Sometime in the Spring of 2019, a Japanese student approached a professor at the International School of Analytical Psychology in Zurich. The student said that his book, Jung’s Map of the Soul, was recommended on the website of a K-Pop band. The professor was pretty surprised by the information but was even more curious when he learned that the next album from this band he’d never heard of was entitled Map of the Soul: Persona.

As an ARMY, you probably know this band quite well, but you might not be as familiar with the professor I just mentioned—Dr. Murray Stein. He got hooked into Carl Jung in 1968, when he was 24. When he found out about BTS, Dr. Stein was a 75-year-old Jungian Psychoanalyst, author, and lecturer. And now, he was about to fall into the rabbit hole. Although he personally preferred classical music over “noisy” k-pop, Dr. Stein was quite happy that BTS was helping young people learn about Jung’s ideas. In fact, he ended up writing an entire book about Jung and BTS.  

The possibility that younger folks will seriously explore these themes and give attention to living more authentically, loving themselves , and thereby create a more loving world is heartening

- Dr. Murray Stern, Map of the Soul: 7 - Persona, Shadow and Ego in the World of BTS

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist famous for founding a new type of psychology called analytical psychology. He believed there was more to the mind than what we can see on the surface. He studied the deeper parts of the mind and introduced important ideas like the collective unconscious, archetypes, and introversion/extraversion. Jung's work has greatly influenced psychology, philosophy, and spirituality. It offers insights into the human soul and its connection to the world around us.

In 2022, from the depths of my own rabbit hole, I agreed with Dr. Stein that a music band finding inspiration in the works of a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst born in the 19th century was something I didn’t expect. So, like with everything else BTS-related I’d discovered, I started researching more about it. In this series, I will try to explain how Jung’s ideas relate to the BTS albums, hoping you’ll find it as fascinating as I did.

Intro: Persona

I’m not ashamed of it, this is the map of my soul

The intro of the album doesn’t beat around the bush. RM, like a master of ceremonies, introduces us to the Map of the Soul. Jung didn’t carve the concept himself, it was our friend Dr. Murray Stein, who came up with it. In 1998, he condensed his admired psychologist’s studies of a person’s psyche, spread across 18 volumes, in the book BTS recommended on their site. The book is intended to be an accessible introduction to analytical psychology for students and trainee psychoanalysts. 

The Map of the Soul

This is a graphic of the Map of the Soul, as defined by Dr. Murray Stein, based on the works of Carl Jung. This graphic makes it easier to see each element that is part of it. I took a stab at drawing this version; below is a brief explanation of each of its parts. We will refer to these in this and the other posts of these series. 

First thing we notice, at the core, is the two center points of the Soul: ego and archetypal Self. The ego perceives the outer world through the senses, represented by an eye. The outer world is probably the easiest part to understand as it encompasses everything in the physical world that we interact with, in contrast with the inner world which is harder to understand, which we are usually less familiar with.

The ego is in the center of consciousness, on top of the unconscious. When I say I, it’s the ego speaking, the one I am aware of. The ego understands consciously what being human is, encompasses all the things we know about ourselves, and it is informed and affected by all our memories, traumas, emotions, and everything else we can feel with our body. In the graph, there’s an eye between the ego and the outer world, representing how the ego experiments reality, through the senses. 

The persona is the version of ourselves we present to the outer world. It’s the mask that we wear, the roles we interpret for others, our representation of ourselves for the outer world.

Behind the ego and the persona is the shadow. Whatever positive we show to the world through our persona, is counterbalanced by a darker, unacknowledged darker side, the shadow, which represents all the unwanted, shameful, and unacceptable parts of the psyche. We usually bury them deep inside, in the unconscious, hoping they will never be discovered.

In the unconscious lies the anima-animus, they are opposite-gendered figures of the soul. Men usually possess a feminine anima while women have the masculine equivalent, the animus. They both connect to the deeper levels of the unconscious. 

At the very bottom of the map is the primordial fire, rooted in the collective unconscious. There is where symbols, fears, and inspiration emerge. All humans can sense the fire, but it’s definitely not as easy to perceive as the outer world.

As Quince mentioned in week 33, the video for “Intro: Persona” doesn’t revolve just around the concept of the persona. You can also see the words ego and shadow on the chalkboard behind him. The song is only a preface to what’s to come: BTS invites us to look deeper into who they are as humans. And RM approaches it head-on by asking the ever-present, ever-complex “Who am I?”. But what does the persona have to do with who we are?

