A Map Of The Soul: Persona Syllabus To Help Wrap Your Brain Around BTS' New Album

With the release of Map of the Soul: Persona fast approaching, right now seems like a good time to remind the general public that BTS have more to distribute than their vibrant visuals, sharp performances, and charming personalities. Case in point, ask any fan of the Korean septet and they'll probably tell you how they've spent the weeks leading up to Persona's release on April 12 brushing up on the psychological theories of Carl Jung, Greek mythology, French, Singin' in the Rain, and art history, all while combing by means of the dozens of cryptic clues and callbacks sprinkled while in the Bangtan Universe. (Yes, they even have their own fictional narrative.)


If you're guessing what all of this has to do with BTS, then you clearly haven't been paying attention to what really draws people from all over the world — of all different ages, genders, and ethnicities — to their diverse discography. More specifically, the deeper themes, subjects, and messages within their music. Because any time while you become a ARMY, you practically enroll in higher education. And you also don't need understand Korean to be able to see how RM invokes the spirit of American actor Gene Kelly in the latest "Boy With Luv" teaser, or the parallel between their fruitful concept photos and the Greek god Dionysus.


Still, there is a lot to unpack with this comeback (or, new release). Whether you are a new ARMY looking for a crash course in Bangtan or a longtime fan who simply needs help wrapping your brain around the distinction between persona and shadow, this primer is for you.


What does Map of the Soul: Persona even mean?


As artists, BTS are exceedingly calculated and detail-oriented. (Leader RM and vocalist Jungkook are both Virgos, so there is a lot of Type A energy in this order) So it should come as no surprise that they've been constructing a meticulously-plotted visual narrative since 2015 — the threads of which are sewn while in their music videos. The story follows seven young males whose devastating fates are intertwined, and the one who's given a chance to save his companions by going back in time.


Now, what does this have to do with Map of the Soul: Persona? We'll get to that in a little bit, however so far it's key to know just how far ahead BTS plan their releases. Because Persona was actually teased on a shirt while in a live performance of "DNA" back in 2017. BTS dropped even more clues in the music video for vocalist Jin's 2018 solo number "Epiphany" — "in the end," the ending script reads in Korean, "what I have to find is that which is the starting of all things, the milestone: the map of the soul" — and while in the group's efficiency at the Mnet Asian Music Awards last December with a brief vignette that read: "You gave me power. You gave me love. So right now I'm a hero, so right now I’m a boy with love. I'll show you the map of the soul. I'll show you the dream."


So, what is this map of the soul referring to? Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. (Again, BTS are more than seven handsome faces!) It's specifically referring to a book by Murray Stein, titled Jung’s Map Of The Soul, which is even being sold in their Korean management company's online store. In the video for "Intro: Persona," RM is confronted with several different versions of himself, while words like "persona," "shadow," and "ego" are seen scribbled on a classroom chalkboard beyond him. This is a direct reference to Jung's theories.


According to Jung, persona is how we present ourselves to the world; it's our public image, or the mask we wear to conceal our true nature. "The persona is that which in reality one isn't, nevertheless which oneself along with others think one is," Jung wrote. Masks have played a key part in BTS' artsy vision, from the "Fake Love" music video to vocalist V's solo single "Singularity" to their 2019 Golden Disc Awards efficiency, in which they all removed physical masks in dramatic fashion.


Ultimately, Persona will find BTS, right now all in their early and mid-20s, grappling with questions of identity and self. As RM boldly asks in his scorching intro track, "Who the hell am I?" Obviously, it's only the initial part in a larger journey of self-discovery, as BTS could explore Shadow and Ego in future releases — the "shadow" representing the dark side of your personality and "ego" representing the center of your consciousness. These parts of the psyche make up your identity, or Self.


Yet before BTS can move forward, they have to look back.


"Boy With Luv"


For fans, the group's forthcoming single with singer Halsey, titled "Boy With Luv," is nostalgic. Not only does the title nod to their 2014 single "Boy In Luv" although the point choreography seen in the teasers is also similar.


