Meaning of Jung Kook’s Hate You
Since BTS went on hiatus circa mid-2022, none of the group’s members have generated more musical headlines than Jung Kook. Between then and the dropping of his first studio album, Golden, on 3 November 2023, Kookie has teamed up with the likes of Latto (on Seven), Jack Harlow (3D) and The Kid Laroi alongside Central Cee (Too Much). But that said, three of his BTS bandmates – respectively Jin, J-Hope and Suga – are currently fulfilling their months-long mandatory obligations to the South Korean military. And as has recently been announced by BigHit Music, the label behind this song, Jung Kook and the others – Jimin, RM and V – “are set to soon begin their service as well”.
Hate You, a part of Golden, has not been released as a single but according to Genius pageviews (as of this writing) has proven to be the most-popular song on the album besides Seven and 3D, which did come out as singles.
Writers and Producers
Cirkut, a very-successful behind-the-scenes’ musician, produced this track. And he co-wrote it with a fellow Canadian, singer Shawn Mendes, alongside American songwriter Scott Harris and British musician LostBoy.
The Lyrics of Hate You
What’s being put forth here is relatively complex when compared to other pop songs of a similar nature. But reading in-between the lines, what we are met with are the lamentations of a singer who screwed up his relationship with the addressee. He did so by overexaggerating the significance of issues that existed within the romance. So now, not only is Kook “still in love” with his ex but also has to deal with the guilt of spoiling a relationship that maybe wasn’t “perfect but… came close”.
But that is not the thesis sentiment of the song. Rather, the focus is on how Jung has achieved inner peace by perpetuating the folly, so to speak. In other words, he has decided, even though it’s “not the truth”, to continue placing the blame on the addressee for their romance having gone awry. It is as if Jung has decided to deceive himself, as otherwise he would not be able to live with the fact that he was the impetus behind ruining a good thing.
