OnlyOneOf's Circular Storytelling (seOul drift theory)

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:43 Chapter 1: Circles and Time
10:22 Chapter 2: seOul cOllectiOn and Its Place In the Lore
16:53 Chapter 3: seOul drift
25:13 Chapter 4: Drawing Bigger Circles
29:12 Chapter 5: The Units and Their Connection
43:17 Outro
All the translations for b-sides (mirage, candy bOmb, blueblueseOul and nabi) are taken from the channel Imbabey: / @imbabey
All the instrumentals are taken from this playlist: • OnlyOneOf Instrumental...

[@jucashewpi]

Omg????? The possibility of KB and Yoojung's life being intertwined in every universe regardless of what type of relationship they have gave me chills😭😭

[@vennieboorag]

Holy fuckin' shit, I didn't realize how gigantic the lore is, and how realistic but at the same time can be interpreted as something so sci-fi-ish... They're truly artists, and everything is so interesting when we connect the dots in the lyrics, the MVs, the music even. I am so grateful for showing your interpretation, spent like 2hrs watching both videos, but it was worth it. I feel deeply touched by their art. Now I want everyone to have a better comprehending of this multiverse of theirs that connects to the beginning in one way or another. TT

[@choerim8986]

Thank you, I'm so happy this lil obsession of mine actually helps people fall in love with their art even more, they deserve so much love and recognition for all the wonderful things they do!

[@Sophiaaasophiaaa]

You're the official ooo lore professor at this point, I legit trust you with my life❤❤

[@vennieboorag]

Really is! This feels like a trustable guide for the OOO lore and what a beautiful story with a lesson (don't know how to say "fábula" in english) they're creating with their art

[@lovemagicalgirlanime]

Just like the last video, this is so well done :O Seriously, how you managed to catch as much lyric intertextuality as you did is amazing. I'm in awe :O

[@choerim8986]

Thank you! OnlyOneOf's dedication to connecting things really motivates me to seek out all the ways in which they reference themselves

[@chetsi_099]

This video captured exactly what i felt about nabi and seOul drift. like that exact line "pls dont spread your wings baby" always felt less beautiful and more like a constraint. and the seOul drift explanation is so on point! it felt great to see the words i couldn't think but only feel be spelled out so well!! 😭😭 OnlyOneOf are very commited to their concept and everyone involved does a really good job of maintaining that OOOness of everything! Even with such a hectic schedule they really managed to capture the experience of queer people in feelings that are very hard to put in words but most definitely very strongly felt by us all. Thanks for this analysis! edit: i corrected a bunch of typos i made you guys 😭😭😭 i typed that too fast💀

[@choerim8986]

Oh I'm so glad someone else felt this about nabi! You're the first person to tell me this, I was starting to think maybe I read a little too much into the lyrics since nobody else seemed to agree, so thank you for confirming I'm not going insane

[@jucashewpi]

I see onlyoneof and lore in the same sentence, i click. Very well explained tho👏

[@spapolicy]

This, along with your last video might be two of the best theory/analysis videos i've seen on youtube. You connected everything so well and explained it with such clarity that I didn't realize I just sat down and watched two 80 minutes of content with no distractions/interruptions. All I wish right now is they continue with this theme and you continue making videos lol. Thank you!!

[@choerim8986]

Wow thank you!! If they continue with these themes then the chances of me making more theory videos are very high, whenever they release something new I just have to do my best to understand to get some peace of mind and sorting my ideas out in this way really helped

[@alois32]

Also Kyubins solo begins with "oh my god your smell" and as you covered in your other video, the smell of the other one plays quiet a big role in other songs of them as well I dont really know how to connect that, but it immediately came to my mind

[@choerim8986]

You're right, it's definitely a common motif in a lot of their songs. This is just what came to my mind after reading your comment, but the scents they reference seem to either be perfume (byredO, nabi) or the natural scent of the person (be free). One is an external object which has its qualities projected onto the person, the other is an admiration and attraction to the actual person

[@Vainillitaart]

finally, after watch the two videos you did about OnlyOneOf theories, i can understand better what could be about they lore. i been interested in it since i watched 'Sage', cause at that time, there were some others theories saying that was connected to LOOΠΔ universe, but i perceive these ones are more accurate to the path they've been going, with a Queer representation, within an external and internal world of homophobia, self conflict and conservative religious impositions. thank u for built this explanation, it's a truthly hard work 💖🌈

[@CatOKelley]

work kept me from getting to this right away, but thank you again for such a great analysis! like fan_n1's comment, all the lyrical connections spanning their whole discography is so amazing! thanks for sharing what you found! also, i don't know where i've been, but i'd never seen that multi-circle OOO universe chart before, but it was so interesting to hear you walk through it and talk about where you think the newer projects land on it 💛

[@jyothikakrishnan1149]

Thank you so much for making this video! I learned so much about OOO and their lore. Safe to say, my respect for their art just went 📈📈📈

