We have had this song on repeat, and we found a safe place in listening. Yes, “Magic Shop” is one of many BTS songs that has a special place in our collective ARMY heart. This particular song from the Love Yourself: Tear album, appearing as the 7th track, always gives ARMY a comfort space whenever we have a tough time. We at Borasaek Vision have talked about this song before in a previous article. Now, we are going to talk about how this song impacts our lives - a song specially made by the rap line members, Jung Kook, and other composers.
In 2018, we learned from the first official teaser for "Fake Love" that “Magic Shop' is a psychodramatic technique that exchanges fear for a positive attitude." BTS' song though received inspiration from the book called “Into The Magic Shop” by James Doty. In that book, the author wanted us to imagine what we really want in life and envision a clear picture of it. The book also asks what kind of person do we really want to be and urges us to try to be that person. We should find a way to maintain our mind in the middle of chaos instead of feeling overwhelmed by it. No one can do anything about our lives except ourselves, so we have to be careful and be gentle to ourselves to get through everything.
Dr. Friends also talked about the song on their YouTube channel explaining how the psychodrama technique actually works in “Magic Shop.” Psychodrama works by creating a comfortable mood for the patients to get used to new circumstances, so it enables them to focus. Similarly, we see this in BTS' lyrics:
문을 하나 만들자 너의 맘 속에다
let’s build a door in your mind
그 문을 열고 들어가면 이 곳이 기다릴 거야
Once you open the door and enter, this place will wait for you
One of the doctors played a role as an owner of the magic shop and said "you can buy everything you want in this shop or you can see anyone you want but you cannot pay it with your money, instead you have to barter to get what you want.”
The other doctor replied, “I want to buy a decisive heart.”
“But you need to get rid of some heart to get it. What kind of heart are you giving up?”
“Then, would I need to get rid of my timid heart?”
The owner then poured some vitamin water and made him drink it, then told him that the timid heart is gone now and a decisive heart is there instead.
Based on the doctor's point of view, the song might lead the fans to ask "what is my unconsciousness like, thinking about what I really am and what I really want.” In the end, BTS wants us to know about our own true colors and tell our own stories.
Interpretations
You might want to read the lyrics while listening to the song, if so, you can click here!
When the song starts with “I know that you’re hesitating because, even if you speak your true heart, it all comes back as scars,” it gives us a picture of the real life that we have. We may be too afraid to say something that we want or to show the world the real us because people will judge and they cannot accept us whole heartedly. But BTS breaks our anxious feeling with “I do believe your galaxy. I want to listen to your melody, how the stars of your galaxy will embroider your sky.” The boys want us to know that maybe people around us won’t listen to our stories, but BTS will, and they do believe in us for every single step that we take.
Living in this world is like riding a rollercoaster, we cannot always love the days or hate the days, but when things get tougher than we can handle, BTS said “On a day you hate being yourself, on a day you want to disappear forever, let’s build a door in your mind. Once you open the door and enter, this place will wait for you. It’s okay to believe Magic Shop that will comfort you.”
BTS also told us that actually, becoming the best was not what they wanted to be. Instead they want ARMYs to feel comfort and to move our hearts - they just want to take away our sorrow and pain. It shows that probably the purpose can change by the time we start doing something to achieve it but there is nothing wrong with changing the direction as long as we find happiness there.
In the last part, BTS makes ARMY to make a promise with themselves:
You gave me the best of me
So you’ll give you the best of you
넌 찾아낼 거야 네 안에 있는 galaxy
You’ll find the galaxy inside you
So show me (I’ll show you)
Because we finally make BTS see their own purpose, and they know how to give the best version of themselves to their fans, we have to do the same, because we deserve the best version of us, for ourselves.
My Own POV
Personally, I hold this song close to my heart because the lyrics mean a lot to me. They tell me that it is okay for me to be me. That it is okay to not be okay. We cannot always run to get what we want. If things don't go as we want them to be, then it's better to take a break and enjoy the moment we live in. They also help me to create my own personal safe space where no one will judge or have any expectations over me.
They make me believe that in this world, among thousands of people, there are people that believe in me and my stories. They will support me to get through this and wait until I show them the best version of me.
I hope you can find your own "Magic Shop" and feel safe there, because every part of you deserves kindness. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, the world won’t go anywhere - you can always come back if you take a break!
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any audio & visual content in this video except for the editing. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS. No copyright infringement intended.
Written by: Endang
Edited by: Aury
Checked by: Shelley
