Namjoon seems to be reading an art book on Korean art, we are not sure which at the moment. The page he shared is about this painted fan by Yi Insang called "Songbyeon Cheongbokdo" 📖
Lee Ijin is not the writer of the poem, it was written by Park Eun, a literary man who is considered the greatest genius poet of Joseon, who was executed at the age of 26. These words were written in defiance of the king at the time. 📖
The painting's name can translate to "Gazing at a waterfall under a Pine Tree" and it also features in a set of 6 fan paintings issued as stamps in South Korea in 2021
In 2015, during the I Need U promotional period, Namjoon was spotted reading "Demian" by Hermann Hesse backstage at KBS Music Bank! 📖
"Demian" was later revealed to be the inspiration for the WINGS era in late 2016, over a year later!
"Demian" by Hermann Hesse follows the story of Emil Sinclair, a young man who feels like he doesn't quite belong. Accompanied by his mysterious friend Max Demian, Emil seeks to understand himself and to learn what it means to exist and to grow up. 📖
The book "Demian" had a surge of popularity during the WINGS era, and this even featured in a news segment on KBS. They talk about the overseas popularity of BTS, J-Hope introduces the meaning of 'BTS' and Namjoon explains why the book was an inspiration. 📖
In Fall 2017 during the LY: Her promotions, Namjoon said in a KBS interview that he has been revisiting "1984" by George Orwell after a long while, and how this has provided him with a different experience of the book 📖
"1984" by George Orwell is a literature classic describing a man's life (Winston's) in the totalitarian regime of Oceania. Winston has to navigate the themes of love, duty, freedom, and fear in a haunting and still-relevant glimpse into a controlled society. 📖
The book cemented itself as one of the most important works of the 20th century, and still today words like "doublethink" find use in our daily lives.
What are your thoughts about the relevance of "1984"? Did you enjoy the book? Have you read it recently? 📖
In late 2016, Namjoon talked about how as a trainee he had to write a song about a friend, which turned into the J Cole cover Like A Star with JK. Namjoon compared his friend's first sentence to him with the first line of "The Stranger" by Albert Camus 📖
The first line of Namjoon's verse in the 2012 predebut J Cole cover Like A Star is "Just like a star, my gray life". He was inspired by his friend's story to contemplate the uncertainty of youth.
The Stranger by Albert Camus is a classic of French literature. It is a short novella following Meursault, a young Frenchman in colonized Algiers. Meursault is very detached from everything around him, including his own life, and is very much a "black or white" literal person. 📖