Hello and welcome back, my Body Language Buddies! today, in Episode 41, I plan on doing something
a little bit different.
Last week on my TikTok I got a request about doing an episode on Taekook.
And for those that you don't know, that's the couple nickname for Kpop BTS band members
Jungkook and Kim Tae-Hyung, AKA V.
And so I raised my hand and I said, "Hey, can anyone help me with clips or videos about
them? and I was literally overwhelmed, in a good sense, in the best sense of the word,
with all the help, the videos, the clips and so many insights about this case.
So, to all Kpop fans, I already apologize because even if I occassionaly listened to
Kpop, and had done some research on the industry a couple years ago, I didn't truly get the
full scope of shipping.
Again, I'm going to explain all these terms.
As usual, as in every one of my episodes, I've always have the dilemma of doing something
of true value to fans of the topicg, in this case Taekook and Kpop and at the same time
offer value for people that is not that aware of all the circumstances of the case.
And given that besides Taekook there is also Jenlisa, Yoonmin, Sooshu and other similar
cases, if you give your feedback in the comments, then I'd be glad of making more episodes on
these topics.
If you want to stay up to date with this Kpop project, I strongly suggest that you follow
me on Instagram.
I'll be posting the full episodes here in Youtube, the episode clips on TikTok, my TikTok
is the same user, but I will be juggling ideas, clips, little nuggets on my Instagram so,
to keep things nice and organized, and for my own sanity, please follow me there.
And I'll tell you this because this first episode on Taekook will also serve as an introduction
to the general topic of Kpop Shipping, so it's highly likely that I'll do another deeper
episode, again, so our Body Language Buddies that are not that aware of the topic can have
a better understanding.
Again, I will do my best to present my observations as objectively as possible, and in the end,
my primary goal hasn't changed: that we all learn something and most important, have a
good time.
Remember that I've got a gift for you: my 100+ body language tips in a free PDF that
you can find right in the description.
And thank you for supporting my channel! all you have to do is like this video, subscribe
and hit that bell so you don't miss any of my body language analysis and tips.
My Name is Jesús Enrique Rosas, I'm the Body Language Guy, and together we'll uncover the
secrets that people try to hide from us.
Before we can affirm if Taekook is a real relationship or not, we need to understand
the concept of shipping; It's when fans begin to dream and fantasize of two persons being
a couple.
That shipping can be of fictional or real characters.
Like when you write a fanfiction that makes Harry Potter fall in love with Eleven or all
of a sudden Harry leaves Meghan and runs away with Amber Heard to Paraguay, it's a creative
excercise about what if?
what could happen if these two persons just hook up?
In the case of Taekook, we are talking about two members of the Kpop band BTS and this
has been way beyond just imagining things, because their body language has always been
from bromance to what looks like a real engagement.
There is full body contact, like in this well known hug from behind, there are facial touches,
there are smiles, certain voice tones and attitudes that suggest that this is much more
than a friendship.
That's why fans are so invested in knowing the truth.
And then we land in one fact that is extremely important to understad the Kpop scene.
In South Korea, these rising stars train singing, dancing, acting from a very young age and
there is a lot of pressure to be noticed by the music industry.
IF you manage to enter the music industry, if you achieve that a music label picks you
and includes you in a group, that stress, that demand, multiplies tenfold.
One of the reasons Kpop is ruling the world is talent, of course, but also, even more
important is really hard work from every one of these stars.
It's an everyday fight that never stops.
And beyond that, those music labels pour huge amounts of money and work on music production,
top notch video production, every single detail from A to Z is overseen by seasoned professionals.
This whole chain from childhood talent, to hours of work, to obsessive attention to detail
is what compounds to the global impact of Kpop.
But it only means that the weakest link is the mental health of these musicians.
Under these conditions, it's no wonder that if you feel creatively exhausted, you will
try to find a partner, inside your own group, so you can support each other.
It's natural.
It's something that has happened since the beginning of time.
In this case it was Jungkook and V that developed a strong bond together.
And it's just common sense that if you spend time together, if you support each other and
find more and more things in common, you could have a bromance or even fall in love.
But then there's the problem with fanservice.
Or doing something to excite fans.
Some people say that Taekook is fake, that is a creation of the music industry.
And i think the best analogy to look at Taekook with a clear mind is Hollywood.
For example, when you have a movie that makes two people spend a lot of time together and
they end up genuinely falling in love with each other.
In other words, one industry puts two people together but a true relationship could develop
spontaneously.
