LFQ

Literature/Film
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VOL.53, NO. 1

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

Introduction

Oscar Wilde employs the element of art—portraiture—in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde describes how Dorian Gray appears perfect, satisfying social expectations, while Gray’s hidden portrait becomes stained over time. This article will explore how this stained portrait symbolizes Gray’s hidden self beyond his persona and how the South Korean popular music (K-pop) group BTS (Beyond the Scene) reinterprets this idea in their short film series Wings (2016) within South Korean context. I will first demonstrate how BTS’s intertextuality with Western literature, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, expands the definition of adaptation through a transnational lens. By incorporating elements of this classic novel into their work, BTS not only reimagines the story for the global audience but also highlights the fluidity of literary themes. This approach underscores the transformative power of adaptation, showing how different cultural contexts can work together to create resonant messages that transcend traditional boundaries.

Through a comparative analysis between Wings and The Picture of Dorian Gray, I will further explain how BTS, with nearly all of its members coming from working-class families, conveys the message of self-discovery in the stifling environment of South Korea. Like young people in Victorian England, Korean youths are often taught to adhere to the ideal standards set by their elders and struggle to express their own thoughts or beauty. This pressure often leads to depression and a high suicide rate among young people. According to a 2023 BBC article by Serin Ha, South Korea has consistently ranked among the countries with the highest suicide rates in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) since 2003. This high rate of suicide is particularly prevalent among young people, with more than two in five deaths among teenagers and over half of deaths among those in their twenties attributed to suicide (Ha, 2023). Through their sincere storytelling in Wings, BTS portrays their own “stained” portraits on stage, sharing genuine narratives of the mental, social, and generational challenges they faced during their youths. By emphasizing the importance of expressing their true selves despite the expectations of older generations, BTS demonstrates the journey of discovering a youth’s liberating identity amidst societal pressures to conform.

K-Pop’s Intertextual Links to Western Classics

As exemplified by Wings’ reference to Western literature, Korean studies scholar CedarBough T. Saeji attributes the success of K-pop’s global popularity to its intertextual connections with literature worldwide. She argues how “[t]he use of intertextual links to familiar and widely known texts welcomes everyone to enjoy K-pop not as a foreign language but as a new field of cultural play” (Saeji 60). Their use of texts extends beyond Korean literature to include Western classics. Saeji explains how Koreans have been exposed to Western classics through their historical engagement with America:


Historically, there has been a long engagement between Americans and Koreans, particularly in education. In the 1800s, there was a US-Korean treaty and the arrival of American missionaries who shaped the Korean education system. In part due to this length of engagement, the average Korean knows the Western classics as well as various important Korean works, and to many Koreans these stories are as familiar and beloved as the Korean ones. Post 1945, there was a growth in literary scholarship in English in Korea, and this was seen as a source of modernization. Second, although this may not be as true in all countries around the world, in fact American and English classics from Moby Dick to Frankenstein are very widely known (51).


Familiar with both Korean and English classics, K-pop groups like BTS often employ themes or concepts found in Western classics in their artistic works such as music videos (MVs). Saeji notes how “within the short 3- to 5-minute time span of MVs, intertextual references to non-Korean cultural elements frequently refer to classic and widely known works of Euro-American fiction” (51).

To analyze such intertextual references in their artworks, fans are interested in reading and analyzing books that have been mentioned by BTS. Based on books recommended and introduced by BTS’s leader RM (Namjoon Kim) in his interviews or magazines, fans have started to seek out and read these books to better connect with their artistic works. These efforts are not limited to the Korean fan community but extend globally. In 2021, fans created a website titled Namjoon’s Library, where they can easily discover the books RM and other BTS members have discussed. The website provides further information about how those books are mentioned by him in different interviews, broadcasts, or social media platforms. The website is regularly updated with new literature (see Figure 1). His book recommendations not only include Korean literature such as Han Kang’s Human Acts (2014), but also Western classics such as Albert Camus’ The Stranger (1942), George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1915).

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 1: Namjoon’s Library (https://joonieslibrary.carrd.co/) introduces books recommended by BTS’s leader, RM, along with their covers. Further information on how they were mentioned by BTS’s leader can be found by clicking each book cover.

Fans’ Transmedia Storytelling and Adaptation Scene

To decode the Korean and non-Korean stories and concepts referenced in BTS’s works, fans frequently employ transmedia storytelling strategies. In her 2021 article “Success Story: How Storytelling Contributes to BTS’s Brand,” Courtney Lazore describes how transmedia storytelling among fans “takes place across multiple platforms and mediums, so that no singular medium has the full story” (49). In these interactions among fans, BTS’s intertextual references are often explored in “various discussion posts, tweets, and videos that delve deeply into BTS’s narratives and concepts” (Lazore 56). Lazore cites examples such as “the ARMY Theorists Society (@ARMY_society) account on Twitter, which currently has over 51,000 followers,” and “theory posts [that] are also popular enough to have their own flair tag on the BTS subreddit” (56). These examples reveal how BTS’s intertextuality, combined with fans’ transmedia storytelling, contributes to the creation of collective endeavors in adapting literature across the globe.

