Jin's "The Astronaut": A Fan Analysis
Chapter 2 of The BTS Solo Saga, where I dissect and review each of the BTS members' solo albums released since 2022
“The Astronaut” is a single, released in the fall of 2022 by Kim Seokjin, more famously known as Jin of BTS. Although “The Astronaut” is not an album but a single, it was promoted as an album, and physical copies are available for purchase in stores. The song was released on October 28, 2022 trailing not far behind the announcement that all the members of BTS would enlist in the South Korean-mandated military service. Jin himself left for the military in December of 2022 and is set to return in June of 2024.
The song was written in collaboration with Coldplay, most notably Chris Martin, who struck up a friendship with Jin after Coldplay and BTS collaborated for the song “My Universe.” Jin was able to perform “The Astronaut” live just once before enlisting in the military: at Coldplay’s stadium concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The stadium was full of crying BTS fans, the song striking a chord for many who knew Jin would be enlisting soon.
With the context of the military enlistment, it’s hard not to view “The Astronaut” as a song to fans, the ARMY. In fact, Jin himself has said as much:
“Writing the lyrics, I expressed how I feel about ARMY who made me Jin of BTS, and it’s a story of ‘me,’ Jin, who was just floating around without any set destination, and ‘you,’ ARMY, who helped ‘me’ find a dream” (Doolset).
The lyrics and music video for “The Astronaut” are key components of understanding this sentiment fully. Since “The Astronaut” is a singular song rather than a full album, I will perform a deep dive into the song’s lyrics and music video in order to truly explore the connection Jin describes between himself and ARMY.
“The Astronaut” music video begins with Jin sitting on a rock watching a spaceship—his spaceship, presumably—on fire in front of him. This establishing shot implies that Jin is an alien who has crash landed into earth. For convenience, I will refer to the character Jin portrays in the video as ‘Alien Jin,’ and the Jin of the real world as simply ‘Jin.’ In this opening shot, Alien Jin sits in a full suit, a black helmet at his feet. With his spaceship incapacitated, he has no choice but to set up a temporary home on planet earth.
The image soon cuts to Alien Jin sitting in a furnished bedroom, changed out of his suit and now in a cozy sweater. The lyrics begin:
“You and me
An unending history
Oh, you became my universe
The story of us”
The song uses the metaphor of an astronaut—or, generally, space—to describe a relationship. This relationship is a weighted one, as it is “unending” and has come to be Jin’s “universe.” This love is not just the surface-level love of pop songs, but it is something that is all-consuming. The lyrics make frequent reference to the altering of one’s life. Jin sings about having his path rerouted, utilizing the idea of space to convey such a feeling:
“Like that asteroid drifting by without a destination
I, too, was just drifting along
Every dream I found in the darkness
Starting anew, this story”
This love is not just the surface-level love of pop songs, but it is something that is all-consuming.
The song, though it is not necessarily romantic or platonic at this point, is certainly meant to describe a sharp and tangible emotion. At the beginning of the music video, it seems Alien Jin is unable to fully access that emotion. The whimsical nature of the song’s words haven’t caught up with the music video’s character. In fact, Alien Jin doesn’t seem to know there’s a song occurring in his background. He hasn’t sung along at all.
Alien Jin’s inability to describe what the song sings about is clear in the way he struggles to solve a crossword puzzle. This struggle is seen again as he stares at drawings on his wall—children’s drawings—and cocks his head in confusion. Soon, he gives up trying to understand, and a newscaster on his TV announces that a “mysterious beam of light [has been] spotted.”
Alien Jin quickly puts two and two together—his spaceship is working again. He immediately changes into a suit and dons his helmet, preparing to return. He leaves behind his crossword and comfy sweaters in exchange for the life he’s always known.
However, on his way out of his house, Alien Jin runs into a little girl with a bike. Given the way they wave at each other, this is his friend. He gives his helmet to her—his only protection and a piece of his home—and pats her on the head, wishing her an affectionate farewell.
This little girl represents ARMY. She shows up with a purple bike—BTS’s self-declared color that fans have claimed—during the chorus of the song. She is the central figure in this story, and she represents a wide variety of people. The idea that Jin chose to represent his fans with a child could take the route that so many have taken, proclaiming fans of BTS to be exclusively “fifteen-year-old girls” where the words ‘screaming’ and ‘hysterical’ seem to be implied. ARMY has historically been resentful of such claims, largely because BTS fans are very diverse in race, gender, and age. Even just skimming through this Time article, where photographer Hannah Yoon took portraits of BTS fans across the globe, demonstrates the demographic variety within the fandom.
Nonetheless, Jin’s interpretation of ARMY as a little girl manages to avoid these stereotypes of boyband, and BTS, fans. Instead, the presence of the young girl tells us that this song is not a romantic anthem, but the story of a strong familial bond. While the little girl is not Jin’s family in the video (he is an alien after all), their age difference marks a specific type of friendship. This is not a relationship between peers, but a bond that invokes the love felt for and by a child: protective, innocent, and expansive. As the music video and the song’s lyrics continue, it becomes clear that Jin views his fans in a very special and pure way.
