Let's see how things go with minimal cut'n'paste.
I'm using Jon Duckett's "HTML & CSS: design and build websites" book for a more 'old-school' approach to learning this time.
The first time I was using W3Schools and sort of Frankenstein-ing as I went, which may not have been the best approach and is possibly why that effort is currently broken in a way I cannot identify.
But the book will stay in the study at home, so when I work on this at MLK, I'm going to use W3Schools to add lil... bits.
When I started watching Korean TV series back in 2017, I wasn't all that aware of the Korean music scene... well, aside from Psy's "Gangnam Style".
It didn't take long for me to start adding the OSTs for my fave shows onto my music rotations but I could have walked past the boys from BTS on the street and not known it.
According to my Spotify account, I listened to my first BTS song in 2018, but it couldn't tell me which song nor when in 2018 this happened.
This is only slightly annoying.
I mean, it's only 100+ songs, right?
There is a chance it was "전하지 못한 진심 (ft. Steve Aoki) (The Truth Untold)" as that may have gotten caught by the Spotify algorithm and presented as one of those "If you liked *****, you might like these..." playlists.
But it also might have been "DNA" or "Fake Love" as they are all bangers that would definitely caught my ear at least once.
Mind you, that's only if we're looking at the albums released in 2018...
I really wish I knew for sure, and that I'd realised this early, because look at these lyrics!!
Fake Love - BTS (found on both Love Yourself: Answer and Love Yourself: Tear)
널 위해서라면 난
If it was for you,
슬퍼도 기쁜 척 할 수가 있었어
I could pretend that I was happy even if I was sad
널 위해서라면 난
If it was for you,
아파도 강한 척 할 수가 있었어
I could pretend that I was strong even if I was hurt
사랑이 사랑만으로 완벽하길
Wishing that love is perfect as itself
내 모든 약점들은 다 숨겨지길
Wishing all my weakness is hidden
이뤄지지 않는 꿈속에서
In a dream that can’t come true,
피울 수 없는 꽃을 키웠어
I raised a flower that couldn’t bloom
The translation of the lyrics comes from an excellent website, doolset lyrics, whose work I highly recommend for any English-speakers looking to get a greater understanding of the songs,
particularly those that have been predominantly written by members (like Namjoon and Yoongi) as they do incredible things with words.
But it wasn't until early 2020 (just as COVID was making itself known) that I got intrigued by the way an account I followed on Twitter (as it was then known) kept talking about one particular Korean boy group:
BTS
There's a quote floating about in ARMY social media and commentary, I can't find the definite origin, that sums up the reality for many ARMY: It’s okay if you didn’t discover BTS in 2013, because you find them in times when you need them the most.
And, boy, did I need them that year... and the year after that... and the year after that... I don't think it will ever stop.
In K-Pop terms, a "Bias" is the member of a group who you tend to favour more than other groups. So, pretty much what the term implies.
Like many will say, in the beginning I was just trying to learn names and match voices to faces, but there was something about them and the music that had me digging deeper and deeper.
While I totally missed Bang Bang Con The Live I was already invested enough that this was not the case for the Map of the Soul ON:E concerts and I bought tickets for both days.
For all the awful realities of COVID, one of the unexpected benefits has been the increased access to performances via live streaming, and because of that I've "attended" the following BTS concerts:
After the Busan concert, the announcement came that the members would be taking a break from group work. This was to facilitate their enlistments and those would be done in a staggered manner,
starting with Jin in Dec 2022. During this solo work era I've also gotten to 'attend':
While I absolutely would love to see them perform in-person, and if the opportunity presents itself once they're all back from service, then I'll be doing my best to jump on it,
it has been such a delight being able to see these live performances, connecting with some of my moots over social media as they watch the same performance from their homes
in interstate and international locations.
A potential place to start when looking for information on BTS would be the BigHit website:
You might also want to visit ARMY-run sites like BTS-TRANS/BANGTANSUBS to access an array of video content that have been subtitled by fans:
If you're after excellent English translations of BTS lyrics, then as mentioned earlier I recommend doolset lyrics: