Welcome back my lovely readers,
Today we will be analysing the lyrics of 보조개 (Dimple), the third song in Part 1 of Love Yourself: 結 Answer.
Note, I am purposely skipping DNA because there are concepts I want to explore with you in 보조개 (Dimple) first as I think it will help us appreciate the brilliance of DNA just a bit better 🙂 .
I apply the assumptions listed here when I’m analysing the lyrics.
If you wish to skip to my final interpretation of this song, please click here.
Assumed Knowledge
I have written this post assuming you understand:
- my theory that the LY albums is a puzzle and that all the songs in LY albums are all connected and reveal a storyline when read in a specific order. [Edit 24/4/2021: This idea is completely consistent with what Namjoon said about the Love Yourself albums.]
You may still continue to read my analysis of Dimple without understanding this. However, you may not fully appreciate the effort I believe BTS went through to communicate this story with us.
New Readers, start here. - the significance of Namjoon referring to his lover as an Angel and Penicillin in the gender neutral lyrics of Serendipity.
This was explained in my analysis of Serendipity.
- the significance of Namjoon assigning the pronoun “Her” to his lover. Thus, when Namjoon refers to a “Her” in his lyrics (and by extension, “woman”, “she”, “girl”, etc), he is referring to his lover.
This was explained in my analysis Who is “Her”?. - the significance of analysing 보조개 (Dimple) from Namjoon’s point of view.
I know the vocal line sings the song, but Namjoon is the sole accredited BTS author of this song. This is an important point because it means that the lyrics and melody were composed from Namjoon’s perspective. I explain why in detail here.
All good? Alrighty everyone, let’s get it!
1. The Bilingual Title
One of the many questions I had when I started listening to the LY series was: “Why do some songs have an English and Korean title?”
Why not give all the songs a Korean and English title? Or just an English title? Or just a Korean title? Why only specific random ones? To me, this was a curious irregularity that puzzled me to no end.
However, once I started assuming that the whole LY Album was a big puzzle and that all song titles are chosen with great care and thought, I realised that there is one logical reason for this.
BTS must have specifically chosen some of their songs to have both a Korean and English title because it serves a purpose.
The bilingual titles could for example, provide an important bit of information that is only obvious in one language.
In the case of 보조개 (Dimple), I believe it has a Korean and English title to create ambiguity for their Korean audience, and (ironically) clarity for their English audience.
What does the bilingual title reveal about 보조개 (Dimple)?
When I was serving my 14 day quarantine in a hotel (thanks covid), I decided to learn Korean because I desperately wanted to understand Jin’s dad jokes. #priorities
One of the very first things I learnt when I was learning Korean was that there is no real way to specify plurality in Korean. Everything is implied.
In other words, 보조개 could either mean, Dimple or Dimples in Korean. For Koreans, this title is ambiguous as it could mean one, two, even three or four dimples. It is open for interpretation.
For many reasons one could speculate on, Namjoon may have wanted the song title to be subconsciously ambiguous for Korean speakers so that this mysterious person with dimple(s?) could be debated about by Korean ARMYs forever.
However, Namjoon (for reasons one could also speculate on), wanted to give his English speaking audience a clear answer.
Hence, the official English title of the song is ‘Dimple’ not ‘Dimples‘.
Through the use of an English title, Namjoon clearly informs his English speaking audience that the person the song is written about only has one indisputable singular Dimple.
The song is called 보조개 (Dimple) because the person the song is written about only has one Dimple; and for reasons one can speculate on, Namjoon wanted it to make it ambiguous to his Korean audience.
2. The Ille-GIRL
To discuss this ‘ille-GIRL’ girl Namjoon is talking about, we first need to reflect on two of my concepts:
- That when Namjoon sings this line from Trivia 承: Love:
“I hope you feel the same, woman, Love”.
The woman he is referring to is his love of his life.
This was explained in my post “Who is “Her”?”. - That in Namjoon’s story line, 보조개 (Dimple) comes first before Trivia 承: Love. In other words, the story of 보조개 (Dimple) occurred before the story of Trivia 承: Love.
This was explained in my Love Yourself Albums Theory post. If you simply need a refresher, you can see the track list here.
The above two concepts on 보조개 (Dimple) are significant because:
- the person being referred to in this song has a female pronoun “ille-GIRL“, indicating that Namjoon is singing about his lover; and
- it gives us insight as to when Namjoon and his lover met.
Based on my theory, the song order shows that 보조개 (Dimple) comes before Trivia 承: Love. This is important as it is consistent with how Namjoon refers to his lover:
In 보조개 (Dimple), Namjoon referred to his lover as a “ille-GIRL“.
However, in Trivia 承: Love, Namjoon referred to his lover as a “woman“.
In other words, Namjoon revealed to us that he and his lover started their relationship at a young age, when his lover was metaphorically still a ‘Girl’.
By extension, this reveals that Namjoon has been with his lover for a long time. Long enough for his lover to grow from a ‘Girl’ in 보조개 (Dimple), to a ‘Woman’ in Trivia 承: Love.