[@r0b1n_b01]

I love your videos SM thank you for making them , I love K-pop lore and I'm a baby lyOn so I'm enjoying these sm I always thought the cranes in the undergrOund idOl videos had something to do with the 1000 crane wish (esp for Junji and tie since you see so many ) maybe so they can get the "blessing" that OOO puts in the descriptions of they're videos

[@choerim8986]

Ooh good thinking! We all know they represent wishes, but I don't think anyone has actually brought up the number of the cranes and the significance of that. Considering that Junji wears a cross and we see a cross in the background, him trying the hardest to achieve that blessing is very likely. Also some people interpret the pool scene with Rie as christening, so maybe there's some religious guilt they're both dealing with and feel like they need to be sanctified

[@swxetwine2083]

44:14 as listening to be mine i realized that there's a lot of mentions about sculpting someone. "You dont need to think from now. You'll be sculpted anyway", "Allow me to sculpt you, however, I want". I thought that maybe in fact the relationship wasnt healthy at all??? Junji might wanted to help Rie realize that being a queer person is nothing wrong, he wanted help him accept himself by making a second version of himself which fully accepted who he is and is not scared anymore (?). He wanted all good for Rie, not realizing that its toxic anyways. The ending line is also "Doesn’t have to be perfect" he might have realized that for the whole time he was just hurting Rie by trying to sculpt him however he wants. The lyrics are a whole paradox too for me? It feels so rushed ("Hurry burn it. Get yourself out of this wall right now. Come toward me faster") but also hes not rushing him at all? ("I’ll make you born. Little by littlе, what shows is your silhouette"). Hes excited while Rie is still hesitant. He want to help Rie but doesnt realize he overhelms him. Junji obviously wants the best for Rie what we can see from the phone booth scene where Rie is standing in which probably symbolise that hes closed and cant really accept who he is yet but Junji wants him to free himslef from his fear and prejudicies thats why he knocks from the outside. "Let me get inside". I dont know if that even makes sense at all? I will need to go throught lyrics of because more deeply too to even talk tbh. But as for me i feel like Rie and Junji relationship might not be as healthy as the other two. Sorry for my eng too its not my first language ://

[@choerim8986]

Yes, this is pretty much exactly how I interpret their story! Their relationship is definitely the most ambiguous, especially since we can't be sure about the timeline of it and whether they make up after the fight or not. I wanted to link you to my analysis of the lyrics I made on tumblr but I can't find it, if I do I'll post the link!

[@swxetwine2083]

@@choerim8986 okayyy ill be waiting!!

[@choerim8986]

@@swxetwine2083 Sorry, I've been trying really hard to dig it out but either the tags aren't working as they should or I deleted it by accident 😭 I'm sad, because I was really proud of that post, but honestly I don't think it would've added much, our ideas align a lot! The only thing I remember from that analysis is my interpretation of the line "Little by little, what shows is your silhouette". I think it's in line with all the other sculpting references, but it also emphasises that Junji believes he can make Rie more true to himself, that he can take off the unnecessary layers of shame the more he sculpts him and reveal Rie's true silhouette to him

[@swxetwine2083]

@@choerim8986 dont worry its okay!! that makes so much sense! im so intrested in junrie story its so deep

[@choerim8986]

​@@swxetwine2083Took me three months but I finally found it 😅 Some of my thoughts definitely changed since then, I wrote it right after because came out and desperately wanted to believe there was a happy ending there. I stand by my thoughts on the lyrics, but right now I'm more ambivalent about the MV. It's a short post so if you want, give it a read 😊 www.tumblr.com/skinzchoerim/699187209554870272/my-theory-for-the-lyrics-of-be-mine-and-because-in

[@rxmz2386]

did u notice the use of windows in the underground idol series?? they always admire/first see the person through a window (yoojung seeing kyubin through the shop window same with junji and mill watching nine through the class window) I've been trying to find the meaning but omg i couldn't 😭😭 its also used in chuus heart attack

[@choerim8986]

I noticed that it's a repeated motive in begin and be free (the scene where they're watching each other through the fishtank, Kyubin's singing scenes being outside while Yoojung sits inside), but you're right, it's also prominent in other solos, and even in seOul drift - the shop, laundromat, car windows, and as always the phone booth. I'd have to think on this more, but these are my initial thoughts: when they're on opposite sides of the glass, it represents the distance between them, but once they're inside together, these glass-enclosed containers are supposed to be their little fishtanks - spaces that are transparent to the rest of world, but also separate from it, in which they feel safer to act on their feelings.

[@joule5743]

I really like your analysis but the sound discrepancy between your narrations vs. the music clips being super loud made it hard to watch. Having to turn the volume down when the music clips show up and then turning it back up to hear what you're saying.

[@choerim8986]

I'm aware that's an issue, part of it is due to the recording itself not being high quality, the other part because it it was really hard to control in the editing program I was using. In case you didn't realise, there are subtitles available exactly for that reason!