The persona, as defined by Carl Jung, is the mask that we show to everyone around us. In the graphic above, the persona is right on top of the consciousness, on the border with the real world.  When the world looks at us, that’s what the world sees. The persona isn’t our true self, it’s what we allow the world to see, and it can change depending on the role we are playing in our lives. We all have multiple personas: mother, daughter, wife, professional, etc. 

In the case of BTS, their most public persona is as entertainment artists. We see them on the stage, with colorful hair, beautiful clothes, razor-sharp choreos, beautiful voices, and mesmerizing physiques. But in this album, they're trying to show us that there's more to them than what we see on stage. They want to show us their real stories and struggles. They cannot be who they are on stage all the time—it would be strange (remember, don’t make it weird). Imagine if they went camping in their stage costumes, in full makeup and hair, and started dancing and singing in the middle of nowhere... Alright, we do get some dancing on occasion, but we know they are just goofing around. Having them be their full-on stage personas all the time would not make sense. 

The word persona comes from Latin, it means mask, like the ones actors in classic Rome and Greece wore on stage while they played characters in a play. In a way, we’re all actors in the stage of life, even the most introverted people. In this song, RM seems to be struggling with his persona and the demands that being a celebrity has imposed on him. He chose this life, but simultaneously, he is desperate to understand who he is and what he is. His great talent has taken him far, but his immense fame doesn’t always make him happy—it leaves him feeling empty at times. This, along with other songs in the Map of the Soul series, is a song of introspection, of looking behind the persona and finding who we really are. Namjoon’s making this confession to us, while he’s still RM, the entertainer, which makes it even more interesting. And he’s giving up a glimpse of the real Namjoon and what he’s feeling. 

“Intro: Persona” is an appetizer of what is to come.  This prefaces a Namjoon that will be more open and self-reflecting, which we’ve seen a lot in his latest work. His albums Indigo and Right Place Wrong Person, have given us even more insight into RM’s evolution as an artist and, even more importantly, as a person. In this particular song, the lyrics are full of relatable self-reflection. 

My shadow, I named him “hesitation” and called him so

Once he became it, he has never hesitated

Whether it is under the stage or under the light, he keeps appearing 

and stares at me fiercely like heat haze (Oh shit)

This shadow grows bigger and more threatening as he becomes more successful. In an interview in early 2018, he called it anxiety. RM acknowledges this feeling but decides to embrace it, befriend it, and not let it stop him. The Jungian shadow, the opposite of the persona, has a slightly different meaning, but I’ll discuss it more when we cover “Interlude: Shadow”.

Impostor Syndrome

Back to RM’s song—in ”Intro: Persona” he also speaks about immaturity, being drunk, and trying to hide when his superstar persona makes him feel uneasy. RM has an entire laundry list of why he thinks he’s not worthy or good enough:

Someone like me isn’t good enough for (doing) music

Someone like me isn’t good enough for (delivering) the truth

Someone like me isn’t good enough for (answering) the calling

Someone like me isn’t good enough to be a muse

My flaws that I know, maybe those are really all I’ve got

The world is actually not interested at all in my clumsiness

He seems to be suffering from a severe case of Impostor Syndrome and bluffing his way through everything—faking it until he makes it. But even while regret eats him up inside, he finds a way to ”rise and stand up every time.” And the reason is “me”:

The ‘me’ who I remember and who people know

The ‘me’ who I created by myself to speak my mind [...]

The ‘me’ who I want to be

The ‘me’ who people want

The ‘me’ who you love 

And the ‘me’ who I craft

The ‘me’ who’s smiling

The ‘me’ who’s crying sometimes

Living and breathing every second, every moment, even now

That “me” is at the heart of the “Map of the Soul” and who we are. It’s the Self, who we were since the day we were born, the ultimate resource of the psyche. The Self gives us the energy to raise us daily, inspiring and driving us. It’s who we truly are.

The Third Name

T.S. Eliot wrote that every cat has three names: the name everyone knows, the name that only the cat’s close friends and family know, and the name only the cat knows. Similarly, people also tend to have three names. In public, you might be known by the name your parents gave you—the one on your birth certificate. This very much comprises your public persona—what the world knows you by (and also, the IRS.) Your family and close friends might use a nickname or a term of endearment, a private name only your closest ones know you by. And the third is the name of your deepest self, a name you might not even be aware of. 

It’s interesting how the BTS members also seem to have multiple names. Their stage names, their legal names (in Jimin’s and Jungkook’s case they are the same as their stage names), and the various nicknames we have given them over the years, from Tae Tae to Kookie.

