"You Are Loved:" A Special Fifth Anniversary Post

 

Image description: The promo image for BTS member Jin's song "Running Wild," the title track off of his debut album Happy. Today, on my blogging and ARMY anniversary, I am celebrating this song, this album, and its message, which not only centers on happiness as the title implies, but on the theme of being loved in unique ways. What better thing to talk about today of all days?

Today is a very special day. Valentine’s Day? Sure, if you’re into that. But today is the first time in my entire 5 years of blogging that my blog’s anniversary has actually fallen on a regular blog update day! While that may not seem special, it is to me; in fact, February 14th 2025 is doubly special because it not only marks 5 years since I started this blog, but it represents 5 years of being an ARMY – that is, a fan of Korean supergroup BTS. Today is not the only day in which these two things intersect, but rather I find that being aspec and an ARMY has significant overlap for me every day.

So, as I do every year, today I’m going to talk about that dual identity to honor this dual celebration day. For the past two years, doing this has actually been somewhat of a sad task, since I’ve been discussing BTS while they’ve been in the military. But compounding the specialness of today, this is the first opportunity I’ve had since my 2022 anniversary to do an anniversary post where some of the members of BTS are once again civilians, thanks to Jin’s return from the military in June of 2024 and J-Hope’s return in October of the same year. In fact, 2025 is the year in which all of the members will be returning, and as I write this post, we are only about four months away from the band’s full reunion.

During this last stretch of waiting, I have been marveling and delighting in the efforts of Jin who, as the oldest member of the group, had to go in first. Of all the members, therefore, his was the absence I perhaps felt the hardest and whose return was the biggest unknown. Since his discharge in June, however, Jin has gone above and beyond to make sure ARMY would feel his presence, and his efforts to represent the band in the best possible light have made me so deeply happy. This is appropriate, since one of the things Jin has done since his release has been his first solo album, titled Happy.

Happy, as the name implies, has been jubilant, a beautiful celebration of not only Jin’s return from military service, but a mission statement of who he is as a person. The idea of happiness has always mattered deeply to Jin and for years he’s embraced the idea of holding onto joy and giving that same joy to others in return, something which matches his cheerful, bright, and jocular personality, and which has been conveyed for years in his beautifully emotive songs. Other than the album title itself, however, I think the core of who Jin is as a person and his philosophy for ARMY can be summarized in the album’s tagline of three simple words: “You are loved.”

So today, in honor of my two special anniversaries, I want to look at what this philosophy means in Jin’s world and what it means to me, because the idea of Jin’s pure joy and this love have felt so welcoming to me in a way I’ve really needed. While these messages are of course universal and can speak to anyone regardless of background, the way Jin presents them through his music and through his personal philosophy have resonated for me as an aspec person in ways that I can’t wait to delve into. So, whether you’re ARMY or not, I hope you’ll dive into this topic with me as we discuss the bravery of happiness, the profound nature of platonic love, and how these messages as delivered through great songs resonate with me on a deep level.

--------------------

Although the album Happy has only been around for about three months, Kim Seokjin’s philosophy on happiness has been at the forefront of his personality for as long as he’s been a member of BTS. For years, Jin has been advocating living in the moment, striving to make others laugh, and the value found in joy. We’ve seen this in everything from behind-the-scenes interviews to BTS’s own variety show to Jin’s individual songs. Even before his military service began – a time that was doubtless fraught and tense – this warm and generous worldview was on display in “The Astronaut,” another song which means the world to me.

“The Astronaut” was specifically designed to be Jin’s goodbye song before he began his military service, detailing his love for his fans. In the song’s music video (see below), he casts himself in the role of an alien astronaut, who has crashed on Earth and is now stuck waiting until his ship will once again be able to take him home. During that time, the video shows us he has been dwelling in a typical suburban neighborhood, and on the day when his ship is finally ready for him, we also encounter the neighbor who has befriended him – a little girl on a bicycle. As the astronaut makes his way to his ship, he thinks back to memories he has of spending time with his friend, almost all of which include being encouraged to have fun by the little girl, being capped by the sweet moment in which he teaches her how to ride her bicycle, delighting in her success with a genuine smile.

