#6 - “Going Crazy (미친거니)". Song Ji Eun (송지은) ft. Bang Yong Guk (방용국), 2011
A Story of the Song...Story behind the Song by Nicholas Bagnall (Monash University)
Going Crazy (single) poster. Image source: Wikipedia
The song “Going Crazy” or “미친거니” by Song Ji Eun and Bang Yong Guk was released on March 3rd 2011 and was published by South Korean entertainment company TS Entertainment. The music video was posted by “1theK(원더케이)” Youtube channel on the same day as the song’s digital release. Written by Kang Ji Won and Kim Ki Bum, the song aims to convey a darker side to Miss Song (Ji Eun). This contrasts her often innocent and bright image conveyed in her group music with South Korean girl group, Secret (established 2009). The song itself tells the story of an obsessed ex-lover. This is illustrated via both lyrics and a music video that centers around the abduction and the igniting of one’s ex-lover.
The song garnered much praise and quickly climbed the major charts in South Korea. By March 12th, 2011, just nine days after release, the song was number one on Gaon Singles chart, as well as many other South Korean outlets. Halting the continuing success of Going Crazy was the controversy surrounding The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of South Korea. The Ministry had the song labeled as “harmful to youth” for its themes of promoting violence, crime and was thereby restricted in July. This meant it was not able to be sold to people under the age of nineteen.
“Going Crazy” opens with the lyrics, “This is not love, this is not love”. These words set the tone for the whole song as it traverses the crazed mind of a woman that is being stalked by her insane ex-lover. This questions the portrayal of “love” in South Korea and discusses the idea of a toxic relationship.
사랑이 아냐 이건 사랑이 아냐 | It’s not love, this isn’t love |
The song then switches to Yong Guk for a rap verse. The lyrics in this verse convey the feelings of the stalker, watching his lover, his victim, from the “streetlamp in front of” her house. These lyrics show that the stalker is obsessed with Ji Eun and sees her constant running as a game of “hide-and-seek”. He still believes the two of them are “inseparable” and belong together, conveying the obsession some crazed individuals have with their idols or ex-lovers.
| 너의 그림자를 따라 밟다 난 전화를 걸어 네 떨리는 숨소리에 짜릿해져버려 빨라지는 네 발걸음 따라 뛰는 내 심장 미칠 것만 같아 어두워지는 긴 밤 너의 집 앞 불 꺼진 가로등 밑에서 너를 본다 네 방 창 문 틈에서 밤이 끝날 때까지 날 찾아봐 어서 나와 숨 막히는 숨바꼭질을 계속해 넌 넌 넌 넌 절대 내게서 떨어질 수 없어 | I follow in your shadow |
Switching again, Ji Eun continues the song, moving into the second verse. Lines like “Have you gone crazy?” and “please disappear from my sight” depict the beliefs of the victim. Showing she is feeling trapped and thinks her lover is crazy. Yong Guk again, is given the stage to present the stalker’s point of view. “You can never break away from me”, “Try to escape, wherever you are”, develops the sense of anger and frustration in the stalker. It begins to amp up the volatility of the stalking and bring in a dark edge. This illustrates the timeline of many relationships that end sourly. At first a relationship is caring and warm, but as the two learn to despise each other, it grows violent and hostile. Hence, one attempts to break the relationship. As seen in the song, this is not always taken appropriately by both parties. Therefore, taboo outcomes like stalking, murder and assault come to the forefront for both men and women.
미친거니 | Have you gone crazy? You can never break away from me |
The last line of each verse sung by Ji Eun, portrays the growing fear inside our victim. This fear eventually transforms into anger and hatred, leading to a climactic ending. In the first verse we see “it’s frightening, the you that follows me”, later this becomes, “please disappear from my sight” and “Cut the crap! Get a hold of yourself... Let go of me now!” to finally “Erase me from your memory”. This depicts the relationship becoming toxic and the insane stalker affecting our victim’s mindset, in a sense: “going crazy”. The fear of the victim finally explodes as she does not “wanna cry no more”, which leads to our climax. The music video displays the stalker being kidnapped and held hostage in a car, prior to it being doused in petrol and ignited.
“Going Crazy” itself acts as an exploration into the mental state of both stalker and victim. Using emotive language and creating a clear image of a story to engage the listener. The exchanges between Ji Eun (victim) and Yong Guk (stalker) detail both parties’ emotions. We see the stalker acting “crazy” and toying with his victim, not understanding the seriousness of the situation. Contrasting this, our victim displays fear and dread, which diverges into consuming anger and hatred. This alteration is proof that our stalker has brought our victim to madness. This is further evidenced when our victim becomes the murderer in our music video by igniting a car with her stalker inside.
While there could be many theoretical explanations within the song, I believe the discussion it builds around toxic relationships and societal expectations are most important. The pedestals of perfection people are compared to in modern society is often heightened in South Korean living. Examples of this are exhibited in the competitive education system, harsh societal values and Confucian roots of South Korea. This often means people spend too much time obsessing over ideals, much like the stalker in “Going Crazy”. A person obsessed with a fake definition of love, as recalled in the opening lines - “this is not love, this is not love. It’s just your obsession”. I assume this was the metaphoric meaning to the song. To challenge a society that is fixated on impossible ideals, thereby driving their citizens “crazy”.
Watch the official music video of 미친거니 here.
Find the lyrics and English translation of the song here.
Nicholas Bagnall ©, please do not reproduce without prior permission.