A look at some of the heartbreaking symbolism behind BTS’ Suga’s newest track ‘Amygdala’

By: Mia Borlongan - 2 years ago

BTS’s Suga has dropped an emotional bomb.

The music video of his personal track, ‘Amygdala’, from his first solo single, D-Day is out now, and ARMYs are so busy trying to uncover all the symbols behind it.

HYBE LABELS, the South Korean boyband’s management, released the video for the song on Monday. It comes with a trigger warning as it contains sensitive themes like self-harm and depression. In an interview with fellow K-pop artist IU, Yoongi mentioned that ‘Amygdala’ is very close to his heart as it talks about his life story, which includes the worst experiences that have led him to where and who he is today.

“It was a song where I accessed my unconscious mind to see why this person called Min Yoon-gi exists until now,” the rapper said.

‘Amygdala,’ refers to the integrative center of the brain that is responsible for emotions such as motivation, fear, anxiety, and other emotional responses. Aside from the captivating title of the song, fans are much more interested to unveil different symbolic representations of Agust D’s recent music video:

Shows his past traumatic injury 

Before moving to the peak of his music career, Suga, also known by his moniker, Agust D, faced a lot of hurdles and bad experiences along the way. In the music video, he bravely included a scene of his traumatic road accident when he was still a trainee that made him suffer from a shoulder injury for years.

Yoon-gi opened up about his road accident during ‘BTS’ Burn the Stage’, where he was involved in a car accident as a delivery boy. His shoulder got dislocated and he thought that his management wouldn’t allow him to debut as an idol; the agency never gave up on him instead, which turned out to be a major shift to his career in the industry.

Shows how he suffered from depression due to his parents’ illnesses 

Aside from his road accident, Agust D also encountered family problems when his mother had to undergo heart surgery and his father was diagnosed with liver cancer. He suffered from episodes of depression and a series of self-harm due to multiple traumatic events in his life. In the video, you can see flashbacks of events, followed by Yoon-gi scratching his face using a sharp tool.

In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Suga dove into the harsh reality of his depression and the psychiatric treatment he had to endure to keep his sanity. Fortunately, he gained a lot of support from his loved ones — including his fans, who are always there for him through thick and thin.

Features almonds which convey different meanings

The term ‘Amygdala’ originated from the Greek word, ‘amygdale,’ which means ‘almond’ due to its almond-like shape. It is a gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere that plays an important role in motivation and fear. In the video, Yoon-gi is asking his amygdala to save him from grief and set him free.

Almonds, aside from the amygdala’s shape, are very crucial for the singer’s life because his mother taught him to eat almonds to make the size of his amygdala bigger. In the book entitled, ‘Almond’, he mentioned that at every meal of the day, there were almonds on the table. There was no way for him to get rid of them, so he found himself eating almonds, even though he didn’t like them at first.

 

 

Represents his two different personas

The music video portrays Yoon-gi’s past and present selves: Suga and Agust D. Based on the lyrics, Agust D (Yoon-gi’s new self) is asking Suga (his old self) to save him from sadness, but the latter failed to do so. The scar on Agust D’s face is the symbol of his painful journey as Suga. However, as the scar heals, it also marks the end of Agust D’s existence.

Shows how he blooms like a Lotus flower at the end

The Lotus flower symbolizes ‘enlightenment’ and ‘rebirth’. In the video, Yoon-gi will bloom like a Lotus flower and he will reach his full potential at the end of the dark tunnel.

 

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