Such a landscape of intertextuality extends beyond BTS’s artistic works to their on- or off-stage outfits or items. As shown in Figure 2, Oscar Wilde is not an exception. BTS member V (Taehyung Kim) wore a T-shirt featuring Oscar Wilde during the premiere of the film Dream in 2023. This shirt became popular enough to spark fans’ interest in Wilde.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 2: V wore Oscar Wilde shirts to the movie Dream premiere in 2023. A collage featuring this was posted by one of the Instagram BTS fan communities, @taekook_bestunit, which has over 13,000 followers on April 24, 2023.

BTS’s utilization of intertextuality to delve into Western classics expands the comprehension of adaptation beyond traditional lens, transcending geographical and cultural borders. This fusion of realms collaborates to convey a new message. BTS’s adaptation of Western classics through intertextuality, along with global fans’ artworks and transmedia storytelling processes, resonates with Kamilla Elliott’s assertion that “[t]he notion that everything is an adaptation is not a new one” (Theorizing Adaptation 189). By referencing English literature, BTS can modify the interpretation of the original texts, effectively adapting them to new art forms such as short films, choreography, and music within the new context—South Korea. BTS bridges generations and cultures, demonstrating that the core human experiences depicted in classic literature remain relevant today. The band’s creative endeavors highlight the enduring power of literature and its ability to inspire across different mediums, ensuring that these stories continue to live on and influence future generations. This influence extends beyond South Korea, impacting globally through fans’ reimagining and adaptation of their works (see Figure 3 and 4).

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 3: A BTS fan, VellowEdits (@EditsVellow), created an artwork inspired by BTS member V and Dorian Gray, which they shared on Twitter on September 16, 2021.
Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 4: A fan, @Sleepyjimin, created a fan video based on The Picture of Dorian Gray, portraying BTS member Jungkook as Dorian Gray. The clip was uploaded to YouTube on June 22, 2017, and has garnered over 87,900 views.

BTS’s engagement with literature transcends mere translation or reinterpretation, resonating with Elliott’s comprehensive view of adaptation. Elliott accentuates the dynamic and reciprocal nature of literary interactions, where both creators and audiences contribute to the evolving cultural landscape:


Beyond such specifics, “adaptation writ large” is an amorphous, connective entity that precedes and exceeds any entities, contexts, and systems, encompassing not only all adaptation processes and products but also those who adapt and those who study it. It is a larger process, older than us, that also adapts us and will outlive us (Theorizing Adaptation 189).


The interactions between BTS and their fans in exploring literature highlight Elliott’s perspective that considers how adaptation encompasses more nuanced forms of literary interaction and influence. This perspective suggests that BTS’s engagement with literature is not solely about consuming or reinterpreting texts; rather, it actively contributes to shaping a new transnational landscape of adaptation as a whole.

BTS’s engagement with literature and the influence of their works on fans, inspiring the creation of new artworks, provides a rich discussion of what Elliott calls the “principles of adaptation” in her 2017 article, “How Do We Talk about Adaptation Studies Today?” Her perspective shifts the focus from the traditional dichotomy between fidelity and infidelity in adaptations to an appreciation of adaptation as evolving process. Elliott highlights the dynamic nature of adaptation: “Adaptation itself is not static; adaptation studies must never stop adapting” (“How Do We Talk about Adaptation Studies Today?”). She underscores that the “[p]rinciples of adaptation will provide a much-needed center for adaptation studies, enabling dialogue and debate across all manner of media, cultures, ideologies, and theories from a more firmly established core.” BTS’s incorporation of literary references in their works and the fans’ subsequent creative interpretations embody the principles of adaptation as dynamic and never-ending across media, directing our attention to the adaptation itself.

19th-Century England and 21st-Century South Korea

Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and BTS’s Wings share strong parallels in their social contexts. Set in late 19th-century England, The Picture of Dorian Gray revolves around the life of a young man named Dorian Gray who is captivated by the hedonistic ideals of a man called Lord Henry. Dorian sells his soul to maintain his eternal beauty, while his portrait, painted by Basil Hallward, records his failures to conform to the ideal social standard of beauty. Late 19th-century England belongs to the Victorian era, named after the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). During this time, specific expectations and attitudes were imposed on adolescents regardless of class, shaping their upbringing and roles within society. They were expected to uphold the moral values and social norms set by their parents, employers, and the broader community. Manners and etiquette were often highly valued, with many children being taught to conform to social norms and hierarchies from an early age. Strict chastisement or punishment followed if they did not adhere to these rules.

In her book Victorian Childhoods (2009), Ginger S. Frost characterizes the Victorian era as a highly restrictive environment for young people, emphasizing the significant amount of discipline imposed by parents, employers, and teachers (7). Strict discipline was common and often included corporal punishment and rigid rules of conduct, frequently reinforced by religious teachings. Frost notes that this discipline often involved “slaps and even beatings of young children” (15). In the upper class, discipline was considered a sign of parental love: “Parents assumed that firm correction was a sign of their love for their children and certainly not abusive; on the contrary, those who spoiled their children were far more likely to encounter societal disapproval. Fathers, mothers, nurses, nannies, and even governesses all might hit children if necessary” (Frost 25-26).

