself, too.

    Your struggles matter.

    Your failures don’t make your life worthless.

    You should learn to love yourself.

    That was when BTS stopped being simply an entertaining idol group to me.

    What Surprised Me About the Seven Members

    There was something else I noticed as the years passed.

    The relationship between the members.

    I had watched Korean idol culture for a long time.

    Groups can appear extremely close when they’re struggling together. Then success arrives. Money, fame and individual opportunities grow, and sometimes relationships change.

    So as BTS became bigger, part of me wondered what would happen to the seven members.

    Obviously, I don’t know their private lives.

    No fan really does.

    And being close doesn’t mean seven different people never disagree.

    But from what I could observe over the years, their relationship continued to feel unusually important to them.

    Maybe those early years mattered.

    Maybe sharing cramped spaces, meals, uncertainty, practice and failure created something that success couldn’t easily replace.

    And perhaps the important lesson isn’t that close friends never fight.

    It’s something much more realistic:

    Being close doesn’t mean never fighting. It means finding a way to remain together after the fight.

    As an outsider watching them, that stayed with me.

    I Had Misjudged Them

    I started with a simple assumption.

    They’re an idol group.

    Then “MIC Drop” made my shoulders move.

    Their performances made me pay attention.

    Their practice made me respect them.

    Their early story made me curious.

    And their lyrics made me listen more carefully.

    That progression matters because I didn’t become interested in BTS because somebody told me I should.

    They changed my mind themselves.

    And perhaps that’s why I eventually understood something about their appeal.

    You don’t have to begin as an idol fan.

    You don’t have to be the same age as their core audience.

    You don’t even have to understand every word immediately.

    Sometimes music reaches you first.

    Then curiosity makes you look deeper.

    And when you look deeper, you discover the work, experiences and ideas behind the music.

    That’s what happened to me.

    I originally thought BTS was just another idol group.

    I was wrong.

    But even then, I had no idea what was coming next.

    Because I never imagined that these seven young Korean men would eventually challenge something much bigger than my own assumptions.

    They were about to challenge the boundaries of global pop music itself.

    Continued in Part 2: How Did BTS Break the Language Barrier and Reach the Center of Global Pop?

  • CRAVITY Minhee Recommends Dakbokkeumtang — Is It a Stew or Braised Chicken?

    Korean fried chicken is famous around the world.

    But CRAVITY’s Minhee recommends a completely different way to eat chicken in Korea.

    Dakbokkeumtang (닭볶음탕).

    When CRAVITY members were asked which Korean food they would recommend to international fans, Minhee chose braised spicy chicken. And in the same interview, when asked what kind of food he could eat every day, his answer was even simpler:

    Anything made with chicken.

    So if Minhee recommends a Korean chicken dish, dakbokkeumtang seems like a natural choice.

    But what exactly is it?

    What Is Dakbokkeumtang?

    Dakbokkeumtang is a spicy Korean chicken dish made by cooking pieces of chicken with vegetables in a red, savory broth.

    Potatoes are one of its signature ingredients.

    The Korea Tourism Organization describes it as chicken cooked with a red chili powder marinade and broth, with the soft, well-cooked potatoes being an important part of the dish.

    Depending on the recipe, you’ll also find ingredients such as carrots, onions, green onions and garlic.

    Everything cooks together until the chicken is tender and the sauce becomes rich with chicken flavor.

    Is It a Stew or Braised Chicken?

    That’s where the English name can be confusing.

    Dakbokkeumtang is commonly translated as “spicy braised chicken.”

    But when it arrives at the table, you may think:

    “That looks like a stew.”

    And you wouldn’t exactly be wrong.

    The Korea Tourism Organization notes that despite being described as braised chicken, the dish can look quite brothy. Chicken is cooked with red chili powder, gochujang, garlic, onions and other ingredients until the broth becomes thick and intensely savory.

    So don’t worry too much about the English label.

    Just bring rice.

    Why Are the Potatoes So Good?

    Chicken might be the star, but don’t ignore the potatoes.

