DID YOU KNOW?

that 등골브레이커 (spinebreaker) is compound word made of two words together, 등골 has several meanings: one is ‘stapedial’, which is related to stapes, a small stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear, transmitting vibrations from the incus to the inner ear. another meaning is ‘the furrow of the back’, which is an expression you use when you feel frightened, like when you feel a chill went up your spine. in this song however, 등골 refers to the ‘backbone’, or ‘spinal cord’ (등 means back and 골 means marrow) while 브레이커 is literally the english word ‘breaker’. and that spinebreaker is a coined term (back in late 2012) to describe the phenomenon of parents struggling with the demands of their children for expensive brands such as north face down jackets, canada goose, moncler, and beats by dre, the latter said to be the ‘must-have item’ then. and the cost is said to be so painfully expensive that it twists the spines of parents.

essentially, the word spinebreaker refers to those who burden their own parents financially by asking them to buy expensive stuffs (usually to keep up with the trend).

(caption: mother, please buy me a smart phone)

when the song started with someone saying 왜 불러? 왜 불러? i was confused at first because the phrase could mean “why are you calling me out?” but, it could also mean, “why are you calling them out?”

and then yoongi’s part came right afterwards and he’s like

with shoes worth a couple dozens, padded jacket worth a couple hundreds

with a watch worth a couple dozens, to show off pointlessly

education steered up to the mountain as goes the student identity

the class system of the 21st century is divided into two

those who have (expensive/branded things) and those who haven’t

those with (expensive/branded) shoes and those without

those with (expensive/branded) clothes and those without

and those who try hard to get those things

theres a saying in korean that goes like, 사공이 많으면 배가 산으로 간다, which literally translates to, ‘if there are too many boatmen, a ship will be steered up a mountain.’ it means, if too many people are involved in a task, it will not be done well. like, lack of leadership in a situation leads to confusion. in other words, the boat doesn’t go where it’s supposed to. you didn’t serve the purpose of being a boatman. it holds similar meaning to the english equivalent of ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ and in some context, ’too many chiefs and not enough indians’

so when yoongi said this, it’s as if he’s saying, well i’m calling out the spinebreakers because with all these expensive stuff students compete to own and brag at school, it defeats the very purpose of going to school, which is to learn, not to become posers. and since there are many students like this, as opposed to students who really care about learning at school, yoongi just calls out the spinebreakers because if you guys keep up with this attitude, you will go nowhere in your life

and when he further laments,

what’s up with this? are you falling behind on the trend?

like a child you whined and complained to get those expensive stuff, did i hit a nerve? (am i wrong about this?)

just like those padded jacket, you keep on filling it with greed

even after seeing your parents break their spines (to get what you want) you still have it your way

“my friends, they all have it, so you can’t not buy it for me.”

(ayo baby) stop being so childish

i’m saying you won’t freeze to death if you don’t wear that padded jacket

before you fill that padded jacket with goose down feathers

fill your head with common decency, before it’s too late



fyi goose down feathers are fine feathers found under goose’s tougher exterior feathers, they are fluffy <33 and a fine thermal insulator used for paddings in jackets, duvets, pillows and sleeping bags.

BUT CAN WE GO BACK TO THE CHORUS?? BECA U SE ?

wow~ you feel good wearing your dirty clothes

you’re something else, rockin, rollin,

swaggin, swagger, (that’s) WRONG!

why on earth would you do that? are you crazy? baby,

that is what will suffocate your heart, those dirty clothes

(la la la la la la la la la) YOU ARE a spinebreaker

(la la la la la la la la la) you’re your parent’s spinebreaker

(la la la la la la la la la) some day you will regret it

(la la la la la la la la la) damn it, those spinebreakers!

please appreciate the amount of ridicule they’re throwing at those spinebreakers asjhhsgd



obviously yoongi doesn’t agree with this kind of culture and i remember last time he said that he wrote this song thinking about his friends in high school back then, and the fact that he never gotten around to wear padded jackets and expensive clothes… which is why he’s all like, ‘i don’t really get it’



and it’s brilliant because afterwards, namjoons lines are the complete opposite

why are you calling me out, kid?

you just.. don’t know how good you have it these days, huh?