Middle-class children also had “far less freedom of action than poor counterparts” due to their parents’ close monitoring (Frost 23). In this process, “children in the middle and upper classes often idolized their parents” (Frost 24). Children from lower-class families were also expected to obey their parents to “keep the family fed and sheltered” (Frost 18). They joined the workforce at a young age and were subject to certain disciplines enforced by their employers (Frost 18). Society demanded that children be well-behaved, obedient, and respectful towards adults. Their obedience and behavior were not just personal matters but were also tied to the family’s reputation and social approval.

Adolescents were also expected to conform to gender-specific norms. It was perceived that “men were suited to the public sphere because of their strength, intelligence, aggressiveness, and independence. Women, on the other hand, belonged in the home and were weak, emotional, nurturing, passive, and dependent” (Frost 28). Due to these gender-based stereotypes, “boys and girls received different educations almost from the beginning” (Frost 28). These strict gender norms and societal expectations restricted the younger generation’s ability to explore their own identities, virtues, and genders in the Victorian era. To ensure boys met academic expectations, parents often enrolled them in “grammar schools,” where university-educated men prepared them academically and socially for public schools (Frost 46). To reinforce their class and family status, upper-class parents even controlled whom their children could be friends with: “Well-off children had restrictions on their playmates; their parents did not want them associating with just any children” (Frost 27).

In addition to the people of Victorian Britain’s fervent adherence to religious, social, and academic ideals, Wilde comments on the prevalent aesthetic ideals of the time in The Picture of Dorian Gray. In his 2005 article “‘A Malady of Dreaming’: Aesthetics and Criminality in The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Paul Sheehan highlights the extreme importance placed on beauty during the Victorian era. Societal expectations not only influenced personal and social acceptance, but also affected moral judgments. Sheehan emphasizes how the novel reveals that “vulgarity and beauty are not just parts of an aesthetic vocabulary but can be applied to the most significant human concerns, to matters of life and death” (334). The character of Dorian Gray embodies this obsession with maintaining an outward appearance of perfection, even at the cost of his soul, illustrating the dire consequences of prioritizing aesthetics at all costs. Wilde’s narrative critiques the superficial values of his time, showing how the relentless pursuit of beauty and social approval can lead to self-destruction.

The pursuit of social ideals and adherence to accepted appearance—characteristics of the Victorian era—is not exclusive to 19th-century England but is also evident in 21st-century South Korea. In the 21st century, South Korea has frequently garnered positive attention on the global stage due to its so-called “soft power,” as exemplified by the influence of K-pop and the Korean film industry. This is highlighted by acclaimed works such as the Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019) and the Netflix series Squid Game (2021), the first Asian-language drama to top Netflix’s global chart. Behind such scenes of success lies a mental health crisis in South Korean youths. South Korean culture, with its emphasis on both conformity and competition, results in a significant amount of stress and anxiety among young people.

Writing for The Guardian in 2023, Raphael Rashid states that suicide is the primary cause of death for young individuals in South Korea, “with 44% of teenage deaths and 56.8% of deaths among those in their 20s attributed to it.” Rashid describes “societal pressures to succeed, feelings of isolation, worthlessness, and discrimination for not conforming or being different” as main reasons for Koreans experiencing suicidal thoughts. Such suicidal thoughts also result from societal expectations regarding academic success. Hagwons, known as “cram schools” in South Korea, have become integral to the education system, much like “grammar schools” during the Victorian Era in England. Similar to how grammar schools were perceived as crucial for academic success in Victorian England, hagwons in South Korea play a pivotal role in preparing students for the Suneung, the Korean college entrance exam. Spending on hagwons has reached a record 26 trillion won ($20 billion) in South Korea, making it the most expensive country in the world to raise a child, according to a 2023 Times article by Koh Ewe. Ewe notes that Suneung exam is highly competitive and is often seen as a crucial factor in determining a student’s future opportunities, including their chances of admission to prestigious universities and subsequent career prospects. Such emphasis on grades can sometimes overwhelm South Korean middle and high school students, and Ewe points out that “one in three of whom have reported experiencing suicidal thoughts due to academic stress.”

Such anxiety about conforming to the ideal is not only related to youths’ academic perfection, but is also related to their body image and appearance in South Korea, which has led to a high rate of plastic surgery among young people. Korean beauty standards prioritize clear, pale skin, large eyes with double eyelids, and a slim figure. In their 2019 article in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Sanghoo Yoon and Young A. Kim demonstrate that South Korea has the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita in the world (229-230). Furthermore, a 2023 medical article in Frontiers in Psychiatry indicates how, in South Korea, “perceived obesity was associated with suicide ideation among adolescents even though they were not really obese” (Song et al. 9). To conform to beauty standards, parents often give their children double eyelids plastic surgery as a high school graduation gift. In her 2003 article “Neo-Confucian Body Techniques: Women’s Bodies in Korea’s Consumer Society,” Taeyon Kim describes how “[t]he practice of high school students receiving double eyelid surgery as a graduation present is so common that it has been likened to a rite of passage” (105). Kim also notes how “[t]he high rate of young people undergoing cosmetic surgery—70 percent of plastic surgery patients are high school students (T. Kim 105)—indicates a high level of parental consent or support” (105). In Korean culture, influenced by Confucianism, young people are often instructed to adhere to the values and beliefs of the older and parental generations. Consequently, older generations’ definitions of beauty tend to shape the perceptions of beauty among the younger generations, leading young people to accept the standards imposed by their elders rather than pursuing their own individuality.

