防彈少年團為何如此成功?

今天帶大家共同精讀：一篇來自The Economist對防彈少年團的報導——

The company behind BTS, K-pop’s biggest act, is going public。

防彈少年團（BTS）是一個非常成功的韓國男子演唱組合，在全球各地也擁有眾多粉絲。推出該組合的Big Hit Entertainment也將於本月在韓國上市。

BTS為何如此成功？本文分析了背後的原因：風格深受女性觀眾喜愛，以及能和年輕一代產生共鳴。

小標題中Woke blokes來自澳大利亞歌手Thelma Plum的一首同名歌曲。主標題中act是一詞多義，這裡意思相當於「演出者，表演者」，標題含義即：韓流舞臺上最大的演出者「防彈少年團」，其背後的公司將要上市。

開頭段介紹了韓國流行音樂界在過去數年間遭遇種種挫折。

For the past couple of years, the biggest news in the world of k-pop has been decidedly unpleasant.

在過去數年間，關於韓國流行音樂界的大新聞無疑讓人感到不快。

開頭句對全段進行總結，接下來展開說明為何這些新聞會讓人感到不愉快。

A scandal centred on 「Burning Sun」, a glitzy nightclub in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, saw several male k-pop stars and industry executives accused last year of sexual abuse, procuring sex for business partners, drug-peddling and bribery.

去年韓國首爾一家高級夜總會「燃燒太陽」發生了一場醜聞，其中牽涉到幾名男性韓流明星和行業高管。這些人被指控性侵、為商業夥伴拉皮條，以及販毒和賄賂。

句子主幹是：A scandal saw several male k-pop stars and industry executives accused of… 其中saw在這裡的意思相當於「目睹，見證」，這是一個在外刊中經常出現的說法。

Later in the year two female idols committed suicide in the space of a few weeks. Both had been subject to misogynistic abuse for years.

去年下半年又有兩名女明星在數周內相繼自殺，她們多年來一直遭受厭女症者的虐待。

in the space of XX 是一個固定搭配，意思是「在XX的時間內」，例如：He fell asleep in the space of a few minutes. 沒幾分鐘他就睡著了。

第二段介紹了防彈少年團的風格。

But the industry’s biggest stars seem untouched by its seedy side.

但韓流界的巨星們似乎並沒有被行業內骯髒的一面影響。

第二段開頭第一句對上一段進行了轉折，同時引入對防彈少年團的介紹。

BTS, the world’s most successful k-pop group and the biggest boy band on the planet, has found global success by selling something close to the opposite of the machismo and aloofness that are usually required from k-pop idols.

防彈少年團是全球最成功的韓流組合，也是世界上最大的男團。他們在全球各地取得成功的方式是推銷一種新的人設，這種人設與大男子氣概和酷氣有點相反，而後兩者通常是韓流明星的必備素質。

The seven 20-something men present themselves as down-to-earth, frank about the pressures and downsides of fame, socially engaged and aware of their own shortcomings.

這七名20多歲的男孩以接地氣的形象示人。他們坦率承認名氣帶來的壓力和負面因素，他們積極參與社會活動，同時也能夠意識到自己的不足之處。

Somebody presents himself/herself as adj. 是一個常見搭配，意思是「某人以……的形象示人」，句子中down-to-earth, frank about…, socially engaged, aware of… 四個部分為並列成分。

When fans got upset about a set of sexist lyrics a few years ago, the member who wrote them apologised for his ignorance and vowed to 「study more」 to avoid such lapses in future (he has since been spotted reading a feminist novel).

當防彈少年團的粉絲幾年前對一組涉及性別歧視的歌詞感到不滿時，寫歌的樂團成員站出來為自己的無知道歉，並發誓要「多加學習」，以防止在將來出現這樣的疏忽（他在後面被人看到在讀一本女性向的小說）。

And when American fans asked the group to support the Black Lives Matter protests this year, they promptly did.

當美國粉絲在今年要求樂團支持「黑人的命也是命」抗議活動時，他們也迅速跟進了。

第三段介紹了粉絲們對BTS的評價。

Such behaviour resonates with fans in South Korea and beyond. 「The message they send is so different from other boy bands,」 says Lim Hyun-jee, a 26-year-old from Seoul.

