[Video] A short but clear message contained in BTS's 'SWIM' teaser.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) PD Song Yeong-in = On the 18th, BTS released the teaser video for the title track 'SWIM'. The video, together with the previously released 'Arirang' (ARIRANG) animation trailer, contains the message BTS wants to convey.

In the 'SWIM' teaser, a woman runs into a maritime museum where various ships are exhibited and cannot take her eyes off one particular vessel. Fans speculated that the vessel might be the 'Ulysses' (Frigate 'Ulysses') exhibited at the Maritime Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ulysses means Odysseus in Greek, and it evokes the perilous homecoming narrative of the hero Odysseus from Greek and Roman mythology. The strategist who devised the Trojan Horse, he faces numerous trials on his way back to his homeland Ithaca after victory in the war, including monsters, the wrath of gods, and temptations.

The article explains that Odysseus's journey appears to overlap with BTS's current situation, returning as a complete group after a roughly four-year military hiatus. It notes that even amid great expectations and responsibilities, what they cling to is their identity.

It also reports that the 'Arirang' animation trailer released on the 13th portrays the story of Korean students in Washington, USA, who first recorded 'Arirang' in 1896. The article adds the interpretation that, just as they brought to light the previously little-known first recording of 'Arirang', BTS's message can be read as a pledge not to forget their beginnings.

At the end of the article, it says that BTS speaks of the past, present, and future using cultural heritages such as Greek and Roman mythology and the history of 'Arirang' as metaphors, and that the 'Arirang' album will be released on the 20th.

[email protected]