In such a social context of South Korea, BTS explores the theme of self-discovery and empowerment, encouraging South Korean youths to embrace their true selves despite societal definition of perfection. They emphasize how the stained portrait, referencing The Picture of Dorian Gray, ultimately leads to personal growth, symbolized by the emergence of wings on the back of the narrator close to the end of the film.

Even though both works were released in different periods (19th century and 21st century) and locations (Europe and South Korea), they both deliver a message about what it means to reveal one’s true persona through the ostensibly static medium—portraits. Both The Picture of Dorian Gray and Wings use portraits to depict the “ideal” boyhood. Both works furthermore depict how portraits get stained in the process of growing. Two portraits thereby connect issues of growing identity with matters of visual perspectives. The portraits of the two young protagonists—Dorian Gray and the youngest BTS member Jungkook—symbolize the ideal and perfect standards created by society. In their adolescence, however, both portraits get ruined and make each protagonist feel shameful and frustrated. BTS, however, concludes their short music film with a brighter ending by depicting how this frustration brings wings to Jungkook at the end. Conversely, the agony ultimately leads Dorian Gray to stab the portrait—the hidden persona—which results in his eventual death.

The Stained Portrait in The Picture of Dorian Gray

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray’s portrait gets stained throughout the story. Gray “[feels] a wild longing for the unstained purity of his boyhood” and decides to keep the beauty as admired by the British society (Wilde 184). In this process, his unrevealed persona—which is symbolized by his stained portrait—has to be wrapped and hidden from people’s sight. Wilde shows the irony of how Gray’s efforts of keeping his beauty that was admired by others ultimately require him to counter what is socially accepted at that time, symbolized by stains. His portrait—insofar as it initially embodies lofty standards of beauty and desirability imposed by his adult counterparts—becomes stained whenever he decides to challenge himself outside of what is seen as “right” by society to keep his beauty (Wilde 184).

Wilde depicts how Gray himself often has to counter social expectations to keep his beauty. In the end, stabbing the stained picture—getting rid of aberrant choices that Gray made—ironically leads Dorian Gray to kill himself, and thereby to kill the beauty that was admired by other people. Through this symbolism, Wilde describes how beauty is inseparable from a way of life that can challenge the fixed social norms that define what is right and what is wrong. Through the relationship between the portrait and Dorian Gray, Wilde visualizes how beauty—that which people admire—requires freedom from social judgments of morality. Wilde depicts how Dorian Gray (beauty) and his stained portrait (the manifestation of his aberrant way of life) cannot be separated.

In the last scene of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde shows how Gray ends up stabbing his portrait after first killing its painter, Basil Hallward. As the painter of Gray’s portraits, Hallward represents the adult generation symbolized as the giver of social norms and “perfect” standards to Gray. Wilde writes, “He looked round, and saw the knife that had stabbed Basil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright, and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so it would kill the painter’s work, and all that that meant” (187). Gray’s cleaning of the knife shows how stain symbolizes guilt or sin. Through this, Wilde demonstrates what it means for Gray to get rid of Basil Hallward. Gray, instead of being a perfect being from the perspective of the older generation, wants to conform to socially celebrated ideals of beauty that result in moral disintegration in his real life.

In this way, getting “stains” (Wilde 187) from killing Hallward symbolizes being aberrant from social norms. This demonstrates challenging oneself from what adults define boyhood to be like, which ultimately causes stains. After killing the painter, Dorian Gray stabs the portrait: “[Dorian Gray] seized the thing, and stabbed the picture with it” (Wilde 187). This action of stabbing the stained painting represents Dorian Gray’s conforming to what others define as perfect. This ultimately leads to killing the creativity and identity of Dorian Gray. The text describes Gray’s death thus:


There was a cry heard, and a crash. The cry was so horrible in its agony that the frightened servants woke, and crept out of their rooms … When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was (Wilde 187-188).


This scene demonstrates how an abnormal life (the stained portrait) and Dorian Gray (beauty) are connected as one. The story illustrates how a “splendid portrait” (Wilde 188) of Gray is left when Gray is killed. Wilde depicts how “all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty” (188) of Gray could stay the same by letting his portrait have stains instead. The stains symbolize standing against the aberrant life of what society or the upper generation including Basil Hallward, the generator of social norms, requires him to follow. This shows how Gray’s beauty as a youth could be kept through the stained portrait – being aberrant from what society says is right.

Through this story, Wilde poses a question about social expectations—whether one will choose social expectations or individual beauty. In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde mentions the morality of a book: “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all” (3). This comment serves the double duty of anticipating accusations of authorial immorality (which were nonetheless successfully, and ultimately fatally, leveled at Wilde) and more subtly suggests that Dorian’s having to choose between beauty and morality is a false dichotomy. Wilde argues how beauty and an aberrant lifestyle cannot be separated but are, in fact, interwoven. This is shown by how Gray retains his beauty while letting his portrait have stains. Wilde highlights how the journey of maintaining beauty as a writer is followed by challenging oneself to be freed from the fear of following social standards.