    As they simmer, they absorb the spicy chicken broth.

    Eventually they become so soft that you can break them apart with a spoon.

    Korea Tourism Organization even suggests crushing the cooked potato into the remaining broth and mixing it with rice.

    That’s when something interesting happens.

    The potato thickens the sauce.

    The rice absorbs it.

    And suddenly you’re fighting over the leftovers instead of the chicken.

    How Spicy Is Dakbokkeumtang?

    Usually, it’s definitely spicy—but it’s not simply about heat.

    The sauce combines chili with the savory flavor of chicken, garlic and vegetables, while potatoes and other vegetables can add some natural sweetness.

    That makes dakbokkeumtang different from a pure spice challenge.

    You keep eating because the sauce tastes good.

    Then the heat catches up with you.

    Then you eat another spoonful of rice.

    And somehow you start again.

    Don’t Throw Away the Sauce

    This might be the most important rule.

    When most of the chicken is gone, don’t assume the meal is finished.

    Some Korean restaurants use the remaining dakbokkeumtang sauce to make fried rice. Korea Tourism Organization specifically highlights restaurants where rice is stir-fried in the leftover sauce after the main dish.

    The rice absorbs the concentrated chicken and chili flavor from everything that has been cooking in the pot.

    For many Korean dishes, the final fried rice isn’t just leftovers.

    It’s practically the second course.

    Why Should International Fans Try Minhee’s Recommendation?

    Internationally, Korean chicken usually means crispy fried chicken covered in sauce.

    Dakbokkeumtang shows another side of Korean chicken culture.

    There’s no crunchy coating.

    Instead, you get tender chicken, soft potatoes and vegetables simmered together in a spicy red broth.

    And Minhee’s recommendation becomes even more fitting when you know his answer to another question in the same interview.

    If he had to eat one type of food every day?

    Anything made from chicken.

    So if you’re a CRAVITY fan exploring Korean food, skip fried chicken for one meal.

    Put a bubbling pot of dakbokkeumtang in the middle of the table.

    Just remember:

    Save some sauce for the rice.

  • CRAVITY Jungmo Recommends Yukhoe Bibimbap — Would You Eat Raw Beef With Rice?

    When international visitors think of Korean beef, they usually imagine one thing:

    Korean barbecue.

    Meat sizzling over a hot grill.

    But CRAVITY’s Jungmo recommends something completely different.

    Yukhoe bibimbap (육회비빔밥).

    And yes—the beef is served raw.

    When CRAVITY members were asked which Korean food they would recommend to international fans, Jungmo chose yukhoe bibimbap.

    So what exactly is it?

    What Is Yukhoe?

    Yukhoe (육회) is Korean-style raw beef.

    You can think of it as Korea’s answer to beef tartare, although the seasoning and serving style are distinctly Korean.

    Fresh beef is sliced into thin strips and commonly seasoned with ingredients such as sesame oil.

    It is often served with Korean pear, and an egg yolk may be placed on top.

    The Korea Tourism Organization describes Korean yukhoe as beef tartare seasoned with ingredients such as sesame oil and pear.

    But Jungmo’s recommendation takes it one step further.

    He chose yukhoe bibimbap.

    What Is Yukhoe Bibimbap?

    Start with a bowl of rice.

    Then add vegetables.

    Then add seasoned raw beef.

    Finally, mix everything together.

    The Korea Tourism Organization’s version includes beef tartare alongside vegetables such as bean sprouts, spinach, bracken, zucchini and radish, plus egg yolk, seaweed and sesame. The ingredients are mixed with sesame oil and seasoned red chili paste.

    In other words, it’s classic bibimbap with one major twist:

    The beef isn’t cooked.

    Why Raw Beef?

    This might be the part that surprises international visitors most.

    Korean cuisine isn’t only about grilling meat.

    Yukhoe is valued for the beef’s soft texture and relatively delicate flavor, while sesame oil, pear and other seasonings provide sweetness and nuttiness.