Namjoon declares “my name is R”. This might be his deeper Self-name, the name associated with Namjoon's “me”. If that’s the case, it’s an interesting choice. R is a letter that comprises all of RM’s rapper names, including Runch Randa and Rap Monster. But it also connects with the lyrics in Answer: Love Yourself and is also mentioned in Voice, the first song of his first mixtape:

Yesterday’s me, today’s me, tomorrow’s me. Without exception, altogether, they are all me.

- Answer: Love Yourself

If you really think you ready to fly with my power

This is what R is about, fella the time is now.

- Voice

The Theory of Individuation

Jung's concept of individuation explains that the ultimate goal of human development is to become a unique and fully realized individual. This process involves integrating the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche, including the shadow, anima, and animus. By acknowledging and embracing these unconscious elements, individuals can achieve a sense of wholeness and self-actualization. This journey is a lifelong process that involves confronting personal challenges, exploring the unconscious, and developing a unique sense of self.

By revealing his deeper name, Namjoon is choosing to fully open himself, baring his soul to us. He’s sharing this because, as he says “I’m not ashamed of it”, and proceeds to drive the path for “Dear myself”, giving himself fully and truthfully. 

Knowing this deeper name is very important because it brings us closer to fully understanding ourselves, in all our complexity. This secret name comes from our unconscious mind and includes all parts of ourselves. It’s not just about the mask, the persona, it goes deeper than our ego, and calls us from the depths of our psyches, from our most private selves, with all the light and the shadow. Jung called this process of finding our deeper name individuation. It can take a lifetime and involves letting go of our past experiences, fears, traumas, and shame. Only then we’ll be able to live authentically. Only by doing this, we can truly “love ourselves” and, in turn, love others fully. 

BTS has made these themes surface several times in their discography. However, Namjoon’s address to the United Nations in 2018, is a particularly important moment for sharing this philosophy and taking it further:

So, let’s all take one more step. We have learned to love ourselves, so now I urge you to “speak yourself.”

I would like to ask all of you. What is your name? What excites you and makes your heart beat?

Tell me your story. I want to hear your voice, and I want to hear your conviction. No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin colour, gender identity: speak yourself.

Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself.

I’m Kim Namjoon, RM of BTS.

I’m a hip-hop idol and an artist from a small town in Korea.

Like most people, I made many mistakes in my life.

I have many faults and I have many fears, but I am going to embrace myself as hard as I can, and I’m starting to love myself, little by little.

In a way, Namjoon's asking us to find our true-self name and express it to the world. He shares with us what he has found so far about himself, not only through this speech, but also through his lyrics and BTS’ entire discography. Realizing this floored me—BTS generously shares their humanity with us and it’s really one of the most beautiful gifts you can get from anybody.

BOY WITH LUV

Where’s your soul? - RM, Intro: Persona

As I mentioned in one of the Demian blogs, the anima materializes in the “Boy With Luv” M/V. Who is this anima figure? At the beginning, we see Halsey in a booth. Suddenly, she seems to hear a calling. She closes the booth to join the guys later in the song. 

Maybe the phrase in RM’s Intro is the summon Halsey hears. The call that makes the anima, which means “soul” in Latin, appear in the second song of the album. In Jungian psychology, however, the anima-animus has a slightly different meaning than its Latin origin. The anima-animus is a figure of the soul that is the opposite gender of the person and it resides in the subconscious. Men usually have a feminine anima, while women have the masculine equivalent, the animus.

Considering this, it’s not surprising that the female representation of BTS is a woman. And even more interesting, a woman who is American, not South Korean. This seems to symbolize how BTS has also found a soul in their immense, mostly female, international ARMY community. This doesn’t replace their South Korean identity but compliments it. This might be a stretch and slightly delulu, but it seems fitting.

Also, I think it’s not a coincidence that in the M/V, they wear pink clothes and soft accessories, some with flowers (V’s flower ring is a highlight). Pink, although originally considered a masculine color,  is now mostly associated with femininity, which matches the intention of representing the opposite-gendered side. 

The Pink paradox

Historically, pink was considered a masculine color, often associated with strength and vitality. Pink was a boy color because it derives from red, a stronger and more passionate shade. For example, in 19th century England, while adult men wore red uniforms, boys wore pink ribbons and clothes. Boy toddlers also commonly wore skirts and dresses.