This representation of freedom can be a lesson for youth, as well. In his 2016 article “Aging and Periodicity in The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Ambassadors: An Aesthetic Adulthood,” Glenn Clifton argues that “[i]t is no surprise that Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890, 1891) has attracted interest from the field of aging studies, for we might describe Dorian as terminally young” (283). Wilde emphasizes how a young Gray maintains his beauty by letting the portrait have stains. This means that, as a youth, one in fact must be aberrant, symbolized by stains on the portrait. Wilde depicts how youths need to challenge themselves and walk away from the social anticipation to find their own identities and colors. Such a journey requires them to free themselves from fears of following social or parental expectations in the process of growing and finding their true selves.

Wilde emphasizes the importance of letting oneself, as a young person, have “stains”—and acknowledging and embracing them. He demonstrates this by showing how when Gray loses the stained portrait, Gray himself—the beauty of youth—is gone as well. Wilde highlights the importance of a child’s finding their multifaceted identity through trespassing the boundary that is imposed by society into another realm. By showing how the stained portrait (the abnormal) and Dorian Gray (beauty) are inseparable, Wilde emphasizes that youths must challenge themselves to walk outside of social expectations and find their true beauty.

Revisiting The Picture of Dorian Gray Through Wings

The seven solo tracks and short films in BTS’s Wings demonstrate each member’s attempt to reconcile their adolescence with the standards of perfection imposed upon them. The short films comprise Jungkook’s “Begin,” Jimin’s “Lie,” V’s “Stigma,” Suga’s “First Love,” RM’s “Reflection,” J-Hope’s “Mama,” and Jin’s “Awake.”1 Directed by YongSeok Choi and released in 2016, these short films collectively portray each member’s personal battles and growth, embodying the universal struggles of adolescence and the journey towards self-acceptance amidst external and internal pressures.

In “Awake,” Jin, the eldest member, wears a white shirt and black pants. This attire, characterized by binary colors, symbolizes the internal conflict youths experience as they navigate between the “right” and “wrong” norms imposed by previous generations. Jin awakens from his sleep and approaches a white door that bears scratches, which can symbolize the metamorphosis of a bird hitting the inside of the eggshell and breaking free (see Figure 5). Jin leaves the world of comfort, accompanied by background music that says, “I want to stay more and dream more, but it’s time to leave.” BTS emphasizes how growth does not happen through any power or authority outside of the child but instead has to be in solitude, which means that one’s own decisions and determination matter. This idea relates to how, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray hides his portrait in a secret place, emphasizing his solitary journey of maintaining his beauty by letting him have stains.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 5: The door that has scratches on it opens by itself for Jin.

At the end of the hallway, Jin faces a large bird frame, which symbolizes his fully-grown self. As depicted in Figure 6, the frame is affixed to an Abraxas-patterned wall. Abraxas is one of the Egyptian gods.2 It is known to possess truth and lie, good and evil, light and darkness in the same word and in the same act. This depicts that all the choice-makings—that transcend the boundaries of good and evil, right and wrong, and light and darkness—become resources for young people to discover themselves. Through the emphasis on free will by showing Abraxas with a big bird that fills a frame, BTS shows how a child has to break “the frame” that has been imposed by older generations.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 6: Jin looking at the bird frame on the Abraxas-patterned wall.

In their book Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS (2023), music critic Myeongseok Kang and the members of BTS write about the ten-year journey since their debut. Writing for USA Today in July 2023, Morgan Hines notes that the book, which was published in twenty-three languages, quickly gained popularity and topped the Amazon Best Sellers list within a day of its release. In his interview in the book, Jin explains how his work on “Awake” in Wings is related to his personal prologue as heralding a new stage in his life (Kang and BTS 228). Jin recalls how the production of the album overlapped with his personal struggles: “The song ‘Awake’ fits my circumstances at the time perfectly. To be honest, I was a little depressed at the time. It was a time when I wondered, ‘Can I really do this work well?’ All the other worries I had before vanished, so I was agonizing over new things at that point” (Kang and BTS 228). His interview demonstrates how the theme of Wings is related to “agonizing over new things,” (Kang and BTS 228) which means personal growth or identity discovery. 

Wilde names his protagonist “Dorian Gray.” The gray color demonstrates the color in between black and white. Demonstrated by stains on his portrait, Dorian Gray loses innocence as a child, which is symbolized by how he makes his whiteness move away to the gray color. In Chapter I, Lady Brandon refers to Dorian as “Mr. Gray” for the first time: “Charming boy—poor dear mother and I absolutely inseparable. Quite forget what he does—afraid he—doesn’t do anything—oh, yes, plays the piano—or is it the violin, dear Mr. Gray?” Beyond noting that Dorian is young, Lady Brandon does not seem to pay much attention to who he really is, or what is going on in his inner state. She just describes his appearance as “charming.” She focuses more on his youthful appearance than who he is and what he does. By giving “gray” as the protagonist’s last name, Wilde shows the inner conflict and temptations that Dorian will go through facing reality as a grownup. His last name, Gray, illustrates that he will eventually grow out of what adults try to define him as, and that his “rose-white boyhood” will collapse (Wilde 19).