    Freshness is especially important because the beef is eaten uncooked.

    Korea Tourism Organization notes that one well-known yukhoe restaurant at Seoul’s Gwangjang Market receives fresh Korean beef daily.

    And yukhoe isn’t some obscure modern experiment.

    It’s established enough that Gwangjang Market has an entire alley famous for it.

    Why Put Yukhoe in Bibimbap?

    Because bibimbap is essentially built for mixing.

    Traditional bibimbap combines rice with vegetables, meat and seasoning in one bowl. Korea Tourism Organization describes it as a representative Korean food that reflects the Korean style of combining different ingredients together.

    Replace the cooked beef with yukhoe and you get a very different experience.

    The warm rice meets cool raw beef.

    Crunchy vegetables meet soft meat.

    Gochujang brings heat and sweetness.

    Sesame oil ties everything together.

    The bowl might look carefully arranged when it arrives.

    Then you destroy the presentation.

    That’s the point.

    Mix everything.

    Is Yukhoe Bibimbap Popular Outside Seoul?

    Yes.

    Different regions have their own versions.

    For example, Korea Tourism Organization highlights yukhoe bibimbap as a popular variation of Jeonju bibimbap and explains that the beef can be seasoned with red chili paste, garlic and sesame oil.

    Jinju is also known for beef tartare bibimbap, where seasoned raw beef is placed with colorful vegetables over rice.

    So this isn’t simply a Seoul trend.

    It’s part of a broader Korean raw-beef food tradition.

    Would You Try Jungmo’s Recommendation?

    If you’re uncomfortable with raw meat, yukhoe bibimbap probably isn’t the first Korean dish you should order.

    Start with bulgogi or Korean barbecue.

    But if you’ve already tried those and want to explore something different, Jungmo’s recommendation makes sense.

    You still get familiar Korean flavors:

    Rice.

    Vegetables.

    Gochujang.

    Sesame oil.

    But right in the middle is something many first-time visitors don’t expect:

    raw beef.

    Korean barbecue lets you cook the beef yourself.

    Yukhoe bibimbap asks:

    What if we don’t cook it at all?

  • CRAVITY Allen Recommends Samgyetang — Why Do Koreans Eat Hot Chicken Soup in Summer?

    Imagine a brutally hot summer day.

    The temperature is climbing, you’re already sweating—and someone puts a bowl of boiling-hot chicken soup in front of you.

    In Korea, that’s not unusual.

    It’s called samgyetang (삼계탕), and CRAVITY’s Allen chose it when asked which Korean food he would recommend to international fans.

    His reason was simple: he considers it a healthy food.

    But that raises a much more interesting question.

    Why do Koreans deliberately eat piping-hot chicken soup during the hottest days of summer?

    What Is Samgyetang?

    Samgyetang is a traditional Korean chicken soup.

    A small whole chicken is typically stuffed with glutinous rice and simmered with ingredients such as garlic, jujubes and ginseng.

    The result is very different from Korea’s fiery red stews.

    Samgyetang is generally mild.

    The chicken cooks until tender, while the rice inside absorbs the broth and becomes soft and comforting.

    And unlike fried chicken or Korean barbecue, samgyetang has long been associated with nourishment and restoring energy.

    Why Did Allen Recommend It?

    In a Soompi interview, CRAVITY members were asked which Korean foods they would recommend to international fans.

    Allen chose samgyetang, explaining that he thought it was good for your health.

    That’s actually a useful choice for someone trying Korean food for the first time.

    Many internationally famous Korean dishes are spicy, heavily seasoned or grilled.

    Samgyetang shows another side of Korean cuisine:

    simple ingredients, a mild broth and a focus on nourishment.

    Why Eat Hot Soup in Hot Weather?

    Here’s where samgyetang gets fascinating.

    Korea has an expression:

    이열치열 (以熱治熱)

    It roughly means “fight heat with heat.”

    Instead of cooling down with only cold food, the idea is to eat something hot and nourishing, sweat and restore the energy believed to be depleted during intense summer weather.

