Last Updated on September 15, 2023 by BTS 101
BTS makes truly beautiful MVs. You should absolutely watch them all! We’ll include a full list of all official videos at the end of this unit.
But unlike other bands that just make pretty videos, several of BTS’ videos – especially from the Most Beautiful Moment in Life era – are tied together to tell a fictional story known as the BTS Universe.
The concept here is that the seven members live in an alternate universe where they never formed the band. Instead, they met in school when they were all assigned to clean out an old storage room as punishment for not meeting uniform guidelines. There, they quickly bonded and formed a secret club where they’d meet, make music, talk and laugh together – and put away their troubles, as each one was hiding a pretty tragic and awful home life that the others didn’t know about.
In this universe, the boys eventually drift apart due to pressure from their varied back stories, and each one falls deeper into their own problems. This eventually leads to some of them reaching a crisis point – death, jail, or commitment to a hospital – and it’s all bad. Luckily (or possibly not?), a magical cycle begins where Jin cycles through time, constantly jumping back over the same three month period over and over again, attempting to solve the boys’ problems and lead them all to a happy ending.
The story is still unfinished, despite showing up in multiple music videos and supporting works, as well as being featured in “notes” – short stories that were released with several of their albums – and an online webtoon called Save Me. The story was eventually turned into a video game called BTS Universe where you can play out scenarios with these alternate universe characters, and now will possibly be made into a kDrama called Youth (although it’s been delayed several times).
Does this mean we’ll finally get our BTS Universe happy ending? It’s not clear, but one thing we can say is that the alternate timeline story is pretty engrossing, and most of the fandom is very strongly attached to the story. Every new release of any BTS video gets combed over in detail looking for clues to the BTS Universe storyline, even if it is not officially labelled as BTS Universe content. ARMY always has hope!
Want to get to know the BTS Universe story? Have tissues handy, then check out these official videos and resources.
Official BTS Universe MVs and other videos
- I Need U MV
- I Need U MV – original version
- HYYH Onstage Concert Prologue
- Run MV
- I Need U Japanese MV
- Run Japanese MV
- Young Forever MV
- Begin short film #1
- Lie short film #2
- Stigma short film #3
- First Love short film #4
- Reflection short film #5
- MAMA short film #6
- Awake short film #7
- Blood Sweat & Tears MV
- Blood Sweat & Tears Japanese MV
- Love Yourself Highlight Reel: The Beginning
- Love Yourself Highlight Reel Short #1
- Love Yourself Highlight Reel Short #2
- Love Yourself Highlight Reel
- Euphoria Theme of Love Yourself
- Fake Love teaser 1
- Fake Love teaser 2
- Fake Love MV
- Fake Love Extended Version
- Epiphany MV
- BTS Universe story (trailer for the video game)
- Film Out (not officially BU, but seems like it should be)
- Yet to Come (not officially BU, but contains callbacks to several of the BU storylines; here’s a Twitter thread suggesting this MV might be the best “wrap up” of the storyline we are ever going to get)
Save Me Webtoon
You can get the actual webtoon online in some places but a great way to read it is via these “filmed” versions that someone recorded and put on YouTube.
The Notes
There are two full-length books available: The Notes 1 and The Notes 2. These are compilations of smaller notebooks with short stories that were issued through various BTS channels in Korean only. The Notes 1 contains stories that were originally released online via Twitter posts, through the Wings concept book, with the HYYH Art Toys, or inserted with the three Love Yourself releases. The Notes 2 collects the stories that were released with MOTS releases.
You can purchase the books online if you look around – they’re crazy expensive because they are out of print now. English translated versions are available.
You can also find PDF scans of both books online if you go digging because ARMY are awesome; plus the Twitter Account @bt_notes spent some time back in 2019 compiling and scanning in several of the notes to that time on their account.
Other places to find translated versions of the notes include:
- The BTS Effect website (summary of The Notes 1, direct translations of notes from The Notes 2 are in progress) – follow @courtneylazore on Twitter who is the owner of The BTS Effect for updates
- The Notes from the LY:Tear albums can be found on the Do You Bangtan? blog: Part 1 and Part 2
- Various on Twitter:
- LY: Her Notes – Translated by @origamifirefly
- LY: Tear Notes – Translated by @origamifirefly
- LY: Answer Notes – Translated by @BOMHARU1230
- MOTS: Persona Notes – Translated by @origamifirefly
- MOTS: 7 Notes – Translated by @origamifirefly
- Original Tweets from the BigHit account
- Tweet from August 13 2017 – set on June 13 2022 – Original Korean, English Trans
- Tweet from May 3 2018 – set on May 22 2022 – Original Korean, English Trans (thread)
- Tweet from August 6 2018 – set on August 3 2022 – Original Korean, English Trans
- Cafe Army blog has a very detailed overview of which stories appeared in which versions of the LY albums, and a summary of all notes
BTS Universe video game
A video game based on the BTS Universe was released in 2020. You can play out scenarios as the BU characters and try to lead them to your own happy ending.
