After the release of BTS‘ new album ‘ARIRANG,’ the cultural meaning of the mysterious song ‘No. 29‘ was finally revealed, bringing ARMYs worldwide a piece of history.
On March 20th, the full tracklist of the album was released, generating doubts about their sixth song for not having any lyrics and just a sound followed by silence, which makes fans think there was a problem with their devices.
However, they revealed during their live stream to celebrate the album release that this sound pays homage to their Korean roots, as it was “dedicated exclusively to Korean heritage” due to it being made by the tolling of the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok.
This bell is a relic from the year 771 AD and is considered a masterpiece of Unified Silla art as well as being officially designated as the 29th National Treasure of South Korea, hence the name of the song.
According to the leader of the boy group, RM, the song that started with a sound similar to a gong lasts 1 minute and 38 seconds due to the time it takes for the sound of a bell to fade away, concluding with an intentional silence at the end.
BTS pays tribute to their Korean roots with their new album ‘ARIRANG’
The song ‘No. 29’ was not the only wink to their culture, but the name of the album ‘ARIRANG‘ is a reference to a historic Korean folk song of the same name, which is also included in their song ‘Body to Body,’ and finally, the logo of the album was inspired by traditional Korean symbols, among many other details.