This image of “rose-white boyhood” and its collapse also appears in one of the Wings series entitled “Begin.” “Begin” starts with Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS, sleeping on his white bed in a dark room, wearing a white shirt (see Figure 7). As the youngest member of the group, he seems to symbolize the stage of youth that has not yet fully matured. To represent his forthcoming journey, the film shows a black bird pattern on his white shirt near his heart.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 7: Jungkook sleeps in a white outfit with a black bird image on his right chest.

In a dream, Jungkook sees the image of a white bird against a black background (see Figure 8). At the same time, he hears a loud sound resembling a car accident and breaking glass, along with the screeching of car brakes. This signifies that Jungkook, who currently resides in the comfort and familiarity of the white bed, will no longer stay there but must face his true self outside of that comforting place.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 8: A bright bird image appears in Jungkook’s dream against a black background.

After this happens, Jungkook gazes at a portrait of himself, which has a strong parallel with The Picture of Dorian Gray. He discovers a red stain on his left eye, as illustrated in Figure 9. The red stain can symbolize the intervention of another element that cannot be defined by the “rose-white boyhood” of Dorian Gray—the ideal youth that the adult generation, like Lord Henry or Basil Hallward, tries to worship. This red color also symbolizes temptation that leads him away from the world that he once belonged to as a boy. This idea can be supported by seeing how his white bed moves away and leaves him alone in the center of the dark room when he stares at the red spot.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 9: Jungkook stares at the red spot on his black-and-white portrait.

When Jungkook is left alone in the dark room, a bigger painting of him moves toward him (see Figure 10). The painting looks straight at him. This portrait symbolizes how adults define him, which has a striking similarity with The Picture of Dorian Gray. At first, Dorian Gray did not want “a life-sized portrait” of himself because he was feeling tired of being a sitter for Basil (Wilde 16). Dorian did not want “a life-sized portrait” because he was uncomfortable with the process needed to get the whole picture of himself. This process of sitting still represents what it means to be a socially acceptable adult, such as being obedient and sober. The adults want his picture for their own enjoyment—not for Dorian Gray’s pleasure.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 10: A larger portrait of Jungkook in the rain.

In Wings, when Jungkook’s portrait appears, it starts to rain and shows how his painting now begins to have various stains on the canvas. When Jungkook looks at it, he feels afraid and uncomfortable and begins to cry. The tears from his eyes also flow from the painting’s eyes and make the color spread all over his face (see Figure 11).

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 11: A closeup of Jungkook’s portrait with colorful stains flowing with rainwater

This shows how his world is no longer defined by his “rose-white boyhood” (Wilde 19). Jungkook’s world of familiarity and comfort falls apart, symbolized by various stains afterward. This leads him to experience the same solitary steps that Dorian Gray takes to find his true self. Through this tearful process of challenging himself to walk outside of his shell – his “rose-white boyhood” (Wilde 19) that he once belonged to—Jungkook ultimately has real wings on his back (see Figure 12). Similar to the way Dorian Gray’s portrait changes in accordance with his lost innocence, Jungkook’s metamorphosis into a bird is achieved through his fall, his failures, and his tears. While Oscar Wilde concludes his story with the death of Dorian Gray, BTS reinterprets The Picture of Dorian Gray by depicting how Jungkook obtains wings at the end through the journey of his loss of perfection.

Beyond The (K-Pop) Scene: BTS’s Wings and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Nayoung Bishoff, Literature Film Quarterly
Figure 12: Jungkook gains his wings in the end.

The intertextual references to The Picture of Dorian Gray in BTS’s Wings are further exemplified by analysis from Miranda Eng’s article in The Harvard Crimson, which explores BTS’s “Blood Sweat & Tears” music video (2019). Eng describes how specific scenes in the music video reference Hermann Hesse’s novel Demian and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray:


A narration by RM plays over the shot, his voice slowly enunciating the words of a quote taken from Hermann Hesse’s novel, “Demian,” that references a spiritual struggle between the evil world of illusion and the good world of internal truth. […] Near the end of the video, Jimin rips off his blindfold to reveal green tear tracks staining his face that match the ones marking Lucifer’s statue, and Jin turns to the camera to show off the thin cracks splintering down his face as if he were a broken porcelain doll. The imagery is oddly reminiscent of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”


Given that “Blood Sweat & Tears” serves as the title track of the album Wings, the intertextuality with The Picture of Dorian Gray in the short film series Wings appears intentional rather than incidental.