And that's why it's so important that in any analysis of show business you should forget
about the videos, the films, the concerts and everything that is closely overseen by
a studio, and instead focus on press conferences, interviews, candid photos, casual moments,
because it's in these situations when body language can show true intentions.
Now, one problem observing Taekook, or Jenlisa, or Yoonmin is that they know they are being
seen and scrutinized all the time.
And not only by the fans, but mainly from the music producers themselves.
Why? because there is so much at stake in the music industry that the producers cannot
allow for any romantic relationship to have any impact in the group's performance.
That would be catastrophic.
And that's one of the reasons why you spot the BTS crew separating Jungkook and V so
they're not together.
The producers know that many fans are happy about it, but for no reason they can let it
get out of control.
This is a business and they're not going to let it happen.
That's why the attraction is found in very little details that are really hard to spot,
and one of the best examples for Taekook is the moment when V introduces Junghkook as
his friend.
V says, "I'm introducing my friend Jungkook", and right after saying that, he presses his
lips.
It's hard to spot because his general face expression is very subtle, but it's there.
Whe press our lips when we are not sure about what we are saying, or we are saying something
against our feelings.
We already know the bond that exists between them, that they are at least friends, so that
could not be what bothers him.
So maybe what made V press his lips was the act of calling Junkook his friend, like "I
don't want to call him my friend".
Maybe he wants to call him "my brother", for example.
Also, V looks up to the camera and raises his eyebrows.
He's excited about introducing Jungkook, but then looks down, like a bit ashamed of calling
him his friend.
Just as V introduces him as his friend, Jungkook reacts immediately and does two things: He
speaks louder than V and asks "Am I your friend", while looking directly and pointing at V with
his chin.
He's trying to call his attention and making him understand that the term "friend" took
him by surprise.
At that moment we should do a comparison between the two faces.
Jungkook is not smiling, so he's playful, but serious.
And V reacted with a incomplete smile, because his lip corners are tense but his cheeks are
not upward enough to smile with his eyes too.
So Jungkook is trying to challenge him, V is nervous and what happens next?
Jungkook keeps staring at him, but V looks around, taking a quick look at the other members.
That's another sign of nervousness.
Like I can't express myself freely right now.
This could also have happened to you, when you challenge someone, and the person looks
to the sides to assess who else is watching the conversation and that's a sign of the
person not being comfortable to speak freely.
Now, V has another emotional reaction.
It's a bit hard to spot because the video quality is very bad, but let's focus on V's
neck muscles.
He introduces Jungkook as his friend, Jungkook reacts, V turns around and at that moment
his neck is still relaxed, but one split second later, his neck muscles tense, as he's watching
Junkook making the question.
Are you really calling me your friend?
He looks around to the other members and then swallows.
In the end, V cannot stand Jungkook's stare and then looks down, that is a sign of being
ashamed, and then smiles nervously.
Jungkook smiles too, like feeling good about that playful challenge.
Now, I want to remind you that I've been observing Jungkook and V for less than 72 hours, and
I could be wrong with what I'm about to say, but I think at this moment they went against
their usual personalities.
Jungkook is a bit more shy and was challenging V. V is a bit more serene but was nervous.
That's one of the signals that this situation was authentic.
This is what I talk about when I mention very small signals that cannot be faked for two
reasons.
One, they are small enough to not be voluntary.
And I forgot to mention another reaction from V, small enough to almost be undetected, that
is his very subtle eyebrow raise.
That's real surprise.
If you're faking surprise, those movements are going to be much more visible.
But when you have four or five very small reactions in rapid succession, then you can
be sure that the emotion is real.
This is the kind of signals that everyone, especially women, pick up thanks to intuition.
We know that there's something that is not just fanservice or acting.
You sense that there's more than a friendship and not just by the playful challenge.
And since they're artists and we know that there's this juggernaut industry behind them,
we could think that their every move is planned, but it cannot work like that.
It's impossible.
At the end of the day, they're humans and will subconciously give away those subtle
reactions and hidden messages.
Another signal is the slow smile.
If you watch this clip, you can watch Jungkook looking at V in a very loving way.
And this is one of the greatest skills that you can develop watching people's facial expressions,
and that is smile speed.
We usually see "fast" smiles, and they happen for two main reasons.
Either people react to a joke and smile immediately, or you smile consciously to give the other
person the message that you like what you just heard.