This is not a relationship between peers, but a bond that invokes the love felt for and by a child: protective, innocent, and expansive.
Alien Jin walks along the streets, working to return to his spaceship. Soon, he acquires a bike, and as he is riding along the country road, the chorus kicks in:
“When I’m with you
There is no one else
And I get heaven to myself”
Riding the bike reminds Alien Jin of the life he’s leaving behind. So begins a montage of Alien Jin teaching his little friend to ride a bike. Of course, the little girl wears a purple helmet as she rides, showing again that she is the personification of ARMY. The flashbacks show Alien Jin back in his comfy sweater and warm colors. The stark contrast between the tight, formal suit of his alien life and the bright, cozy sweaters of his earth life sets the stage for what’s to come.
Alien Jin holds on to the back of the girl’s bike, pushing her along. She’s clearly afraid of him letting go, shaking her head and pleading with him not to. But he does, and of course, she succeeds in riding the bike on her own. Alien Jin smiles and subtly pumps his fists in triumph.
With the context of Jin in the military, this image is especially emotive. The chorus continues in the background, and we’re reminded that Jin and ARMY being together is a form of “heaven”—a heaven that isn’t possible right now. Instead, Jin has to leave his fans behind for awhile to fulfill his military duties. He is letting go of the bike that he and his fans have been riding together for so long. It’s now time for ARMY to continue their paths independently, more capable than before.
Notably, this scene implies strength. Not only does Jin view ARMY in that protective and innocent way represented through the little girl, but he thinks of his fans as strong, independent, and capable. These two images are typically contrasting—childhood is not thought of as a time of inherent of strength (that’s a discussion for another time). So, Jin showing that he views ARMY in this complex way is unique and refreshing. We see the novelty of this fan-artist relationship presented in the chorus:
“When I’m with you
There is no one else
I feel this way I’ve never felt”
Not only does Jin view ARMY in that protective and innocent way represented through the little girl, but he thinks of his fans as strong, independent, and capable.
When Alien Jin finally arrives at his spaceship, he stares at his old home, presented with a return to his previous life—and he has an epiphany. Suddenly, we’re taken to a new setting: space. Jin looks around, and most importantly, looks directly into the camera—at us—as he sings about how there is no one else. I believe this change of setting and the way Jin looks into the camera is a break in the fourth wall of the video. The fact that Jin notices the camera and sings to it is different from the rest of the video thus far, where Alien Jin was unaware of the music. Clearly, this is not Alien Jin. Presented before us is real-life Jin, serenading his fans directly.
Jin singing in space is interwoven with flashbacks of Alien Jin playing with his friend. They play in a sprinkler together, the little girl dragging Jin in behind her. She draws and shows him her work, takes pictures with him, and squishes his cheeks: all ways of teaching him how to be happy and enjoy his life.
“A life, a sparkle in your eye
Heaven coming through
And I love you”
Alien Jin stares at his spaceship as it takes off, his eyes widening with the line “and I love you,” as if the realization of the sentiment has just hit him. He loves his little friend. He chooses her over the life he could have had. He finally accessed the emotion the song is about, and he knows he cannot give it up for anything.
Alien Jin then hitchhikes his way home. We know now that earth is Alien Jin’s home because he tells us. When the little girl showed him how to draw, it seems Alien Jin was taking notes, because he holds up a drawing to the camera: a house on planet earth, featuring him and a little girl on a purple bicycle.
The last scene in the video takes place without music. The song has ended, and Alien Jin is back on his bed, working on the crossword puzzle he abandoned earlier. Another epiphany hits him, and he finishes the crossword puzzle. The word he’d been missing all along was family.
Alien Jin smiles straight into the camera, and perks up even more when he hears the sound of a bicycle bell outside his house calling for him. The shot cuts out as he is getting up to meet his little friend.
His friend has been waiting for him all along, and when she calls, Alien Jin willingly goes. This serves as another military metaphor: ARMY will wait for Jin, and when he is able, he will go to them. They, of course, will be waiting.
“The Astronaut” is a simple enough fan song, but it encapsulates the story of BTS and ARMY so well, largely due to the generosity present throughout. The video shows that Jin is generous in his love for ARMY. He perceives them sweetly, roots for them, and finds a home in them. Likewise, ARMY is generous with their love for Jin in the way they affirm his life path, offer themselves as a home for him, and wait patiently for his return. If BTS have built a hearth, a house, through their music, then ARMY tend to that hearth and make the house a home.
Although the story of “The Astronaut” is bittersweet with Jin having left for the military not long after its release, it stands as a symbol of BTS and ARMY. It serves as a reminder that these two things will always be intertwined, ceaseless in their attempts to demonstrate their love for one another.
There will always be a friend ringing their bicycle bell on the front stoop, and there will always be a friend inside the house eagerly listening for it.
Never not thinking about Jin's little run/skip towards Chris Martin during that live performance