By the time the astronaut makes his way to the ship, it’s clear he’s having second thoughts. So when the ship activates, rising into the air, he lets it go without him and instead turns around to go back to his real home. Back in his suburban house, he finishes a crossword puzzle that he’d started at the beginning of the video, filling in an answer he was stuck on, which he finally now understands: “family.” He’s no longer a drifting wanderer, ignored and misunderstood by the world, but someone who understands what it means to finally have found home. The video ends with him smiling brightly, delighting as he hears the sound of the bell on the little girl’s bicycle outside.

Naturally, because this song was released before Jin’s military service, there was an inherent level of emotion attached to its heartfelt themes and beautiful lyrics. However, the song also resonated for me on a personal level and, much like the very thing I’m celebrating today, it spoke to me through that dual identity as both an ARMY and an aspec person. When it comes to the former, I’m certainly not alone in viewing “The Astronaut” as a perfect representation of Jin’s feelings for ARMY and that we, like the little girl, have taken Jin into our hearts in return. In fact, in their review for the song, Rolling Stone asserts the same, stating that “the lyrics capture how BTS make their fans feel,” and I know I have certainly felt affinity for the character of the little girl who, like me, is understood by the cosmic wanderer.

But I also maintain that that feeling of being understood is even more dear to me as an aspec person, as it always has been when I talk about BTS. Any long-time readers of the blog know that when I discuss BTS, I discuss their music helping me feel seen and safe, that it’s helped me love myself and embrace who I am, and that being a fan has helped me experience a sense of belonging. Of course, I’ve also discussed the not-so-great ways the fandom or societal attitudes towards the group have likewise made me feel, which is why I value and cherish songs like “The Astronaut” all the more dearly, hanging onto that idea of being understood.

Jin’s music and his attitude remind me of what made me fall in love with BTS in the first place, and I believe his album Happy continues these themes right out of the gate. Before the album’s official release, we were given a pre-release track called “I’ll Be There,” his first new song since his enlistment, and the song’s assertion of “I’ll be there for you” has given me an unspeakable amount of comfort. Shortly thereafter, we received more information about the album, including a poster for its title track “Running Wild,” in which we first saw the tagline that would eventually be attached to the album as well – the aforementioned “You are loved.”

Although the message of this seems very simple, I find it very profound – not only from the standpoint of Jin returning from the military to greet his fans after so long away with this sweet and tender message, but from a broader, perhaps unintentional context. In a world that is constantly obsessed with love songs or finding love or enforcing the stereotypical norms of love, Jin is instead telling us we already are loved. This fits so well with his already pre-existing desire to convey self-love, a message that most people associate with his 2018 empowering masterpiece “Epiphany,” but which I believe has been present in his music since 2016’s “Awake,” with lyrics about continuing to do the best we can even amid failure and hardships.

But even more than that, “Running Wild” in and of itself supports this idea, especially in the song’s music video (see below). The video portrays Jin’s character and his pet dog living in a world where disaster has struck. While everyone around them runs away in panic from a barrage of meteors falling to earth, Jin and his dog instead embrace the idea of “running wild” no matter what happens. Together, they spend the last day on earth not in fear, sorrow, or desperation, but loving every second they spend together, determined to experience happiness for as long as they can.

Of course, making the story all about the bond between a person and their pet is the quickest way to get me onboard regardless, but the theme of the music video and portraying its emotions in this way touch me on an even deeper level. This love is so sweet and pure, and the happiness derived from this bond is not something we see often, and more than that, the confidence to be happy even in the worst of circumstances is something I could truly benefit from in my own life. Something that has really cemented itself in my brain since Jin’s release from the military is that Jin is my hero, and like so many heroes, I want to be more like him, harnessing his ability to rise above the worst circumstances and make something better, just as “Running Wild” portrays.