3. The Angel and Devil in 보조개 (Dimple)
The Angel
You may recall that in Serendipity, Namjoon refers to his lover as an Angel.
This Angel (and Angel imagery) appear again in the lyrics of Dimple:
“Don’t lie, I know you’re an angel”
“That dimple is illegal…
Was it a mistake made by an angel?
Or a deep kiss?”
“You’re too dangerous to live in this world”
Based on my theory that these songs form a continuous story line, the Angel in Serendipity is the same Angel Namjoon is referring to in 보조개 (Dimple).
The Devil
보조개 (Dimple) could not be any more of a different song to Serendipity.
Serendipity is soft, gentle and angel-like while 보조개 (Dimple) is filled with devilishly wicked and sinful undertones:
“Don’t lie…”
“That smile is so cruel“
“That dimple is illegal ille~gal
No it is dangerous, oh yes”
“Your existence alone is a crime“
“Every time I see you, my heart gets dangerous
Every time I see you, it gets more dangerous”
The words I have emphasised above all have connotations and associations with immoral sinful thoughts and behaviours.
Given they are written from the perspective of Namjoon, Namjoon is revealing to us his dark and devilish side.
This is juxtaposed heavily against his lover, who is painted as pure, sincere and angel-like through the lyrics of Serendipity.
In summary, Namjoon metaphorically associates himself with the devil who is sinful with illegal desires. This is juxtaposed against his lover, who Namjoon thinks is just like an Angel.
Interestingly, I have also noticed that in every performance of 보조개 (Dimple) I’ve watched on Youtube, they are all wearing black. The colour associated with evil and the devil.
4. The Insatiable Lust
Besides the overwhelmingly devilishly imagery and undertones, the entire song is filled with lustful lyrics:
“That smile is so cruel
Cruel“
“I shouldn’t have seen that cheek
You”
“…a deep kiss?
That dimple is illegal….
But I want it anyway anyway anyway”
“When you smile, I get dizzy
True“
“Every time I see you, my heart gets dangerous
Every time I see you, it gets more dangerous“
Feel free to disagree with me here, but to me the above lyrics paint the picture of Namjoon trying his best not to rip his lover’s clothes off in public and have his way with him/her.
The words “Cruel”, “You” and “True” are purposefully written and sung on its own separate line to create a heavy emphasis and add a possessive quality to the song. One could almost imagine Namjoon eyeing down his lover – 50 Shades of Grey style.
The lyrics are full of yearning and need, “but I want it…but I want it…“, and “illegal” is sung with a tease-like melody “ille~~~girl”.
Further, the hard, sharp and flirty beats of the song create an atmosphere of heightened sexual tension, conveying Namjoon’s inner desire to engage in an act that is so wrong, yet so exciting and oh so devilish.
In addition, when I first heard the song (without any context to what it was about) I thought they were singing: “But I want it anyway, alleyway alleyway” instead of “But I want it anyway, anyway, anyway“.
Given the context of this song and BTS’ famous ability to pronounce a single word 20 different ways to create multiple meanings (e.g. Ddaeng, Tear, Dear, etc), I couldn’t help but wonder after analysing the lyrics if the pronunciation of “anyway” to “alleyway” was intentional…
… After all, we all know what goes down sometimes in alleyways.
Naughty, sinfully illegal, and very sexy things.
The lyrics and melody of the song convey Namjoon’s insatiable lust and desire for his lover, to the point he is dangerously close to acting illegally with him/her in public.
(If you know what I mean.)
What does Namjoon not have?
I refer to the following verse:
“I don’t have it, only you have it
Is that why it’s so hard?”
So what is the thing that Namjoon doesn’t have?
It is definitely not for dimples for sure. Here is a picture of Namjoon with the cutest biggest set of dimples:
Given what we’ve explored, I think the one thing that the lyrics make it clear Namjoon definitely doesn’t have is Self Control.
The entire song is literally about Namjoon yearning to commit something “ille~gal”.
This yearning can clearly be felt through:
- the repetition of the line “I want it anyway anyway anyway”; and
- Namjoon’s confession that “Every time I see you, my heart gets dangerous… it gets more dangerous”.
When Namjoon states “I don’t have it, only you have it”, he is not referring to dimples. He is referring to his (lack of) Self Control.
This is completely opposite to his lover, who does.
5. The “Negative Side Effects” of Penicillin
You may remember from my post about Serendipity that Namjoon calls his lover “my Penicillin”.
We explored the reasons as to why Namjoon might have specifically chosen the drug “Penicillin” and theorised it may be because Namjoon is trying to convey that while his lover can be a life-saving drug to him, his lover could could also (metaphorically) cause him some “negative side effects”.
Reflecting on the lyrics:
“Every time I see you, my heart gets dangerous… it gets more dangerous“
It appears that Namjoon’s lover has a strong “negative side effect” on Namjoon’s heart.