However, over time, societal norms shifted, and pink became linked to femininity. In 1918, a U.S. trade catalog for children’s clothing recommended blue for girls because it was more delicate and dainty. The transition of pink into a feminine color took place gradually in the 30s, fully establishing pink as a girl’s color in the 40s. As a result, pink, once a symbol of masculinity, evolved into a cultural icon of femininity.

Mature Love

“Boy With Luv” is about finding joy in the small details of love with your other half. The title “with love” is very intentional. There’s a difference between being “in love” or “with love”. When you are “in love”, the emotion controls you and might cause you to do crazy, out-of-character things. When you are “with love”, you are in control. It’s a more mature way to connect with the emotion, contrasting with their previous take from Boy in Love. The Korean title, A Poem for Small Things—within the context of “with love”—is where authentic love thrives. It’s about appreciating your partner for the little things and the small moments, which ultimately are more important than big romantic gestures. 

BTS' celebrate the power of love and talk about how it can transform you and bring you joy. The Myth of Icarus, which was part of the symbols in their album Wings, appears again in the lyrics here, but with an entirely different meaning:

With the wings of Icarus you gave me, not towards the sun but towards you, let me fly

Considering that Icarus originally flew too close to the sun and melted his wax wings, the lyrics invite us to fly to love, towards the beloved, with joy but without letting it consume us. BTS is singing about respecting the process of individuation—which leads to one having a more controlled and realistic approach to love.

MIKROKOSMOS

Herman Hesse, who wrote Demian, was inspired by the work of Carl Jung. And in the Demian blog, I mentioned multiple times how dreams play a vital role in the plot. An important principle of Jungian philosophy is the importance of dreams. In our sleep, dreams surface from the collective unconscious and are informed by the Self. 

Collective unconscious and primordial fire

The collective unconscious is at the very bottom of the map of the soul. The primordial fire is at the core of the energy that drives humanities and even our universe's history. Creativity, survival, evolution, and even our most basic instincts come from this energy. We can become detached from it or it can engulf us in its flames and it’s intimately linked not only to ourselves, but to humanity as a whole.  Billy Joel’s haunting words We didn’t start the fire, It was always burning since the world’s been turning, are a powerful metaphor of the primordial fire.

According to Jung, dreams teach us important lessons we need but don’t know yet. He encouraged his patients to keep a dream journal, so they could reflect on their dreams and interpret what they meant to them, in the context of their own lives. Following his own recommendation, Jung reported a dream he had when he was sick:

I had a wonderful dream in my illness. I dreamt that I saw a star in a pool of water. And I realized that I am the microcosm reflected in the pool of the unconscious that is the macrocosm. And this gave me a great feeling of well-being.

- Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung

This idea—that humans are a microcosm reflecting the macrocosm—is not new. The macrocosm is the cosmos, the totality of everything, including yourself. The microcosm is your inner world, what you consciously know about yourself, but also the unconscious. If we believe that one mirrors the other, we recognize that our inner world is as large, diverse, complex and as rich as the cosmos. 

Realizing that we have an inner self that’s not dependent on others and is connected to the stars, reflecting the cosmos, is important in the process of individuation. If you are fixed in your persona, your sense of self and your value will always depend on what others think of you or how they perceive you. Your sense of worth should come from within yourself. And with that, we return to the concept of “love yourself.”

You shine brighter than anyone

Another song on Map of the Soul: Persona, “Mikrokosmos”, also makes frequent references to the stars:

In one person, there is one story

In one person, there is one star

Shining with 7 billion lights

7 billion worlds

Those seven billion lights and worlds are every single human on the planet. Every personality is an individual, which in turn relates with other individuals. In The Red Book, Jung says that we all have our own star, our own destiny. By fulfilling our destiny and becoming ourselves, we will return to the star with which we are irrevocably linked since birth. 

BTS sings about seeing each other's lights—sharing the realization that ARMYs are also single complex microcosms in the immense universe. And ARMY, in turn, recognizes the members as seven personalities—seven full individuals beyond their Idol personas. And somehow, this realization gives them a sense of shared destiny as they have established a relationship that’s a full universe on its own… our own BTS+ARMY cosmos.  

In the next part of this series we will explore Make It Right, Home, Jamais Vu, and Dionysus. Meanwhile, if you are interested in looking more into Jungian Psychology, I recommend the book Map of the Soul:7 . Persona, Shadow & Ego in the world of BTS by Murray Stein. You can also check out the podcast “Speaking Jung”, which has several episodes dedicated to BTS, and includes interviews with Dr. Stein (among others).