Map of the Soul: 7

In February 2020, BTS released Map of the Soul: 7, an album that rounded off their exploration of the human soul and, in the opinion of many, one of the most personal works of their entire career. If the preceding Persona questioned the mask we show the world, this album went deeper, toward what we hide, toward the shadow and the ego, other concepts drawn from Jungian psychology.

The album's title carries multiple meanings. Seven is the number of members, who were then celebrating seven years of working together, but seven is also, in Jung's symbolism, the number of spiritual wholeness, a sign of a person who has walked their path and become whole. The album was therefore conceived as a look back on those seven years, on the scars, fears and wisdom they had gathered along the way. That is exactly why it felt so deeply personal, steeped in reflection, introspection and self acceptance.

A confrontation with one's own darkness runs throughout the album. In Interlude: Shadow, Suga speaks in a distorted voice about the pressures and fears that come with fame, while Outro: Ego, performed by j-hope, brings reconciliation with oneself. The title track ON, recorded with the accompaniment of a marching band, is a bold, thunderous encounter with one's own shadow, and RM described it as a diary of the past seven years, a condensed picture of everything BTS is. Black Swan is also striking, as the group speaks about every artist's deepest fear, the fear of one day losing passion for the very thing they love most. In the tender Inner Child, V, meanwhile, speaks to his younger, frightened self.

The album became the best selling in the history of South Korea, surpassing even the earlier Persona. Unfortunately, the major world tour meant to follow it was canceled due to the pandemic that brought the world to a halt that year, and BTS soon had to find new ways to stay close to their fans.

What makes Map of the Soul: 7 exceptional is the courage to turn pop music into serious introspection. Instead of avoiding difficult questions about identity, success and fear, the members faced them with open eyes and poured them into music. For many fans this is their most mature, most layered work, a journey through the light and darkness of their own soul that ultimately leads to accepting the whole of oneself.