[Oh My News] The sigh brought about by BTS Jimin's new song 'Sobok Sobok'?

[Put on Headphones] BTS Jimin's "Christmas Love"

The moment the headphones landed on Sophie Marceau's head, love began. A completely different world unfolded before her eyes. For the romance you often miss in the hustle and bustle of life, why not put on your headphones for a moment? Perhaps the dreams in the song are more real than reality. Dreams are my reality.




BTS's Jimin prepared a Christmas present and released his self-composed song "Christmas Love" on the music platform "SoundCloud" on the 24th, and it's become a huge hit. The song also topped SoundCloud's "Hot & New" chart worldwide under "All Music Genres."

Jimin's unique and romantic voice is well-captured in "Christmas Love," which has an impressive upbeat melody and was produced by Big Hit Entertainment producer Slow Rabbit. Beginning with the lyrics, "My heart is already on this white street / It snowed in my dream last night / I waited for you all day under the blanket," the song is filled with the innocence and sweetness of Christmas.

In addition to releasing regular albums, BTS members have been uploading various non-regular works to SoundCloud, allowing fans to enjoy music for free. This song is part of that effort, and it seems to be receiving an especially enthusiastic response.

Some foreign media outlets have called it "the birth of a Christmas season song," and in Korea, it was also used as background music for the "Sports News" segment of KBS's <News 9> and as the preview for the KBS 2TV entertainment program <The Return of Superman>.

However, the song seems to be receiving a lot of attention for one peculiar reason: international fans are struggling because some of the lyrics haven't been translated satisfactorily.

Christmas I love you, you come down to my day like white snow

The word "sobok sobok" appears in the lyrics, and the lack of a Korean equivalent was a non-issue for international fans. BTS's fandom, ARMY, struggled to express "sobok sobok" as best as they could.

"Sobok sobok sounds like a really lovely expression. I think I'm in love with the word sobok sobok. It's sad that there's no equivalent (in English). Korean seems to be a very emotional language."

Some international fans responded on Twitter, while others wrote, "I want to cry. I wish I knew enough Korean to fully understand their lyrics and words."

They were discouraged(?) by the fact that they could not replace the word "soboksobok" with "falling falling" and took time to reflect(?) on language, saying that English words seem somewhat limited and that there are some words from other languages ​​that cannot be properly translated into English.

It is understandable, as in this era where K-pop is loved by people all over the world, such concerns seem just and right. Just as our literature, when it advances overseas, is delicately conveyed by the hands of a skilled literary translator, it seems that song lyrics also need a similar translation process. Another overseas fan's lament mixed with regret, "Compared to Korean-speaking ARMYs, overseas ARMYs only experience half of BTS content. Too many nuances are lost in the translation process," is something I cannot help but sympathize with.

Jimin wrote on BTS's blog, "I sang this song with the emotions I felt when I first saw my favorite scene of heavy snowfall. I hope that listening to this song will take you back to the old days, even if just a little. Many people have had a hard time this year, and I hope that listening to this song will provide a brief change of pace."

While the singer himself left such a kind explanation for the song, fans want to understand every single emotion the singer poured into the lyrics. That's only natural for true fans. Thinking about that desire to absorb every single word without missing a beat, I find myself inadvertently pondering the subtleties and limitations of language.


Source: Oh My News