5 K-Pop Songs Inspired by Famous Novels & Literature

Looking for a K-pop song inspired by your favorite pieces of literature? Check out these five tracks!

1. BTS - 'Blood, Sweat & Tears'


BTS's hit song "Blood, Sweat & Tears" is inspired by the store "Demian." The story talks about concepts, such as sinful temptations and the corruption of angels.

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The music video makes several references to the original story, such as the painting of "The Fall of the Rebel Angels," Icarus' wings," "The Fall of Icarus," and more.

In the music video, RM is heard saying the quote, "He, too, was a tempter; he, too, was a link to the second, the evil world with which I no longer wanted anything to do."

The line is straight from "Demian" and refers to when Sinclair was freed from the clutches of Fran Kromer.

2. IU - 'Zeze'


IU's "Zeze" was inspired by the Brazilian novel "My Sweet Orange Tree." The story follows a five-year-old boy suffering from domestic abuse, whose only solace is Minguinho, an orange tree in his backward that he has the ability to communicate with.

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When the song was released, IU was criticized for sexualizing the abused five-year-old boy. In an interview, IU claimed she wrote the song from the point of view of Minguinho and called Zeze "charming and sexy." IU was also under fire for writing sexually suggestive lyrics about Zeze.

3. SHINee - 'Sherlock'


SHINee's "Sherlock" is inspired by the classic short story series "Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyles.

In the music video, the boys of SHINee are dressed as detectives. They are sen in a museum trying to solve the case of missing jewelry. They are guided by a ghost played by Jessica Jung, a former member of Girls' Generation.

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By the end of the music video, the boys of SHINee successfully solve the mystery!

4. GFRIEND - 'Mermaid'


GFRIEND's "Mermaid" is a pop ballad song inspired by Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." The story revolves around a mermaid who falls in love with a human prince. To meet her beloved, she makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her voice for legs. However, if she cannot make the prince fall in love with her, she will return to the ocean and turn into sea foam.

However, she can live if she chooses to kill her beloved. In the end, she decides to dissolve into sea foam.

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GFRIEND's song mermaid talks about being unable to be with her love and returning to the ocean. The song makes several references to the fairytale, such as the line, "Even if my heart disappears like foam."

5. VIXX - 'Hyde'


VIXX's "Hyde" is inspired by Louis Robert Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The song talks about how both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one person, with one representing the good and the other representing evil. The book talks about the complexities of humans and the good and evil in all of us.

In VIXX's "Hyde" music video, the members play men who were hurt by love and transformed into demons, showing both the good and evil sides of VIXX.

Know any other K-pop songs inspired by famous literature? Tell us in the comments below!

For more K-Pop news, always keep your tabs open on KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Alexa Lewis reported this.

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BTS
IU
SHINee
GFRIEND
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