As per this medical source, a common side effect of Penicillin is a fast heart rate.
In other words, Namjoon may call his lover “my Penicillin” because he/she* has a “negative side effect” of making his heart race.
*I say he/she because the gender of Namjoon’s lover is not clear. I use he/she and him/her in my posts because I’m talking about a single individual. When I say gender, I mean male, female and all those in between 🙂
6. Their “Dangerous” World
Living Dangerously
The word “Dangerous” is repeated no less than eight times in the song.
The repetition of “Dangerous” conveys to us that Namjoon finds living in this world with his lover to be very, very, very dangerous.
“Every time I see you, it gets more dangerous…
You’re too dangerous to live in this world”
Why is this relationship between Namjoon and his lover so dangerous… and so “ille-girl”?
In Serendipity, it was revealed to us that Namjoon and his lover are fearful of touching each other and holding hands because their love is forbidden.
The repetition of “Dangerous” and “Illegal” throughout this song reinforces the idea that their love is forbidden and that Namjoon and his lover live in a word where their relationship is dangerous for them and to them.
Again, I can think of no other reason when one would describe their relationship with their lover as dangerous…
Namjoon describes the relationship between him and his lover as dangerous and illegal because it is.
It is dangerous and illegal because their love is forbidden.
Till Death Do Us Part
In my post “Who is “Her”?”, I briefly mentioned that Namjoon’s lyrics in “Her” describes the complexity of being in love with someone so much that they “wanted to die” together.
This desire is repeated in 보조개 (Dimple):
“I wanna die fallen in you,
I wanna die locked in with you”
In other words, Namjoon and his lover are so deeply in love that they have vowed to be with each other ‘Till Death Do Us Part’.
I think Namjoon is cutting onions again. Gosh. Be still my sobbing heart.
7. That Dimple is Ille~gal… That Dimple is yours.
A lovely friend I met on Twitter @petie_bug (who can speak Korean!) shared with me this 18 second video of Jin singing the chorus of 보조개 (Dimple) in an interview.
In the interview, Jin recommends Dimple and sings the line:
“That Dimple is illegal“
(그 보조개 illegal)
Interestingly, the way he pronounces “illegal” sounds like “is yours” (이 네것 (il-ne-gor)) in Korean. Essentially, the way he sings it sounds like:
“그 보조개 이 네것”
(That Dimple is yours)
This is so obvious that Namjoon picked up on it immediately and jokingly said “True, the dimples aren’t yours“. Based on their reactions, it suggest that that specific pronunciation of “Illegal” as 이 네것 (il-ne-gor) isn’t new to them. It is an old joke.
The reason why I wanted to share with you this is that I hope it gives you a better appreciation of how Namjoon and BTS are able to convey various meaning and messages through incredibly clever wordplay.
Through one word (“Illegal”), Namjoon:
- indicated to us that his lover at this point of the story was young of age;
- revealed to us that their relationship is illegal and forbidden;
- shared with us his lustful desire to do illegal things with this person; and
- was able to make the song incredibly personal for the person singing it.
What I mean by this is: If for example Namjoon was on VLive or on stage singing 보조개 (Dimple), he could be singing the song directly to his lover who is listening, and pronounce the line intentionally as…
“그 보조개 이 네것“
(That Dimple is yours)
… without any one else realising it.
This is… kind of seriously romantic. Wow-za. <3
Namjoon was able to use the word “Illegal” at least four different ways to communicate and create meaning to his listeners.
Author’s Summary
In summary, I believe the story behind 보조개 (Dimple) is:
Namjoon is singing about his lover who only has one dimple.
In their earlier years of dating (i.e. when they were not yet considered adults), Namjoon experienced many lustful thoughts and found it difficult to control his desires and act “legally” when his lover was around because his lover makes his heart race.
Being able to act “legally” is particularly important as their love is forbidden… so forbidden they are fearful of even holding hands. Namjoon struggles with this while his lover seems to have better self control.
Because of his many sinful thoughts, Namjoon metaphorically describes himself as the Devil in the relationship, and his lover as the Angel.
Wow, there was so much to unpack in 보조개 (Dimple)! And I don’t know about you, but Namjoon’s relationship with his lover is one hell of a crazy Romeo and Juliet story…
I hope you all enjoyed my analysis and if you did enjoy it, please share it with your friends and connect with me via Twitter or the comments section down below 🙂 <3
x G
Lyric Sources: 보조개 (Dimple)
Disclaimer:
As per my first author’s note, please, no hate!
I do not have a shipping or individual bias, I love all seven members equally and I do not write my blogs because of a particular personal desire for one of them.
I analyse songs with consideration to the author’s perspective (and Namjoon just happens to be the main author of most songs).
It does not matter one bit to me if they are straight, gay, intersex, a skrull, a mutant or if they could lay eggs. I love them wholeheartedly (as a sister who would love her younger brothers) for their individual selves.
This theory of 보조개 (Dimple) is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.