    Samgyetang is especially associated with Sambok, traditionally considered the three hottest periods of the Korean summer.

    On these days, samgyetang restaurants can become packed with customers.

    So while an icy bowl of naengmyeon makes perfect sense on a hot day, Koreans also have the exact opposite answer:

    boiling chicken soup.

    What Does Samgyetang Taste Like?

    If you expect the aggressive spice of Korean ramyeon or tteokbokki, you may be surprised.

    Samgyetang’s broth is usually subtle and savory.

    Garlic adds depth, while ingredients such as ginseng and jujube give the soup a distinctive herbal character.

    The chicken itself is tender enough to pull apart easily.

    Inside, you’ll find soft glutinous rice that has absorbed the chicken broth.

    Salt and pepper are often provided separately, allowing diners to season the meat and soup according to their own taste.

    Is There Really Ginseng Inside?

    Yes.

    The name explains the dish.

    Sam (삼) refers to ginseng, while gye (계) refers to chicken and tang (탕) means soup.

    Ginseng is one of the ingredients that gives samgyetang its reputation as a nourishing meal.

    That also makes the dish particularly interesting for international visitors.

    You’re not simply eating Korean chicken soup.

    You’re experiencing a food tied to Korea’s traditional ideas about season, heat and restoring the body.

    Should First-Time Visitors Try Samgyetang?

    Absolutely—especially if spicy Korean food isn’t your thing.

    Samgyetang provides a very different introduction to Korean cuisine from the dishes that tend to go viral overseas.

    There’s no flaming-red sauce.

    No tabletop grill.

    No extreme spice challenge.

    Just a whole chicken, rice, garlic, ginseng and a warm broth.

    And if you happen to visit Korea during the hottest part of summer, don’t be surprised to see people lining up for it.

    That’s the paradox that makes samgyetang memorable:

    The hotter the weather gets, the hotter the soup becomes.

    CRAVITY’s Allen recommends it.

    Koreans have been eating it through summer heat for generations.

    Maybe sweating over a bowl of chicken soup isn’t such a strange idea after all.

  • BTS Jin Loves Naengmyeon — Why Are Korean Noodles Served Ice-Cold?

    Most people expect noodles to be hot.

    BTS Jin has long been associated with a Korean noodle dish that does the exact opposite.

    Naengmyeon (냉면).

    These thin, chewy noodles are served in an icy-cold broth—sometimes with actual ice floating in the bowl.

    For anyone discovering Korean food for the first time, that can raise an obvious question:

    Why would you want your noodles freezing cold?

    What Is Naengmyeon?

    Naengmyeon literally means “cold noodles.”

    One of the best-known versions, mul-naengmyeon, combines chewy noodles with chilled broth traditionally made with ingredients such as beef and dongchimi, a Korean radish water kimchi.

    Typical toppings include sliced beef, cucumber, radish, pear and boiled egg.

    Korea Tourism Organization describes cold buckwheat noodles as noodles served in chilled beef broth and notes that they are especially popular during Korea’s hot summer months.

    There is also bibim-naengmyeon, which skips most or all of the broth and coats the noodles in a spicy red sauce.

    Same idea.

    Completely different experience.

    Jin and Naengmyeon Go Back Years

    Jin’s connection with naengmyeon isn’t difficult to understand if you’ve followed his food appearances.

    In a 2017 television appearance, Jin recalled going out for samgyeopsal with actor Lee Won-geun. The two ate 12 servings of pork belly and six bowls of rice.

    And what did they have for dessert?

    Naengmyeon.

    Yes—in Korea, cold noodles can come after Korean barbecue.

    That’s one of the first things international visitors may find surprising.

    Why Eat Cold Noodles After Hot Korean BBQ?

    Imagine you’ve just spent an hour eating fatty pork or beef straight from a hot grill.

    Then a bowl arrives filled with cold, refreshing broth and chewy noodles.

    The contrast works.