When you watch a slow smile, like the one in this case, there's one very funny way to
be sure that this is an authentic reaction.
I'm going to ask you to try to smile slowly, from a totally relaxed face to a full smile,
progressively, and take at least 5 seconds.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
You should have noticed that it's very hard to synchronize your face muscles to smile
slowly, and yes, when you see a slow smile it's because the person is really glad about
what they are seeing.
That is not something easy to fake.
Of the hundreds of clips that I received, one of the most common displays of affection
between Jungkook and V were embraces and hugs.
Specially from Jungkook to V, it's like a protective gesture in which one wants to show
support for the other.
In these cases it's important to notice not only the person that starts the gesture, the
one that wants to hug their pal from behind, but the way the one that is embraced, or receives
the hug, relaxes his body upon this gesture.
If there's a natural bond, you will see that they both relax and their bodies end up supporting
each other.
This could be easily mistaken for an exclusively romantic gesture but in fact, its meaning
is much more broad.
It's a sign of trust.
And due to that, it should be normal to see it between lovers, as well as brothers, as
well as close friends, parents and children, because there is no better way to affirm trust
between two people.
And they look really comfortable every time they do it.
One of the signs of being real close is the way they touch each other's legs.
There are enough videos that depict both Jungkook and V sitting next to each other and either
putting their hands on their thighs, caressing each other, hitting softly or playing with
the fabric of their pants.
And yes, the thighs is a very intimate zone that it's also considered highly erogenous,
and that's why it's hard to imagine that what they have is just a friendship.
But given the fact that the people in charge would not tolerate any romantic relationship
between any members of the group, you can imagine that for some reason, the music label
is absolutely ok with all these touching displays.
If Jungkook and V thought that they could get into trouble by having a romantic relationship,
then they would be a little more private about that.
Would not be so "in your face" with their public displays of affection.
So that's something that doesn't quite fit with the fact that the music label won't allow
them to be together, if that were the case.
Sometimes is hard to define what is the line that separates a bromance from an actual relationship,
and we should always consider culture in our observations.
Since BTS are worldwide ambassadors of South Korean pop culture, you might think that these
public displays of affection between men are usual there, but they're not.
It's a lot like western culture, where public displays of affection between men are not
that common.
Unless, of course, you're within arm's length of Henry Cavill, and then it's totally acceptable.
And I think that's one of the reasons why so many people believe that Taekook is real.
Especially, of course, the touching.
But even the touching can be part of a sense of protection.
"I've got you", "good job", "everything is going to be fine".
For example, in American sports is totally fine, and even encouraged, the butt slap,
and more recently, the celebrating weenie bumping.
I'm sorry but I've no scientific explanation for that, besides the fact that touching has
always been and always will be a way of reassurance and support.
Now, remember that we talked about how stressful and grueling can be the work in the Kpop industry;
and it's no wonder that you need a partner to help each other when any of the two is
lacking energy or motivation.
And there's another reason why Jungkook and V get along so well together, and it's that
Jungkook is a Virgo and V is a Capricorn.
And those are Zodiac signs that usually are lonely on their own, but together, Virgo with
a extreme attention to detail and Capricorn with an amazing work ethic, you have two earth
signs that understand each other and can truly help themselves.
So it's no wonder that they have a really strong bond.
There's also their facial compatibility.
V has a classic heart-shaped face, while Jungkook has a clear round or moon shaped face.
This helps a lot to nurture that emotional connection between them and balance their
practical and pragmatic zodiac signs.
Again, this is not about being in a relationship but having a strong bond between them.
When I said that I was going to do and episode on Taekook, I got this overwhelming support
but I also got a few friendly warnings.
That I shouldn't mess up with them, because they had a very special connection and the
shipping was actually harmful for them.
And I agree, that no matter the relationship, every one of us has the right to privacy and
not having to make every sentiment or feeling public.
We know that fans will be fans, and when we want to know everything about an artist that
we stan, of course it includes their love life.
Now, wether if you believe that Taekook is real or not, I'm sure that the first thing,
or the most important thing to you is that Jungkook and V stay happy.
You're aware of the tremendous responsibility they have and having that bond is something
that helps them keep going and giving everyone the gift of their music.
And understanding that, will make everyone happy, including them.
One more thing:
Remember to follow me on my Instagram and TikTok if you want to stay up to date with
my Kpop project.
You can find the links in the description.
And don't forget to subscribe if you don't want to miss any of my Body Language Episodes
and Tips.
See you Next Time!