Wings as the BTS K-Pop Story

In Beyond the Story, Kang describes how Jungkook, who turned nineteen during production of Wings, looked back on his first meeting with the other BTS members with the solo track “Begin” (213). Jungkook says that “[t]he ‘me’ back then was really young. There was so much I didn’t know, so if I felt a specific emotion, I would wonder, ‘Is it all right to feel this way?’” (Kang and BTS 214). Jungkook’s note on his personal feelings while producing the album portrays his emotional feelings as the youngest member, who had to face his growth not only in his career as a singer, but also in his young life. Producing the track in Wings, Jungkook also contemplates how he learned from hyungs (older male members) while working as the youngest member in BTS:


Being around the hyungs, I started learning bit by bit. Like …being onstage, what it means to hold something dear, that kind of thing. I think I grew a lot, in a lot of ways. The members didn’t teach me specific things, but I can see the other members in the way I talk and act. I watched them do music, their little gestures and the way they did their interviews, and I realized and learned things. SUGA’s thoughts, RM’s words, Jimin’s actions, V’s unique style, Jin’s cheerfulness, j-hope’s optimism … Things like that all came into me one by one (Kang and BTS 214).


His reflection on how he “grew a lot, in a lot of ways” was influenced by being around the other older members. To Jungkook, being around the hyungs, became the resource he needed to learn in his process of growing. “Begin” in Wings is about Jungkook’s moment to break the shell as the youngest member onstage. Jungkook’s reflection on his growth can also be found in the lyrics of “Begin” (Genius, 2017):


I can’t imagine anymore
The scentless and hollow me, me
I pray
Love you my brother, thanks to all you guys
Now I have feelings, I truly became me


The lyrics demonstrate how Jungkook had been transformed by the other members. He adds: “Of course, I had emotions even when I was young. But I didn’t really know what they were, and as I grew, I started to learn more … so I think I was able to unleash my emotions, literally” (Kang and BTS 214). “Begin” starts with Jungkook’s reflections on his feelings toward the other members and Bang Sihyuk, the CEO of BTS’s agency, over the years. During production, Jungkook reminisces on his relationship with the older members and realizes how he has come to grow (Kang and BTS 214).

Instead of fabricating stories for songs, BTS focuses more on real life. The answer for BTS’ global popularity can be found in their “un-K-pop” traits. K-pop’s agencies’ competitive training system often deprives groups of natural traits and individualities, as well as keeping up with consistent qualities of music and artists to fit the global market. BTS, however, demonstrates its unique persona as a K-pop group. In BTS: The Review (2019), South Korean music critic Youngdae Kim argues that “BTS is the one and only K-pop group that has embraced the narrative of youth and growth, previously avoided in idol music, as their central concept and identity and integrated them into profound messages and trendy music” (91). When American BTS fans describe their music, they use words like “genuine,” “authentic,” and “raw” (Y. Kim 176). These characteristics of BTS’s music demonstrate the factors distinguishable from other K-pop songs, especially idol music (Y. Kim 176).

When BTS produces music, they often write lyrics straight from what they feel in real life, instead of writing something artificial or indirect. Kyung Hyun Kim argues in “BTS and the World Music Industry” that “BTS took on hip-hop not only as a style or a dance choreography, but also as the spirit of ‘telling stories of underdog experience.’ All seven BTS members hailed from Korea’s countryside and nearly all of them came from working-class families” (115). These young members’ genuine “stories of underdog experience” (K. Kim 115) are melted in the film by demonstrating how being aberrant from social expectations will ultimately bring wings in the end unlike the dark ending of The Picture of Dorian Gray, which depicts the death of Gray. Such messages from BTS not only resonate in South Korea but also reach across the globe, speaking to diverse fans from different classes and cultures. Kang and BTS give more details about the significance of the albums Wings to BTS and their international fan group, ARMY, stating that “BTS had finally realized their dreams of success, taking a step into a completely new world. In their new environment, the members were faced with deeper, more complicated issues than ever before” (207). For example, V and Jin suffered from depression. Wings reflected BTS’s path forward as they grew personally, pursued their careers, and crossed the bridge into adulthood. Wings is the band’s first concept piece: an album packed with the members’ coming-of-age stories, with all the pain and temptation that came with them. Another member, J-hope, recalled working on Wings as below: “In every way, the concept was so different from the album before. There was a bit of awkwardness, and I had to think about how I would express this in a way that fit my style. But ironically, that was why I enjoyed my work even more” (Kang and BTS 213).

BTS’s Wings in the International Scene

The message about youths’ agony of transition in Wings has not only impacted young people in South Korea, selling over one million copies, but has also drawn enormous attention from youths worldwide. Kang and BTS explain Wings’ popularity in the U.S. musical industry. They state that “[s]ince their debut, all of their achievements in the U.S. market have set new records in K-pop history. When they were still rookies in Korea, they introduced two albums on the Billboard 200 in 2015. With Wings, they ascended to the 26th place finally breaking the barrier of Top 40” (88). This shows how BTS’s Wings has impacted the American music market by breaking unprecedented records. BTS’s longevity on the chart after this ranking also demonstrates the power of their influence.

In K-Pop Live: Fans, Idols, and Multimedia Performance (2018), Suk-Young Kim describes how BTS has entered the 2017 Guinness World Records for their Twitter engagements with global fans (35). Kim articulates that “K-pop’s digital media pool exceeds any national territories. Of more recent K-pop artists, BTS has made a noticeable presence on social media, boasting 11.5 million Twitter followers as of December 28, 2017, and generating huge numbers of retweets with their tweets. The band even entered the 2017 Guinness World Records for having the most Twitter engagements for a music act” (S. Kim 35). A 2022 CNN article by Betsy Klein featured BTS’s invitation to the White House for “discussing Asian inclusion and representation and addressing anti-Asian hate crimes and disinformation.” The fact that the group, which comprises seven members from mostly working-class families, was invited to the White House in 2022 to give remarks on the importance of standing against anti-Asian hate crimes demonstrates how their social influence has expanded beyond their working-class background to reach the international scene.