meddling in other ppl’s life, it’s a bit impudent dontcha think?

those specious empty words, why do you keep on saying htem?

i’m saying the money i receive, is the money i’ll be spending

the preference of 50 million all of you (the population of south korea)

you would’ve been satisfied if i agree with it (but i don’t)

please, just don’t mind me and do well with your own life

your life, you roll it

if you were me, i wouldn’t say anything (about you wearing padded jackets)

yeah, okay, fine, my padded jackets are dirty

they’re hella expensive, filthy, and not pretty at all

(but i say) i really want those stuff, what should i do?

even all of my friends who are poorer than me have them

(and i say) if i don’t want to be bullied/left out/an outcast i have to buy them

don’t everyone (kids) at this age are usually like this?

yeah I dunno, yes i’m loco, is it a no-no?

i know they ain’t cheap but they got mojos

but i, i will do my best at everything i gotta do

my parents spine i won’t break them

the real ‘breaker’ is you,

one who’s even though all grown up, but still stays in the corner of a room (does nothing in life)

fyi 속 빈 강정 is a korean proverb that literally means there’s nothing inside cracker. because realistically speaking, there should be something like honey, oats etc. inside a cracker, but they aren’t any either missed or purposely not placed inside the cracker. it could be interpreted as something that could look amazing but might not be as good as we expected it, so when namjoon said this, he is kind of mildly repulsed by yoongi’s better person persona when you don’t know a thing about my life and how i spent my money.

the way namjoon said 너나 잘 사셔 is just delightful to me because 잘하세 means ‘do well’, or ‘you did well’ but together with 너나, the sarcasm is real, it gives a subtle ridicule towards the people who’s on yoongi’s boat, like don’t bother about me, if you have that much time, concentrate on yourself instead. its a famous phrase ppl used to say back in 2006ish its a line from the movie 친절한 금자씨 if i’m not mistaken, the english title is ‘sympathy for lady vengeance’.

in other words, 왜 불러? in the beginning was most probably namjoon, heh, and he just dissed his hyung ;pp

since namjoon took the other point of view, its kinda understandable, he probably has his group of friends that might be in it together with the trend but instead of solely using their parents money, they use their own money received from either part-time jobs or simply from their pocket money that they had saved, or a combination of both. which is why namjoon was all like, what don’t you understand? i’m using my own money to buy stuff that i want.

WHICH IS WHY when hoseok part came up i died a little because first of all his voice, second of all his half singing half rapping voice, and third of all its hoseok, guys he just single handedly put everyone to place by saying

you too (have) dirty clothes i too (have) dirty clothes

everyone has experienced it before, wearing them and walking down the streets

when you go out you put strength in your shoulder (walk with proud)

(and act like) everyone’s smaller than me like (i am) gulliver

(look) whatever you put on, i understand,

but you are too much, you will get a stomach ache, you will regret it

you keep on with the swag act, but ruled out your parents feelings?

alright, okay, i won’t stop you, now let your heart decide.

B O I

and i really like the whole sentence 뭘 입어도 이해해, 근데 넌 너무 배가 부른 상태 체해, 후회해 because hoseok is literally saying i’ll understand whatever you chose to wear (expensive clothes or not) but you are too…(much) the condition of your stomach right now is that it’s too full, you’ll upset your tummy and you’ll regret that. 체하다 refers to a condition where food gets stuck in the stomach, you know that ugh feeling you get when you eat too much or too fast. and to think how your parents are the ones who are feeding you, making sure you always have enough to eat. how could you, consider everything, have the gall to disregard you precious parents’ feelings and ask them to buy you expensive stuff just to keep up with your friends, who really, aren’t the ones feeding you?

the metaphor’s brilliant really~

and i love how despite everything, spinebreaker is in actual fact, about filial piety, about respecting your parents and not burdening them with unnecessary demands cos its not cool. i love this song because it doesn’t explicitly tell you what to do or what is right and what is wrong. rather, it gives you both perspectives and that’s really lovely because despite the differences they all agree that, okay. you can wear expensive clothes all you want, or not, just as long as you don’t burden your precious parents~

so yeah, please love and appreciate your parents/guardians any parent figures who have gone through a great deal to bring you up in this cold cold world :)