這種行為在韓國及其他地區的粉絲中引起了共鳴。來自首爾的26歲女孩林賢吉說：「他們傳達的信息與其他男團有很大不同」。

「They talk about growth, mental health, bullying and anything that we can all relate to,」 she gushes. 「And they get along so well, it’s very appealing.」

她說：「他們談到了成長、心理健康、霸凌以及其他我們都能產生共鳴的東西，而且他們相處得很好，這一點非常吸引人」 。

Somebody relates to something意思是「某人能夠理解某事，某人能對某事產生共鳴」，例如：The culture that he describes is so different from mine that I sometimes find it hard to relate to. 他所描述的那種文化和我所處的文化如此迥異，有時我覺得很難理解。

第四段進一步分析了BTS成功的原因。

Hong Seok-kyeong of Seoul National University believes that BTS’s success stems partly from the hope they offer a generation of fans worn down by the pressure to compete and conform in their education and careers.

首爾國立大學的洪碩京認為，防彈少年團之所以能夠成功，部分原因是他們給了粉絲希望，這一代粉絲心力交瘁，因為他們在學業和職業上要不斷競爭，也要從眾。

Something wears somebody down意思是「某事讓某人心力交瘁」（to make someone tired or weak），比如要表達「家庭和工作上的壓力正讓她心力交瘁」，可以說：The pressure at home and at work iswearing her down.

「Both in their songs and in their interactions with fans they show that they can relate to these pressures,」 she says. 「Their whole story suggests that it’s ok to be different and that you can still be successful even if you don’t really fit in.」

她說：「他們在歌曲以及和歌迷的互動中都表明他們能夠理解這些壓力」。「他們的故事表明，與眾不同是可以接受的。即使你無法合群，你仍然可以成功」。

She thinks that young women, in particular, like their softer, emotionally vulnerable brand of masculinity as an alternative to South Korean machismo.

她認為年輕女性尤其喜歡他們這種帶有輕柔以及脆弱風格的男性氣概，這種氣質可以用來替代韓國的大男子主義。

a brand of something這裡是熟詞生義，意思相當於「一種……的風格，一種做……的方式」。

Being pretty helps, of course. 「The way they make themselves beautiful is very much about providing visual pleasure to a female audience.」

當然，長得好看是很有用的。「他們讓自己變得好看的方式與為女性觀眾提供視覺上的愉悅感密切相關」。

結尾段介紹了BTS背後經紀公司的上市計劃。

Some Korean feminists speculate that the band’s woman-friendly image is too good to be true, given the sexist norms of the industry in which they work. Others take it at face value.

一些韓國女權主義者猜測，鑑於防彈少年團所在行業的性別歧視常態，該樂隊的女性友好形象好得有點讓人難以置信。其他人則相信樂隊展現出來的形象。

Take something at face value是一個固定搭配，含義是「僅憑表象就對……信以為真」。

At the very least, BTS’s success has shown that niceness is a marketable quality, which may encourage others to give it a try.

至少防彈少年團的成功已經說明漂亮和友善是一個有市場潛力的品質，這可能會鼓勵其他人也進行這樣的嘗試。

The numbers speak for themselves. After teetering on the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago, Bang Si-hyuk, who founded bts’s production company, Big Hit Entertainment, is now a squillionaire.

數字說明了一切。防彈少年團由「熱門娛樂」公司推出，該公司創始人邦思赫十年前還處於破產邊緣，但現在已經成為一名億萬富翁。

XX speaks for itself/XX speak for themselves意思是「XX是不言自明的，XX是有目共睹的」，比如要表達「學校的優秀成績是有目共睹的」，可以說：The school's excellent record speaks for itself.

The company’s planned listing on the Korean stock exchange on October 15th looks set to make him and BTS even richer. Massively oversubscribed by both institutional investors and hardened fans, it is expected to value Big Hit at $4bn or so.

該公司計劃於10月15日在韓國證券交易所上市，這看起來將會讓他和防彈少年團變得更加富有。機構投資者和硬核粉絲大量超額認購公司股份，這一上市預計會將「熱門娛樂」公司的市值推到約40億美元。

Look set to do something是一個外刊常見表達，意思是「看上去將要做某事」，比如：Interest rates look set to rise again. 看樣子利率又要提高了。

最後一句it is expected to…這裡it指代上一句提到的the company’s planned listing on the Korean stock exchange。

今天的精讀就到這裡啦~

你喜歡防彈少年團嗎？你認為他們成功的原因是什麼呢？歡迎留言討論~