BU Canon Content

July 19, 2019 Courtney Lazore

Below is a list of content that is considered canon to the BU. While a lot of what BigHit/BTS release is part of the BU canon, not everything is. Even in the non-canon content, there may still be references or similar themes to the canon content, and some of the canon content may have weaker links to the BU than others. Whether something is canonical or not is determined by BigHit listing the media as canon (via a text description or the BU logo).

This page is a “living document” and will continue to be updated!

Music Videos / Content Videos

These videos are considered canon within the BU. They are listed chronologically in order of release date.

“I Need U” (4/29/2015) | “I Need U” (Original ver.) (5/10/2015)
HYYH On Stage: Prologue (10/1/2015)
“Run” (11/29/2015)
“I Need U” (Japanese ver.) (12/1/2015)
“Run” (Japanese ver.) (3/11/2016)
WINGS Short Film #1 Begin (9/4/2016)**
WINGS Short Film #2 Lie (9/5/2016)**
WINGS Short Film #3 Stigma (9/7/2016)**
WINGS Short Film #4 First Love (9/8/2016)
WINGS Short Film #5 Reflection (9/9/2016)
WINGS Short Film #6 Mama (9/10/2016)
WINGS Short Film #7 Awake (9/13/2016)
“피 땀 눈물 (Blood, Sweat, & Tears)” (10/9/2016)
“Blood, Sweat, & Tears (Japanese ver.) Teaser” (5/1/2017)
“Blood, Sweat, & Tears (Japanese ver.)” (5/9/2017)
“Love Yourself Highlight Reel 起” (8/15/2017)
“Love Yourself Highlight Reel 承” (8/16/2017)
“Love Yourself Highlight Reel 轉” (8/17/2017)
“Love Yourself Highlight Reel 起承轉結” (8/18/2017)
“Euphoria: Theme of Love Yourself 起 Wonder” (4/5/2018)
“Fake Love” Teaser 1 (5/14/2018)
“Fake Love” (5/18/2018) | “Fake Love (Extended ver.)” (6/1/2018)
“Love Yourself 結 Answer Epiphany Comeback Trailer” (8/9/2018)

**Note: These videos were once listed as part of the BU, but are no longer tagged as such. All three videos used to have text in the description that claimed them as part of the BU, but now, this text no longer appears. Some have said there is a “glitch” that causes the text not to show up in some browsers, but it still shows up in others. I have been unable to verify this, as the multiple computers and phones I have checked the videos on still show no BU certification. It’s possible the text was removed on purpose, if something in the videos contradicts the BU storyline as it has evolved over time. It’s also possible they’re still supposed to be considered canon, so I am adding them tentatively to this list.

HYYH The Notes

HYYH notes appeared in the Love Yourself album trilogy as small booklets, on BigHit’s twitter account prior to the three Love Yourself comebacks, and again on a separate official account titled Smeraldo Books (prior to the release of the BU webtoon).

HYYH notes provide a lot of the narrative for the BU, tying together scenes from music videos and providing additional detail to flesh out the story. They reveal only bits and pieces of the story, as each note is fashioned as a sort of “diary entry” from one of the seven characters. We only get that character’s perspective in each note, and each note includes a date.

Recently, BigHit announced the release of a HYYH The Notes book version, which appears to include at least some new information, still written in the same “diary” style with character names and dates accompanying each entry.

HYYH The Notes English Translation

This PDF contains all the notes from the albums and Twitter, up to January 2019. They are listed in chronological order by story dates (not release dates).

HYYH The Notes Summary

This page contains my summary of the HYYH Notes plot content, in order of the story.

HYYH Timeline

This is a timeline of major HYYH plot points only.

This section will be updated pending the HYYH Notes book release.

WINGS Concept Book

BigHit previously released a “concept book” for the WINGS era which included information on the story and concept design for the era. There’s also photos and interviews.

The book is only available in Korean, but I am working on a summary of pertinent information to share here.

Images

Love Yourself Posters – BigHit released a series of posters prior to the release of the Love Yourselfseries. Each poster depicts the members’ characters in the BU.

Each image has a sentence, which I’ve translated below.

Jungkook – The direction my heart faces, the day I start to want to run towards that place.
Yoongi – Don’t come close, you’ll become unhappy.
Jimin – I lied because someone like me can’t be loved.
Namjoon – I only look from the back, because now is not the time.
Taehyung – Would (you) not have run away, if I had made a different choice?
Hoseok – If you shine, then I’m okay.
Seokjin – If I could by chance turn back time, I’d want to become the best man in the world.

HYYH "Save Me" Webtoon

In January 2019, BigHit expanded the BU storyline further by branching out into a webtoon. The webtoon is available for free on Naver’s webtoon app, and you can purchase early access to future episodes.

The webtoon depicts some of the events contained in the text of the HYYH Notes and some of the video content previously released. Free episodes are listed below.

Smeraldo

Before the Love Yourself comeback, a curious Smeraldo Blog was launched that seemed to be related to BTS’s BU content. It’s likely that the blog and related Instagram served to further flesh out the story, since the HYYH Notes reference an unknown/rare flower.

The Smeraldo Flower Shop blog contains several entries with information about the non-existent flower. The blog is supposed to be run by the flower shop owner. At the Love Yourselfconcerts in Seoul, there was a pop-up “smeraldo” shop where fans could buy smeraldo-themed merch. Later, the Smeraldo Books Twitter was put out by BigHit to release mini HYYH Notes and the “Save Me” webtoon.

The Smeraldo blog can be found here. I’ll link to translations below. I plan to explore this area more soon.

Non-Canon

MUSIC VIDEOS

The following music videos are not considered canon, though some may have similar themes found in the BU. I’ve written a post here about separating the canon of the BU.

Dope
Fire
Young Forever
Save Me
Spring Day
Not Today
Serendipity
DNA
MIC Drop
Singularity
IDOL
Airplane pt. 2

SONG LYRICS & ALBUM CONCEPTS

Though song lyrics and album concepts appear on media marked with the BU logo, they aren’t really “canon” to the characters of the BU, though they’re often related thematically. I’ve written a piece here about separating BTS and BU content.

RELATED BOOKS

BigHit previously released a book bundle on their official website that included the three books listed below. We’ve known that Demian was a source of inspiration for part of the WINGS era since the album came out, and through BigHit including the other two books, we can assume that they are somehow thematically related, even though their content is not canonically related.

Demian by Hermann Hesse

This is a coming-of-age novel that focuses on self-realization. The story’s protagonist deals with both the world of the “light” and the world of the “dark.” He experiences temptation and a fall from grace while he struggles with morality. Hesse’s work employs Jungian archetypes and serves as one source of inspiration for the WINGS era of BTS’s work.

Jung’s Map of the Soul by Murray Stein

This volume sums up some of Jung’s psychological theories, including his archetypes. In one of the HYYH Notes, Seokjin refers to his father’s journal as showing the “map of his soul,” and later says that he takes his first steps to finding the map of his own soul. The book’s content is thematically related to the BU in some ways.

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

Fromm (a psychoanalyst and philosopher) wrote this book on the nature of love, arguing that love can be taught as a skill. He explores various types of love, including brotherly love and self-love. This book is also thematically related to the storylines of the BU.