This is also a theme central to BTS’s previous work. For instance, many ARMYs are familiar with the concept of the “Magic Shop,” a psychological concept about exchanging fear for a positive attitude, which lent its title to their 2018 song. Likewise, many ARMYs have come to describe their affinity for and connection with BTS as their own personal Magic Shop, and I am no exception. In BTS related media, the Magic Shop is even represented as a physical place of healing and comfort where those made weary about the world or the hardships in their life can come to be soothed. If the Magic Shop is a physical place, I truly believe Jin is currently holding the keys to it, working overtime to welcome weary ARMYs all over the world and doing his best to make us smile.

In a world where pain is omnipresent and people profit from our unhappiness, I think it’s incredibly valuable to be someone who freely gives joy to others. But more than that, I think in a world where fear seems to be too powerful to overcome, being happy is a great and admirable form of courage. Just like society is selfishly suspicious of self-love, I think people tend to look down on happiness as frivolous or childish. Jin himself has even received hateful comments telling him to “grow up” or calling him “immature” for the way he acts and views the world. And, while oftentimes this is just an example of the truth that “haters gonna hate” (to quote the BTS song “Mic Drop”), I think this attitude can’t just be chalked up to this unfortunate circumstance. Rather, I think it’s an attitude that society not only entrenches, but encourages.

Something I’ve always believed about self-love is that it’s quietly and powerfully subversive. The world often wants to keep us angry, depressed, and riddled with insecurities, and for that reason, self-love is an unstoppable force with tremendous potential to tear down barriers and overcome obstacles, and I believe the same thing is true about happiness. It’s not easy to see the world and its hardships and make the conscious choice to choose happiness, which makes people like Jin who choose to be warriors for the concept of joy all the rarer and more precious. In songs like “I’ll Be There” or “Another Level” from Happy, Jin acknowledges that pain, fear, and doubt are everywhere, but that we can choose to overcome them with a little help from the things we love and trust. Sometimes that may be our trusted pet dog or a good video game or a catchy song or a warm-hearted K-Pop idol fresh out of his country’s military. But whatever the case, we can use these things to choose happiness in our own lives.

Something I’ve talked about a lot on the blog is that I often struggle with positivity and happiness, and that I’ve embraced the idea that I’ll never be an optimistic person. But I don’t think I have to be an optimist to be happy, nor do I think I have to be perfect. Jin’s philosophy reminds me that I can be happy with myself and love myself just because of my inherent value, and because of the inherent value I can give to others. This message has been especially hard to remind myself of lately, which is how I can tell that I need Happy and its message in my life even more. I think it’s living proof of why we need albums like it and why we need happiness warriors like Jin to give us a laugh after a hard day or a song like the albums final ballad, “I Will Come to You,” which offers us warm hope and consolation.

While I know that my life is full of blessings and I am abundantly lucky, as an aspec person in a world that often feels unfriendly, it’s very easy for me to slide into feelings of depression, anxiety, and self-doubt, which makes Jin’s message that much more important to me. In a world that seems like it wants me to be miserable and wants to see me give up, happiness is even more potent to me, and choosing it is even more valuable. Jin reminds me that choosing happiness doesn’t have to be complicated or even difficult, but is actually more attainable than I realize, even in the midst of my hardships.

I think something we all know but don’t often think about is that life has a tendency of trying to knock our teeth out, but people like Jin remind us that we have a duty to keep smiling all the same. While difficult things happen and it’s okay to feel them, the true struggle is not letting them define us and learning to bounce back from our setbacks. Like I said, I believe it is so brave to wake up every day in a world that wants to make you miserable and make the conscious choice to be happy instead. In fact, I think choosing to be happy is in and of itself an act of self-love and self-love in and of itself is revolutionary. Therefore, more than being suspicious of Jin for being a happy, optimistic person, I would argue we should look with more suspicion on anyone who looks down on happiness or self-love.

