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The BTS Universe or Bangtan Universe (BU) was initially know as "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life series", "Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa series" or "HYYH series" until the official name and logo were first used in 2017, is a South Korean media franchise and shared fictional universe that is centered on a series of music videos, independently produced by Big Hit Entertainment and based on characters inspired by the members of BTS. The franchise has expanded to include short films, short stories, books and webtoons.
History
"Seven boys. Best friends. Their fates intertwined through the good times together, but also the tough times, as they have gone their separate ways and suffered greatly as a result. When all is almost lost for these boys, one is given a special chance to go back in time and help his friends fix the mistakes that led them down this path. He’ll do anything to save them, but can he? Or is he too late?" – Plot summary of the 花樣年華 Pt.0 <SAVE ME> webtoon.
Content
List of BU content certified by Big Hit Entertainment.
| Era | Content | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Type | Released | |
| Youth Trilogy | 'I NEED U' Official MV | Music video | April 29, 2015 |
| 'I NEED U' Official MV (Original ver.) | Music video | May 10, 2015 | |
| 화양연화 on stage : prologue | Short film | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| 'RUN' Official MV | Music video | Nov 30, 2015 | |
| 'I NEED U (Japanese Ver.)' Official MV | Music video | Dec 1, 2015 | |
| 'RUN -Japanese Ver.-' Official MV | Music video | Mar 11, 2016 | |
| ‘EPILOGUE : Young Forever’ MV | Music video | April 19, 2016 | |
| Wings | WINGS Short Film #1 BEGIN | Short film | Sep 4, 2016 |
| WINGS Short Film #2 LIE | Short film | Sep 5, 2016 | |
| WINGS Short Film #3 STIGMA | Short film | Sep 7, 2016 | |
| WINGS Short Film #4 FIRST LOVE | Short film | Sep 8, 2016 | |
| WINGS Short Film #5 REFLECTION | Short film | Sep 9, 2016 | |
| WINGS Short Film #6 MAMA | Short film | Sep 10, 2016 | |
| WINGS Short Film #7 AWAKE | Short film | Sep 13, 2016 | |
| '피 땀 눈물 (Blood Sweat & Tears)' Official MV | Music video | Oct 10, 2016 | |
| '血、汗、涙 -Japanese Ver.-' Official MV | Music video | May 10, 2017 | |
| BTS WINGS CONCEPT BOOK | Concept book | June 29, 2017 | |
| Love Yourself | #LOVE_YOURSELF Poster | Posters | Aug 11-13, 2017 |
| 花樣年華 The Notes: Seokjin – 13 June Year 22 | Short story | Aug 14, 2017 | |
| LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel '起' | Short film | Aug 15, 2017 | |
| LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel '承' | Short film | Aug 16, 2017 | |
| LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel '轉' | Short film | Aug 17, 2017 | |
| LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel '起承轉結' | Short film | Aug 18, 2017 | |
| 花樣年華 The Notes in LOVE YOURSELF 承 'Her' | Short stories | Sep 18, 2017 | |
| 'Euphoria : Theme of LOVE YOURSELF 起 Wonder' | Short film | April 5, 2018 | |
| 花樣年華 The Notes: Jungkook – 22 May Year 22 | Short story | May 4, 2018 | |
| 'FAKE LOVE' Official Teaser 1 | Teaser | May 14, 2018 | |
| 'FAKE LOVE' Official MV | Music video | May 18, 2018 | |
| 花樣年華 The Notes in LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear' | Short stories | May 18, 2018 | |
| 'FAKE LOVE' Official MV (Extended ver.) | Music video | June 1, 2018 | |
| 花樣年華 The Notes: Seokjin – 3 August Year 22 | Short story | Aug 7, 2018 | |
| LOVE YOURSELF 結 Answer 'Epiphany' Comeback Trailer | Comeback trailer | Aug 9, 2018 | |
| 花樣年華 The Notes in LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer' | Short stories | Aug 24, 2018 | |
| SMERALDO BOOKS' Twitter | Short stories | Jan 2019 | |
| 花樣年華 Pt.0 <SAVE ME> | Webtoon | Jan 17, 2019 | |
| 花樣年華 THE NOTES 1 | Book | March 5, 2019 | |
| Map of the Soul | 花樣年華 The Notes in MAP OF THE SOUL: Persona | Short Stories | April 12, 2019 |
| 花樣年華 Art Toy | Art toy | Sep 16, 2019 | |
| 花樣年華 The Notes in MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 | Short Stories | Feb 21, 2020 | |
Smeraldo Flower Shop
On August 9, 2017, Jin posted on Twitter (@BTS_twt) a selca featuring a bouquet of flowers and the word "Smeraldo".[1]
Smeraldo is not an actual flower. However, ARMY found a florist (Testesso) who is planning on opening a shop called Flower Smeraldo.[2]
Testesso has a blog of the Smeraldo Flower, with different stories about the origin of the flower, but the stories were deleted and added the BU logo of the flower shop on July 4, 2018.[3]
On August 22, 2018, the blog started to post the same stories as last year, but changed the 8th story and Seok-jin didn't pre-order the Smeraldo flowers for the girl which means they didn't meet and she wasn't hit by a car, because Seok-jin turned back time.