    In fact, the Korea Tourism Organization notes that eating naengmyeon instead of rice at the end of a galbi meal has become a common way to finish with something refreshing.

    So naengmyeon isn’t simply another noodle dish.

    It can also be the Korean answer to:

    “What should we eat after all that meat?”

    But Naengmyeon Wasn’t Originally a Summer Food

    Here’s the surprising part.

    Today, Koreans strongly associate naengmyeon with summer.

    Historically, however, it was also a winter food.

    Korea’s official government site explains that naengmyeon was traditionally enjoyed during winter, when dongchimi was available, and historical records describe people eating it around the winter solstice.

    Imagine sitting on a warm ondol floor during a freezing Korean winter while eating a bowl of cold noodles.

    That sounds strange today.

    Historically, it made perfect sense.

    What Does Naengmyeon Taste Like?

    Don’t expect the explosive flavor of tteokbokki or spicy ramyeon.

    Especially with Pyeongyang-style naengmyeon, the broth can be surprisingly delicate.

    Korea Tourism Organization describes its clear broth as subtle but addictive and notes that cold noodles may be unfamiliar to international visitors accustomed to hot noodle soups.

    That’s part of the appeal.

    The first bite might make you wonder:

    “Is that it?”

    Then you take another.

    And another.

    Suddenly the bowl is empty.

    Want to Eat Like Jin?

    If you’re already planning to try Korean barbecue in Korea, there’s an easy way.

    After the meat, don’t immediately ask for the bill.

    Look for 냉면 (naengmyeon) on the menu.

    Order a bowl.

    And when freezing-cold noodles arrive after a sizzling-hot barbecue dinner, you’ll understand one of the more unusual combinations in Korean food culture.

    Hot grill. Cold noodles.

    Somehow, it works.

  • Jay Park Misses Tteokbokki in America — What Makes It So Addictive?

    Jay Park has lived between two food cultures.

    When he’s in Korea, there are American and Mexican-style foods he misses.

    But what about when he’s in the United States?

    One Korean food comes to mind:

    Tteokbokki (떡볶이).

    During an interview with Soompi, Jay Park was asked which Korean foods he misses while in America.

    His answer was straightforward: tteokbokki.

    He even added that he loves it.

    So what makes this simple Korean street food so hard to forget?

    What Is Tteokbokki?

    Tteokbokki is one of Korea’s most famous street foods.

    The classic version combines chewy rice cakes with vegetables and a red, spicy-sweet sauce usually based on gochujang.

    Fish cake is another common addition.

    It doesn’t sound particularly complicated.

    But that’s part of its appeal.

    The rice cakes absorb the thick sauce while retaining their distinctive chewy texture.

    The result is spicy, sweet, savory and chewy at the same time.

    Tteokbokki Is More Than Just Street Food in Korea

    For many Koreans, tteokbokki is connected to childhood.

    The Korea Tourism Organization describes memories of students stopping at small snack shops after school to eat tteokbokki with friends, which helped make it a kind of Korean nostalgia food.

    That’s an important part of understanding the dish.

    Tteokbokki isn’t supposed to be fancy.

    It’s affordable comfort food—the kind of thing you can share with friends without planning a special dinner.

    That makes Jay Park’s answer particularly relatable.

    Of all the elaborate Korean dishes he could miss while overseas, he picked one of Korea’s simplest everyday foods.

    How Spicy Is Tteokbokki?

    That depends.

    The bright-red sauce can look intimidating, but different restaurants make it at very different heat levels.

    Traditional modern-style tteokbokki is generally both sweet and spicy, rather than simply hot.

    And today there are countless variations.

    You can find cheese tteokbokki, jjajang tteokbokki, rosé tteokbokki and even versions with ramen noodles. The classic gochujang version, however, remains at the center of Korean bunsik culture.

    What Should You Eat With Tteokbokki?

    Here’s where things get even better.

    A Korean bunsik shop usually doesn’t sell only tteokbokki.

    You might order:

    Tteokbokki + fried food + sundae + gimbap.