Then there's the fact that "Intro: Persona" samples the group's 2014 song, "Intro: Skool Luv Affair." As soon as BTS debuted as a crowd of teens in 2013, they made music that talked to their generation; their "School Trilogy" examined the societal pressures and anxieties young people endure at the hands of an apathetic government and their own confusing emotions. Now, nearly six years later, BTS are still asking Big Questions — but they have the advantage of hindsight.


Back then, they were men in love who acted out, some days aggressively, when their feelings were not reciprocated; right now, they're men with love, whose love comes from within.


By revisiting this very distinct place in their past, BTS are reflecting on a uncertain time others in their position would probably want to forget, or at least don't think about. In doing so, they're acknowledging that they can't change the past — although they can learn from it.


At the end of the Love Yourself highlight reel (released in 2017), Jin seems to hint at this: "If we might turn back the clock, where should we go back to? Once we reach that place, can all our mistakes and errors be undone? Will happiness be ours to stay? Though several seasons pass, there really are places that cannot be reached. Nevertheless another storm to be faced and to be weathered head-on. Living without fear, hesitating and parting. Merely living because the person I am." Interestingly enough, RM refers to his shadow as "hesitation" in "Intro: Persona."


"Dionysus"


The Persona track list also incorporates several clues, including one track that was seemingly inspired by Greek mythology. The god Dionysus is often connected with wine and theater. (Depending on who you ask, he's also accountable for bringing wine to Asia.) As a potential nod to the god of wine, some of the album's concept pictures feature certain members posing with grapes. While the grapes are obvious, there's also a relationship between Dionysus and Jung.


Given his interests, Dionysus was known to free people from their inhibitions, and in Greek theater this earned him the reputation of being called the "masked god." Essentially, you're not yourself any time once you drink, so the "mask" in this case represents another (more inebriated) extension of yourself. Because of Dionysus's passion for drink and art — and his unconventional upbringing — it made him a little bit of an outsider among the gods. Do BTS view themselves as outsiders? We'll have to wait and see.


"Jamais Vu"


furthermore to a Korean-language song named soon after a Greek god, one of the cuts on the album is titled right after a French saying: "Jamais Vu." (BTS truly transcend all cultures.) It translates to "never seen" and the phrase describes the eerie phenomenon in which you react to something as though you've never experienced it before, despite the fact that you have. For example: There will be times any time Whenever I type the word "lent" and thoroughly convince myself that it isn't a real word, whenever, case in point, it is.


What does this have to do with BTS? Honestly, I have no idea. Obviously astute ARMYs already have theories, and once again it all goes back to the group's Skool Luv Affair era. If "Intro: Persona" and "Boy With Luv" are directly linked to songs on their 2014 album, then it's possible "Jamais Vu" is, too.


Singin' in the Rain


Concealed in plain sight in the first teaser for "Boy With Luv" is a movie poster for the 1952 movie musical Singin' in the Rain. The second teaser reveals even more nods to the classic film, including an entire set piece, dance sequence, and RM's homage to Gene Kelly.


Maybe BTS are just big fans of Singin' in the Rain. That's definitely possible. Although remember the time travel narrative I promised we'd revisit? Well, here we are. Without going also much into detail — moreover to the music videos, there's an entire BTS webtoon you could read to catch up — we know that Jin is the one who's been given a chance to save his companions with the ability to travel back in time, but he mysteriously keeps going back to one day in particular: April 11.


And for those of you without encyclopedic knowledge of movie musicals from the 1950s, Singin' in the Rain was originally released on April 11, 1952. Pure coincidence or masterfully designed? That's for you to determine, or for BTS to reveal.


Then again, piece of the fun is how little the order does reveal about their own fictional universe. It's a Pick Your Own Adventure novel of sorts, open to interpretation — not unlike the group's music. BTS never tell the listener what to think or how they should go about thinking it; as a substitute, they share their own coming-of-age stories with those who need to hear it most. You don't require a psych degree to understand that.