Also the Instagram account associated with the blog was deleted and re-opened on July 20, 2018 with content alike to previously uploaded and the Twitter account was been inactive and private since August 2017 but the conent was deleted and reupdated on 2018.
Links:
*Don't confuse Jin, the vocalist of BTS with Seok-jin, the fictional character.
Deleted scene
Deleted scene.
The short film "화양연화 on stage : prologue" was originally released on September 8, 2015 but was deleted and re-uploaded on September 16, 2015, and Seok-jin's last scene was removed.
In the scene, Seok-jin is in his car, then opens his glove box and pulls out his polaroid with Yoon-gi; however, when he sees it, Seok-jin is the only one in the picture, with Yoon-gi mysteriously absent from the picture. At the end of the scene, it is hinted that the car is floating on the sea.
TXT Universe
Seok-jin and Yeon-jun with the "white cat".
The TXT Universe (+U), started on January 11, 2019, is a shared universe that is for now only included in music videos, also produced by Big Hit Entertainment. Similarly to the BU, it is based on characters inspired by the members of TXT.
The BU and the +U have different concepts and stories. Until now only the white cat-like creature with one blue eye and one green eye who meets Seok-jin at the beach (Save Me webtoon) and Yeon-jun in the forest (Nap of a Star and Magic Island) connects to the two universes and storylines.
Upcoming content
BTS (방탄소년단) New Game Official Concept Art Teaser
- Game: Big Hit is partnering with Netmarble for a new video game project that Big Hit described as such: "This new work will provide another encounter with the BU rendered through lush, emotion-filled art."[4] The Game Concept Trailer was released on August 21, 2019.
- Drama: Big Hit along with Chorokbaem Media are currently development an untitled drama based on the BU and is expected to be released in the second half of 2020 or first half of 2021.[5] This drama will tell the story of seven boys who meet for the first time within the BU. As the drama will be based on when the characters were younger, the members will not personally act in the drama. [6]
- 花樣年華 THE NOTES 2: Sequel novel of 花樣年華 THE NOTES 1 was announced in February 2020. [7]
Other possible content
List of content with connections to the BU but with no logo or certification.
| Title | Type | Released | Related to |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTS (방탄소년단) 'No More Dream' Official MV | Music video | June 11, 2013 | Many names of BTS songs are in the background, the butterfly effect is shown on the chalkboard in the background, and a piano is shown in the background.
|
| BTS (방탄소년단) 'Boy In Luv' Official MV | Music Video | February 11, 2014 | Moments that tie into the notes.
|
| BTS (방탄소년단) 'Danger' Official MV | Music video | August 20, 2014 | A scene of Tae-hyung cutting his hair is seen in WINGS Short Film #3 STIGMA, as well as other moments that tie into the notes.