The BTS Universe game allows you to write your own scripts and program the characters to do basically anything you want, so there’s no question that many ARMY are living out their best imaginary lives in the game! Not much that goes on there can be considered canon, but there are some official “visual novels” that are known collectively as “I’m Fine” that retell the major stories from the BU and have a few additional details. So far none of the video game content seems to reveal major new information but there’s definitely the potential to round out or even close out the story on this platform.
Smeraldo Flower Shop Blog
This content is pretty tangential, but there is a fictional flower that shows up in the BU that is called the Smeraldo Flower (looks like a bluish-white lily, you may see Jin with Smeraldo flowers at various points).
In the summer of 2020, around the time of the release of the BU video game, there was an official BigHit fictional online blog called the Smeraldo Flower Shop where a fictional flower store owner made a series of posts, first trying to find the flower, then announcing it had been found and that he’d be stocking it. The blog is still online as of summer 2021 but the last post (from September 2020) says it will no longer be updated. But the story is kind of a fun read!
The Cafe ARMY blog has translations of all posts from the Smeraldo Flower Shop.
List of all Official MVs
Just want to see some pretty pictures? Here’s a list of all BTS official MVs – watch them on YouTube on the Hybe Labels channel.
- 2 Cool 4 Skool concept Trailer
- No More Dream MV
- No More Dream Dance Version MV
- No More Dream – school bus extended take MV
- No More Dream Japanese Version MV
- We are Bulletproof pt 2 MV
- Skool Luv Affair Trailer
- Boy In Luv MV
- Boy In Luv Dance Version MV
- Boy In Luv Japanese Version MV
- Just One Day MV
- Just One Day – Facial Expressions Version
- Just One Day – Choreo version
- Just One Day – One Take Version
- Dark & Wild Trailer (Intro: What am I To You)
- Danger MV
- Danger acoustic version featuring THANH
- Danger Japanese Version MV
- War of Hormone MV
- HYYH pt1 Trailer (Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life – Suga)
- I Need U MV – absolutely iconic
- I Need U Extended MV
- I Need U Acoustic version
- I Need U Japanese Version MV
- Dope MV – also so iconic
- Fire MV
- Fire choreo version
- Save Me MV – filmed in a hailstorm, the Bangtan Bomb of the recording of this video is fascinating to watch
- Young Forever MV
- Boy Meets Evil comeback trailer
- ICONIC Blood Sweat and Tears MV
- Blood Sweat and Tears Japanese Version MV
- Begin short film
- Lie short film
- First Love short film
- Stigma short film
- MAMA short film
- Reflection short film
- Awake short film
- Waste It On Me (Steve Aoki track featuring BTS – they are not actually in the video)
- Heartbeat MV (BTS World soundtrack)
- Black Swan MV
- ON MV
- ON Kinetic Manifesto
- Shadow MV
- Ego MV
- Animated video for We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal
- Dynamite MV
- Dynamite B-side MV
- Dynamite Choreo version
- Life Goes On MV
- Life Goes On, In The Forest version
- Life Goes On, On My Pillow version
- Life Goes On, Like An Arrow version
- Butter MV
- Butter Special Performance MV
- Butter Hotter Remix MV
- Butter Cooler Remix MV
- Permission to Dance MV
- My Universe MV – a collab with Coldplay from their Music of the Spheres album
There are also official videos for several of RM, SUGA, and j-hope’s mixtape tracks, and some MVs for everyone’s solo releases, too. You can find these all on YouTube on the Bangtan TV or HYBE channels:
- RM:
- awakening, do you, and joke from rm
- forever rain, moonchild, and seoul from mono
- Wildflower and Still Life from Indigo
- Jin:
- SUGA:
- AgustD and give it to me from AgustD
- Daechwita from D-2 (legendary!) – fun fact, during the scene where peasant Suga walks through the village marketplace, the two villagers who get into a fight behind him are Jin and Jung Kook!
- People Pt.2, Haegeum, and AMYGDALA from D-Day
- J-hope:
- Daydream and Airplane from Hope World – fun fact, the person in the bed at the very end of the Daydream video is V, in a special cameo!
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- More and Arson from Jack in the Box – fun fact, if you look closely you can spot V in the background of the office scene in More
- on the street
- Jimin:
- Set Me Free pt. 2, Like Crazy from Face
- V:
- Winter Bear
- Someone Like You cover version
- Rainy Days, Love Me Again, Slow Dancing, Blue from Layover – the dog featured in Blue and Rainy Days is actually a Yeontan stand-in as they were filmed in Spain and Yeontan couldn’t make the trip!
- Jung Kook:
Here’s a good YouTube Playlist of BTS MVs – it doesn’t have every single MV but it has all their big hits and some awesome solo stuff too.
Lastly, before a big comeback, BTS usually releases at least one, sometimes two teasers for their title songs. These teaser clips sometimes contain shots that aren’t in the main MV, and are things of beauty in themselves. Check out our full list of MV teasers here.