And it’s here that I would also like to add something that I think many non-aspec fans may not have consciously considered about the message of Happy – it’s very different from society’s standard metrics of happiness. Harkening back to the music video for “Running Wild,” I believe the idea of having its story center on braving hardship with a trusty pet rather than a romantic partner is a big deal. It would have been very easy to let the song be interpreted in a romantic sense when the lyrics speak about love, but the music video encourages us to think of love in alternate ways, which in turn challenges us to think of happiness in unexpected ways as well, both of which really fit who Jin has tried to be as a person and as a member of BTS.

For example, upon his discharge from the military, Jin’s first official action upon returning to work was to hold a fan meet concert which started with something so profoundly sweet that I still can’t believe it’s real: a “hug event,” in which he shared light hugs (or, if one preferred, a high five) with a group of lucky ARMY who won a raffle. He told ARMY that this event was an idea that came to him while he was in the military missing his fans, and that he wanted to express his gratitude to them in a real and tangible way.

Returning to my earlier mention of the song “Magic Shop,” easily one of the most profound lines of that song is the poignant “You gave me the best of me, so you give you the best of you,” and I think Jin has embodied that every step of the way – both before and after his military service. His message is one of uplifting and empowering the people who love him, letting his light shine on them to kindle and magnify their own light, something that doesn’t happen as often as it should in this world. The lyrics of “I’ll Be There” even address that in the very first lines: “People living busy lives, how does anyone make it in this tough world?” [Video below]

In Happy, Jin acknowledges the tough roads we all face to achieve our happiness and the challenges we face from the world at large, but encourages us to always strive to find it. Even more special, he gladly casts himself as someone who wants to help others achieve their happiness, and in that sense, I find his music so warm, welcoming, and encouraging. While of course I’ve never met Kim Seokjin, nor do I know him on a personal level, I nevertheless truly feel the power of him saying “You are loved.”

In a 2023 K-Drama called The Heavenly Idol, I believe the female character perfectly summarizes the power an idol can have in the lives of their fans when she says that your favorite idol has the power to make you smile and feel happiness, even after a hard day. When you’re having a tough time, she argues, the brightness, warmth, and encouragement even from someone you’ve never met can make all the difference. To me, this speech could perfectly describe Jin and the other members of BTS, beautifully putting into words the power they have to make our lives a little bit better.

For me, the love an idol gives is exactly what I need precisely because it’s not romantic or sexual, but purely about giving a little bit of themselves to make us happy. Since his return from the military, I think Jin has gone out of his way to embrace his idol identity by spreading positive vibes and love. Everything from his music to his videos even to the physical albums of Happy themselves spread this message, as even the photobooks that came with the album contain encouraging quotes about embracing self-love, finding happiness, and pursuing one’s dreams.

As an aspec person living in an oversexualized world, I would argue that we don’t need more love songs or songs about sexual desire, but more people like Jin and his message of real love giving us music that can make us all feel a little better about our lives. And, more than that, I would argue that this isn’t just something I can benefit from or that I need as an aspec person, but something that everyone, regardless of identity, truly needs in their life. Although, I would be lying if I said my identity didn’t help to make that message as delivered by Jin that much more special.

So, this Valentine’s Day, I hope we can all take the opportunity to remember that love comes in many different forms. Whether it’s the love of a pet as Jin portrays in “Running Wild” or the love an idol can feel for his fans like his song “I Will Come to You” beautifully portrays or the love we as fans can feel for that idol in return the way Rolling Stone described when reviewing “The Astronaut,” we all feel love and are loved in many different ways. This year for Valentine’s Day, I feel like I owe it to myself to count my blessing and to reflect on the many ways I am loved in my life, and to reflect on the happiness these things have given me. And, on my dual anniversary, that’s even more appropriate a thing to consider.

I wish you all a day filled with love and happiness – whatever those things mean to you – and encourage you to remember that, in many different ways, you are loved. Speaking of which…

With platonic love,

Rachel, aka The Asexual Geek