#7 - “BOCA". Dreamcatcher (드림캐쳐), 2020

A Story of the Song...Story behind the Song by Jonathan Dong (Monash University)

Every so often, the realm of fantasy jolts us into again understanding the real world we inhabit.With “BOCA”, the seven-member girl group Dreamcatcher ventures yet again to provoke and challenge listeners through the title track of their mini album ‘Dystopia: Lose Myself’, which was released on August 17, 2020.

Debuting in 2017 under the little-known label Happyface Entertainment, Dreamcatcher has become known for the distinct rock style and vivid storytelling of their music. Across their first six single and mini albums, Dreamcatcher’s discography and music videos were linked together in one themed universe of ‘Nightmare’. In the style of an elaborate horror storyline, different songs depict how each member became entrapped in their own ‘nightmares’ and is being chased by a ‘dream hunter’.

Dreamcatcher’s discography began a new theme or era from the release of their album ‘Dystopia: The Tree of Language’ on February 18, 2020. This album series is a trilogy, with “BOCA” being from the second ‘Dystopia’ album. As explained by group leader JIU, it centers on a tree ‘that bears white fruits when people say positive words, but black fruit when people say negative words’. The members represent ‘tree spirits’ to try and protect the tree from the black fruit.

BOCA YouTube view record. Image source: Twitter

The real-world message is on the theme of malicious, hurtful speech which plagues society, particularly in the online world. In the first ‘Dystopia’ album, the title track “Scream” centered on innocent people that endure the ‘witch hunts’ of online abuse, feeling the need to scream. “BOCA” follows on from this. Meaning ‘mouth’ in Spanish, the song depicts the Dreamcatcher members as protectors who shut the mouths of those who perpetrate abuse onto others.

The scourge of online abuse is particularly scarring for the K-pop industry. In recent years, K-pop idols including Goo Hara (from the group KARA) and Sulli (from the group f(x)) took their own lives after enduring long periods of relentless hostility, personal attacks, and bullying online from anonymous trolls. Hence, the explicit message of “BOCA” takes on a great moral significance for the world of modern pop culture and celebrity. In the bridge, the song questions those who continually speak maliciously of others “소중한 시간들을 왜 증오로 채우는가” (why fill your precious time with hate?) and declares there were “too many angels dying now”. Many took this to refer to fellow idols, as JIU once suggested, or people more broadly who have lost their lives because of bullying.

In the music video (MV) for “BOCA”, mysterious, masked figures are portrayed as the verbal tormentors of this world, who shield their identity to hurt others. The dystopian, cyberpunk aesthetic of the music video, in which the members are presented like warriors, speaks to the unwanted, hostile, and contested world that these behaviours create. It alternates with contrasting scenes of a utopian garden, with members dressed in white – almost symbolising a clear battle between good and evil, between vulnerability and ruthlessness. The garden depicts scenes with crystal blue water, which JIU says represents the members as ‘water priestesses’ purifying this corrupted ‘Tree of Language’. It almost reflects the dual need for a clear, calm peace with oneself, against a desire to confront head on the perpetrators.

The music is described as having a rock sound, particularly in the chorus, mixed with a moombahton rhythm throughout. Along with the MV, the track itself also vacillates between softer, more delicate tones and a hard, heavy rock guitar. Light, steady, and echoing choral-like vocals in the verses feels like an ominous tension rising, compared to the searing vocal runs in the final chorus, like a release against the pressure built up on those who’ve suffered.

Dreamcatcher is not a dominantly popular group in the mainstream of K-pop. Rather than the more recurrent themes of romance, coming of age, or ‘girl power’ prevalent in most girl group concepts, “Scream” and “Boca” further carved out Dreamcatcher’s niche in the saturated K-pop market. While long popular with international fans, the ‘Dystopia’ trilogy seemed to mark the upwards trajectory of their popularity in Korea. From a previous high of 38,000, the first instalment ‘Dystopia: Tree of Language’ (album of “Scream”) sold 59,899 copies in Korea, and ‘Dystopia: Lose Myself’ (album of “BOCA”) sold 104,309 copies, according to the Gaon Music Chart. Dreamcatcher’s recent ‘Apocalypse: Save Us’ album in April 2022, on a new theme of dystopian environmental disaster, reached a further high of 142,246 copies sold.

In fact, given the resonance of their concepts to people’s lives, and to the world around us, it perhaps is no surprise to see the increasing popularity and reception of Dreamcatcher’s music.

While the themes might disturb us, confront us, or remind us of the harms that afflict those around us, Dreamcatcher’s music offers a refreshing counter-message of solidarity and hope.

At the MV’s end scene, the mask of the tormentors is seen abandoned on the floor – perhaps there is victory for good after all.

Watch the official music video of BOCA here.

Find the lyrics and English translation of the song here.

Jonathan Dong ©, please do not reproduce without prior permission.