|
| BTS Live Trilogy Ep.1 Summary in The Red Bullet | VCR | October 17, 2014 | The VCR includes a scene of the boys in class and a strict teacher; they get in trouble with the teacher, as they do in the BU.
|
| 2013.03.02 in BTS Begins | VCR | March 28, 2015 | The description of March 2, 2013 note is similar to the shown in this VCR.
|
| BTS (방탄소년단) 화양연화 pt.1 '花樣年華' Comeback Trailer | Comeback trailer | April 17, 2015 | We see the bridge Hoseok collapsed on in I Need U, as well as two of the person in the trailer (who could possibly be Seokjin).
|
| BTS (防弾少年団) 'FOR YOU' Official MV | Music video | June 17, 2015 | The scenes of all in the secret school hang-out and Seok-jin and Nam-joon in the gas station are similar to in the BU.
|
| BTS (방탄소년단) 화양연화 pt.2 'Never Mind' Comeback Trailer | Comeback trailer | November 17, 2015 | There is a butterfly, a common theme in the BU
|
| BTS (방탄소년단) '봄날 (Spring Day)' Official MV | Music video | February 13, 2017 | Appears two Jung-kooks, similar to the two Ji-mins in Blood Sweat & Tears MV JP Ver., as well a vague certification from the WINGS Concept Book.
|
| BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour | VCR | February 18, 2017 | The VCR includes thematic elements associated with each member and BU character.
|
| BTS (방탄소년단) 'DNA' Official MV | Music video | September 18, 2017 | During Tae-hyung's part at the beginning, a black hole similar to the one that Ji-min was sucked into in Blood Sweat & Tears MV JP Ver. is visible in the background.
|
| BTS INTRO in 2019 MMA | VCR | November 30, 2019 | The scene is looks like the final scene in I Need U MV.
|
| BTS INTRO in 2019 MAMA | VCR | Dec 4, 2019 | The scene contains many objects from past BU content
|
Characters
List of the characters in the fictional universe.
Main
- Kim Seok-jin (Jin) as Kim Seok-jin
- Min Yoon-gi (Suga) as Min Yoon-gi
- Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope) as Jung Ho-seok
- Kim Nam-joon (RM) as Kim Nam-joon
- Park Ji-min (Jimin) as Park Ji-min
- Kim Tae-hyung (V) as Kim Tae-hyung
- Jeon Jeong-guk (Jungkook) as Jeon Jung-kook
*The characters names are the same as their real names.
Supporting
- Choi Yu-ju (Yu Ju) as Seok-jin's girl (in LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel)
- Park Jung-yeon as Yoon-gi's girl (in LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel)
- Shin Ryu-jin (Ryujin) as Ho-seok's and Jimin's girl (in LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel)
- Oh Han-seol as Nam-joon's girl (in LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel)
- Kim Bo-ra (Bo Ra) as Tae-hyung's girl (in LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel)
- Shin Yu-na (Yuna) as Jung-kook's girl (in LOVE YOURSELF Highlight Reel)
Timeline
Main article: Timeline
Timeline of events occurred on the fictional universe.
Symbolism
The BU is heavy with visual symbolism. Several items are often linked to each character, and elements of these are present in much of the visual content through BTS's music videos, even ones not marked as BU content.
| Character | Himself | Trauma | Positive Attitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seok-jin | |||
| Yoon-gi | |||
| Ho-seok | |||
| Nam-joon | |||
| Ji-min | |||
| Tae-hyung | |||
| Jung-kook |
References
- ↑ Jin's post on Twitter with "Smeraldo"
- ↑ BTS Fans React To Viral Smeraldo Comeback Concept Theory
- ↑ Fans expect a possible BTS comeback in August with clues from 'smeraldo' flower shop
- ↑ Big Hit Corporate Briefing with the Community (2H 2019) (38:04)
- ↑ Big Hit Corporate Briefing with the Community (1H 2020) (57:25)
- ↑ Big Hit Announces Production Of Drama Based On BTS Universe
- ↑ Big Hit Corporate Briefing with the Community (1H 2020) (56:40)
Gallery
 | To view the BTS Universe gallery, click here.
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