Wings marked a turning point for BTS on the international stage. The release of the album was followed by the publication of The Wings Concept Book (Kang and BTS 233). During this time, the name BTS took on an additional meaning beyond their original Korean name, Bangtan Sonyeondan (which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in English): “Beyond the Scene” (Kang and BTS 206). This new interpretation, “Beyond the Scene,” symbolized the group’s expanding vision and the broader scope of their artistic and cultural influence. In the year leading up to Wings, BTS began exploring themes of abstract literature and symbolism (Kang and BTS 210).

Through Wings, BTS depicts youths’ hard journey to reveal their individual personas in a stifling world built by stereotypes and biased perspectives, which also fits their “un-K-pop” way of producing their songs. Against manufactured ways of typical K-pop production, BTS emphasizes the genuineness of their lyrics. Jeff Benjamin, Billboard’s K-pop columnist, discusses the reason behind BTS’s global success in an interview with music critic Youngdae Kim:


At this point, I agree and think BTS having its roots in hip-hop feels like a better fit than pop for sure. Hip-hop comes from a place of necessity and struggle, and it always felt like that’s where BTS operated. The group didn’t necessarily need to release music that spoke to their mental, cultural and generational struggles, but they did it because―Well, I’m not entirely sure―because they had to? ... They did what was inside of them and that’s what connected. This is also seen in their social media strategy. It was always personal messages and photos from them, not filtered through a manager or agency (Y. Kim 214).


Such authenticity of “lyrics straight from what they feel in real life” (Y. Kim 177) is clearly demonstrated in their short film, Wings. BTS speaks to “their mental, cultural and generational struggles” (Y. Kim 214) and emphasizes how important it is for young people to challenge themselves to reveal their persona, regardless of expectations from the older generations. In Wings, BTS demonstrates such struggles of South Korean youths through the stained portrait of Jungkook—the youngest member of BTS.

Katy Sprinkel’s BTS: One (2021)features the interview of Nam-joon, BTS’s leader, in Billboard magazine about why they write songs for today’s young people: “Honestly, from our standpoint, every day is stressful for our generation. It’s hard to get a job, it’s harder to attend college now more than ever” (76). He also mentioned that “Adults need to create policies that can facilitate that overall social change. Right now, the privileged class, the upper class needs to change the way they think” (Sprinkel 76). This shows how their short film Wings includes such a message for young people to break the social shell built by adults and become free birds as individuals, fully finding themselves. Another band member, Suga, supported the leader’s thought, by saying: “And this isn’t just Korea, but the rest of the world. The reason why our music resonates with people around the world who are in their teens, twenties, and thirties is because of these issues” (Sprinkel 76). BTS demonstrates how it is necessary to challenge oneself from social expectations to find youths’ various sides of dispositions across the world as “Outro: Wings” says:


I went on the road that I was told not to go
I did things I was told not to do

I believe in myself
My back hurting is for my wings to come out
I believe in you, even if things are bleak right now
The end will be great
Fly, fly up in the sky


Wings, as a whole, was a journey where BTS shifted between team, individual, and unit under a singular concept, as well as a contiguous medley featuring seven narrative dramas by each of the seven members.

Wilde’s depiction of how stabbing one’s stained portrait—the opportunity to find the multifaceted sides of a youth—ultimately leads to the loss of one’s beauty, symbolized by the death of Dorian Gray. BTS’s Wings revisits The Picture of Dorian Gray and demonstrates how maintaining one’s stains ultimately lets one break “the shell” and fly out as a true self with wings and freedom. BTS brings out or makes possible a reading of The Picture of Dorian Gray in which the tragedy of the novel becomes recentered on the idea that Dorian is at odds with his own blemishes—that he is running from them, rather than accepting that he has many lives and many facets of who he is. In always feeling pressure to present a flawless face to the world, Dorian suppresses the gray areas, which are (as his name lets us know) who he is. BTS, however, overcomes such pressure by revealing their genuine personal stories—the stained portraits of themselves—on stage, which differentiates them as an “un-K-pop” K-pop group.

Conclusion

BTS has profoundly influenced their fans and the broader cultural landscape by drawing inspiration from classic literature, revitalizing timeless works like The Picture of Dorian Gray. Through their music videos and short films, they reinterpret these narratives, intertwining themes of societal oppression and personal turmoil to craft stories that resonate on a global scale. This innovative approach not only respects and preserves the essence of literary masterpieces but also cultivates deeper connections between historical contexts and contemporary issues, touching upon universal human experiences transcending time and cultural boundaries. This ripple effect encourages young audiences to delve into and reflect on these enduring themes of literature, igniting vibrant discussions that span across generations and cultures.

Endnotes

1  For efficiency, I will refer to each member by their stage name rather than their real name.

2  A derivation for the name, Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, or other, have not been entirely known.

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