    The Korea Tourism Organization notes that tteokbokki, fried foods and Korean sundae are such a popular combination that Koreans even shorten the three names into “tteoktwisun.”

    And don’t waste the sauce.

    Dip a fried dumpling or another piece of fried food into the leftover tteokbokki sauce and you’ll understand why the combination works.

    Why Does Jay Park Miss It?

    Jay Park didn’t give a complicated explanation.

    He simply said that when he’s in the States, tteokbokki is one of the Korean foods he misses and that he loves it.

    Maybe that’s exactly the point.

    The foods people miss aren’t always expensive restaurant dishes.

    Sometimes they’re the cheap, familiar foods attached to everyday life.

    For Jay Park, one of those foods is a bowl of chewy rice cakes covered in spicy red sauce.

    And if you’re discovering Korean food through K-pop, tteokbokki might be one of the easiest places to start.

    Just have something cold to drink nearby.

  • SHINee Onew Loves Nakji-bokkeum — How Spicy Is Korean Stir-Fried Octopus?

    SHINee’s Onew has a surprisingly fiery taste in Korean food.

    When asked about his favorite Korean side dish in a Soompi interview, Onew said he was obsessed with nakji-bokkeum (낙지볶음).

    And he added one important detail:

    He likes it really spicy.

    That makes his choice especially interesting because nakji-bokkeum already has a reputation for bringing serious heat.

    So what exactly is this bright-red Korean octopus dish?

    What Is Nakji-bokkeum?

    Nakji-bokkeum is Korean spicy stir-fried octopus.

    Small octopus is cut into pieces and quickly stir-fried with a powerful seasoning usually built around Korean chili, garlic, soy sauce and other sweet and savory ingredients.

    The result is a dish with several things happening at once:

    Tender and chewy octopus, a savory sauce, a touch of sweetness—and plenty of heat.

    KBS World notes that the hot and spicy version became popular through restaurants in Seoul’s Mugyo-dong area in the early 1960s and eventually developed into a familiar Korean dish.

    Onew Wants It Even Spicier

    Here’s the fun part.

    Nakji-bokkeum isn’t normally considered mild food to begin with.

    Yet Onew specifically said he likes it “really spicy.”

    For anyone who associates K-pop idols with carefully prepared salads or trendy café food, that’s a rather different picture.

    Onew’s choice is a plate of octopus covered in red seasoning that can have you reaching for your water after a few bites.

    What Does Nakji-bokkeum Taste Like?

    The octopus itself has a mild seafood flavor and pleasantly chewy texture.

    Most of the personality comes from the seasoning.

    A typical version balances chili heat with garlic, soy sauce, sweetness and sesame oil. One well-known preparation from Korean food creator Maangchi uses both gochugaru and other savory-sweet seasonings and recommends serving the finished octopus immediately with rice.

    And rice is important.

    A spoonful of plain rice helps balance the fiery sauce while turning nakji-bokkeum into a filling meal.

    Is It Too Spicy for First-Time Visitors?

    That depends on your tolerance.

    Some traditional versions—particularly the Mugyo-dong style—are famous for being intensely spicy. Historically, restaurants have served milder foods or soups alongside the octopus to balance the heat.

    If you’re trying it for the first time, there’s no shame in asking whether the restaurant can reduce the spice.

    But if you want to follow Onew’s example?

    Go hot.

    Really hot.

    A Different Korean Food for SHINee Fans

    Many visitors to Korea begin with bulgogi, fried chicken, bibimbap or Korean barbecue.

    Nakji-bokkeum offers something different.

    It’s seafood rather than meat, its texture is distinctly Korean, and the chili-heavy sauce makes it a memorable introduction to Korea’s love of spicy food.

    And SHINee fans have one more reason to remember its name.

    Onew didn’t simply say he liked nakji-bokkeum.

    He wanted it extra spicy.

    So if you ever find yourself staring at a bright-red plate of octopus in Korea and wondering whether you can handle another bite, just ask yourself:

    Would Onew think this is spicy enough?