Bangtan Bomb Dance Practices
Bangtan TV is BTS’ YouTube channel where they release behind-the-scenes clips, making-of videos, rehearsal clips, and sometimes alternate camera views of their TV and concert performances. Videos released on Bangtan TV are called “Bangtan Bombs” and there are literally hundreds on their channel going all the way back to 2012. More on that in a future unit!
In the meantime, here are links to some of their best-known dance practice videos – Bangtan Bombs that are videos of them rehearsing the choreo prior to filming a MV or a live performance. Many of these are very good – with the steady, one-shot camera POV they are often even better than the actual MV or live performance in terms of seeing their cool choreo and synchronization at work.
- Adult Child cover dance practice (bonus: see the one-time live performance of this song at first muster)
- Beautiful cover dance practice
- Concept Trailer dance practice version
- No More Dream dance practice
- No More Dream – original choreo with group ab reveal (terrible quality, because this actually only exists as a tiny inset clip in a different video that shows BTS reacting to watching their debut selves)
- No More Dream – full rehearsal for the 2013 SBS Gayo Daejon performance (with choreographer Son Sung-deuk filling in for SUGA, who had just had appendix surgery)
- We are Bulletproof pt 2
- We are Bulletproof pt 2 / No More Dream – different versions released for 2022 Festa
- Dance Break practice – 3J
- Second Concept trailer dance practice
- A different concept trailer practice
- N.O dance practice
- N.O dance practice – another version released for 2022 Festa
- No More Dream medley dance practice – this is for a year-end festival show and the choreo here is AMAZING. SUGA had recently had appendix surgery and was out, so their choreographer Son Sungdeok is filling in for him.
- Attack on Bangtan
- Paldogangsan
- Boy In Luv dance practice
- Just One Day dance practice – with V cracking up
- Just One day – straight faced version
- Tomorrow dance practice – released for 2022 Festa. (Why is Taehyung wearing one running shoe, and one slide?)
- J-hope solo dance practice (for a concert he did with other dance idols)
- War of Hormone dance practice – outdoors
- War of Hormone – real war version
- War of Hormone – Halloween version
- Danger
- Danger – hanbok version
- Danger – another version released for 2022 Festa
- Totally adorable Blanket Kick (Embarassed) Dance Practice video
- J-hope solo dance practice for BTS Begins
- I Need U dance practice
- Dope dance practice
- Run dance practice
- Butterfly dance practice – released for 2022 Festa
- Boyz With Fun – released for 2023 Festa
- Totally awesome Silver Spoon dance practice
- I Like It pt. 2 (also called Like pt. 2)
- Fire dance practice
- J-hope and Jimin practice Youth for HYYH Highlight Reel video
- Blood Sweat and Tears dance practice
- 21st Century Girl Halloween version
- Am I Wrong dance practice – released for 2022 Festa
- Not Today dance practice
- Spring Day “Lovely” dance practice – with cutesy hamming it up
- Spring Day regular dance practice
- DNA dance practice
- MIC Drop – for 2019 Festa (6th)
- MIC Drop dance practice – MAMA version with dance break
- MIC Drop dance practice – another version released for 2022 Festa (9th)
- Pied Piper – short clip from 2022 Festa, featuring Jimin freestyling at the beginning
- Best of Me – released for 2022 Festa
- Anpanman – released for 2023 Festa
- Halloween version of Go Go
- Fake Love dance practice
- Airplane pt 2 – released for 2022 Festa
- IDOL dance practice
- I’m Fine – released for 2023 Festa
- Seesaw Fan Cam that broke the internet
- Jimin and JK Own It cover dance practice
- Jimin and JK Coming of Age dance practice
- Boy With Luv dance practice
- Boy With Luv – eye contact version
- Boy with Luv – another version from 2023 Festa
- Dionysus dance practice
- Dionysus Choreo version
- Dionysus – MMA intro version
- Make it right dance practice
- Black Swan dance practice
- Black Swan (MMA Awards 2020)
- Black Swan – another version released for 2022 Festa
- ON Dance Practice
- ON practice – MAMA edition
- ON practice – Fix edition
- ON (ON:E Concert dance break)
- Dynamite dance practice
- Dynamite practice – cute and lovely version
- Dynamite dance break practice (without SUGA due to shoulder surgery)
- Butter dance practice
- Butter – Special Performance dance practice released for 2022 Festa, with Taehyung being hilarious
- Butter 3J performance – Megan Thee Stallion rap break
- Butter Grammys 2022 Dance Break (missing Jin as he had a hand injury)
- Permission to Dance dance practice
- From j-hope’s solo appearance at Lollapalooza 2022 in Chicago, there are dance practice videos for Hope World and Dynamite (Tropical Version)
- Run BTS dance practice as performed at the Busan Yet To Come concert
- From j-hope’s solo appearance at MAMA 2022 in Japan, dance practice video for More
- Set Me Free pt. 2 from Jimin’s solo album Face
- Like Crazy from Jimin’s solo album Face
- Haegeum from SUGA’s solo album D-Day
- Seven Performance Video and Seven Single Camera Dance Practice – JK solo song
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