The Bangtan Universe (also known as BTS Universe and abbreviated as BU) is a fictional storyline that BTS/Big Hit created and wove throughout their video content. 

The story has been expanded further through their Save Me webtoon, HYYH Notes, and BEGINS ≠ Youth drama. It’s most largely present throughout their Youth Trilogy and WINGS eras.

Official content related to the BU will have the tag “BU content certified by Big Hit Entertainment” or the corresponding logo:

Plot summary:

The BU tells the story of seven friends who are tied by fate and find themselves caught in a cycle of repeated suffering. As they all go their separate ways and face various hardships, one of them is given the opportunity to go back in time to bring them all back together and try and set things right. 

Note: While the BU characters have the BTS members’ likenesses, these are fictional characters and these events did NOT happen in real life.

Content warning: The BU contains sensitive and potentially triggering topics including abuse, suicide/suicidal ideation, and homicide.

BTS has music videos, teasers, trailers, and highlight reels that are full of scenes and clues related to the BU’s storyline and boys’ relationships. 

“I NEED U” — when the members first began portraying their characters in their music videos —  serves almost as a short film featuring the BU storyline. The “Official Version” was released for broadcasts and the “Original Version” is two minutes longer with more scenes incorporating violence and trauma (both can be found on HYBE’s YouTube channel). Even the members felt fully immersed in the roles they were playing.

“And we filmed the music videos like a movie, right? After watching it, it really felt like that for us members. Before, we just thought we were idols, but since then, when I think of the members, it feels kind of like we’re playing the lead roles in a movie.” 

– Jin, Beyond the Story, p. 146 (English ver.)

“I think I fully immersed myself in the concept itself of ‘the most beautiful moment in life.’ Doing it together with the other members was so good, and I kept thinking how this was such a beautiful moment, that I really could call it the best in my life. By immersing myself in the music video’s role like that, I was often told that this suited the emotions of the role well.” 

– Jimin, Beyond the Story, p. 145 (English ver.)

Note: Each video correlating to the BU has the official tag in its description. A few of the videos in the playlist no longer appear to have it, though they initially did and are still considered canon (labeled above with an asterisk*). Many ARMYs believe ”Spring Day” and ”Film Out” also have related imagery and themes and like to consider them a part of the BU as well, though they do not have the official tag. This also applies to ”Yet To Come,” which contains callbacks to BU themes. And while it is not officially canon, the BTS Begins VCR makes clear references to the BU storyline.

You will often see the BU being referred to as HYYH within the fandom. HYYH stands for “Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa” (花樣年華), which loosely translates to “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life.” 

While HYYH stands for BTS’s The Most Beautiful Moment in Life series, it marks the introduction of the BU storyline and is when BTS began portraying their characters through their music videos and other video content.

Accompanying the release of the LOVE YOURSELF trilogy and MAP OF THE SOUL series, small booklets titled The Notes were included in the physical albums. The Notes tell the story of the BU in first-person journal format, with the date and character whose point of view it’s from at the top of each entry. 

The Notes booklets can be found in all physical versions of the LOVE YOURSELF albums and MAP OF THE SOUL albums:

• LOVE YOURSELF 承 'HER': Versions L,O,V,E

• LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'TEAR': Versions Y,O,U,R

• LOVE YOURSELF 結 'ANSWER': Versions S,E,L,F

• MAP OF THE SOUL: Persona: Versions 1,2,3,4

• MAP OF THE SOUL: 7: Versions 1,2,3,4

In addition to these booklets, Big Hit published full books, The Notes 1 & 2, in 2019 and 2020 respectively. The Notes 1 includes and expands upon the content released through the LOVE YOURSELF albums, while The Notes 2 does the same for MAP OF THE SOUL.

There is some content overlap between the album booklets and also with the books, but each version’s booklet is slightly different from the others.

The books were published in several languages, including English, but the albums’ booklets are in Korean. Unofficial translations of The Notes booklets, as well as summary entries of the first book, can be found on The BTS Effect website.

BigHit released Save Me, a 15-episode webtoon, in April 2019. There is content in The Notes that occurs both before and after Save Me, but the webtoon depicts the central narrative and largely follows Seokjin’s actions and point of view as the protagonist. 

The webtoon is a good place to start if you want a general sense of the story before you dive deeper into the other content.

Content warning: Contains graphic and potentially triggering imagery.

The Smeraldo flower is a fictional flower within the BU. According to the Smeraldo blog (see below), its flower language or symbolic meaning is “non potevo dire la verità” in Italian. This may be translated as “the truth I couldn’t speak” or “the truth untold.” 

The Smeraldo Flower in BTS Content

The Smeraldo flower first appeared in 2017, a month before the LOVE YOURSELF 承 'HER' release, when Jin tweeted the word “Smeraldo” along with a picture of himself holding a bouquet of the flower.

This led to ARMY’s discovery of the Smeraldo Flower Shop, a Naver blog purportedly written by a florist named Testesso. The blog is an official account with the BU logo that was first created in July 2017 and tells the story of Testesso as well as the legend of the Smeraldo flower and clues as to how it fits into the BU.

The first story posted in 2017 said the shop was scheduled to open in September — when LOVE YOURSELF 承 'HER' would be released. The Flower Shop (blog) then closed temporarily and reopened in July 2018, deleting and re-uploading its posts with minor changes in content. One of these changes was the flower shop now declaring it would open in August, when LOVE YOURSELF 結 'ANSWER’ was released. This happened again in July 2020, leading up to BTS’ “Dynamite” comeback. Other changes in the stories kept in theme with the time travel occurring in the BU, a couple of the re-uploaded stories signifying the alternate timelines as Testesso experiences them.

A deeper unofficial summary and English translations of the Smeraldo blog may be found on The BTS Effect website. The Smeraldo backstory isn’t essential to understanding the BU, but it’s a fun additional storytelling device to expand the universe.

Official accounts associated with Smeraldo:  

• @Smeraldo_Books on Twitter, which served to promote the HYYH Notes and the Save Me webtoon.

• @FlowerSmeraldo on Twitter, which announced Smeraldo blog updates.

• @flowersmeraldo on Instagram, which appeared in April 2022, referencing key BU dates and themes.

The Smeraldo flower has also appeared in content such as: 

• Jin’s LOVE YOURSELF Poster

• “Fake Love” Official MV (Extended ver.)

• Permission To Dance On Stage - The stage design for “Fake Love” included hands holding a blooming Smeraldo flower. 

• WINGS Concept Book: Contains information on the concept design of the WINGS era, including photos, interviews, and in-depth discussion of its themes. It does not directly address the BU storyline, but it bears the BU logo as the WINGS era itself is connected.

• LOVE YOURSELF Posters: Prior to the release of the Love Yourself series, BigHit released posters bearing the BU logo that depict the members’ BU characters and pairings.

• BEGINS ≠ YOUTH: A 12-episode drama based on the BU and released as a web series on Xclusive between April 30-May 14, 2024.

• BTS Universe Story: A video game inspired by the BTS Universe released in 2020 where you could play as the BU characters. It is being discontinued and is no longer available for download.

Fan-created explainers and theories: 

These are not canon but may be of interest for further exploration. 

Blogs:

• The BTS Effect

• Behind the Screen of Bangtan

• ARMY Theorists Society

• Cafe ARMY

• Map Of The (B)Universe
  

Videos:

• BTS Storyline Summary + Explained by xCeleste 

• xCeleste also has a video explaining the Smeraldo Flower

• Guide to Characters in BTS Universe (BU) / “Save Me” by SUGA & spice (shorter introduction)