“Goodbye” was released on January 20th 2017 (2NE1 2017).  As the title of the single suggests, “Goodbye” is the final song and music video released by 2NE1.  As the final release, “Goodbye” pays homage to the group’s previous releases by replaying scenes from old live shows and music videos within the video (2NE1 2017).  This song and its accompanying video with its lyrics and visuals allow the audience to bid farewell to the group, 2NE1. In addition, the lyrics and visual provide the idea that despite this song marking the end of 2NE1, it also marks new beginnings for all the group members.

 

As discussed by Haerin Shin, the audience and their reception of an idol group is what builds idols up and may potentially ruin them as well (Shin 2015, 135).  As 2NE1 was affected by Park Bom’s scandal in 2014, the video for “Goodbye” seems to attempt to evoke a sense of nostalgia in its audience in order to alter the audience’s reception of them post scandal.  Nostalgia works as an agent to bring people together as they “collectively” reminisce about past events or feelings (Wulf et al. 2018, 3) With the scandal of 2014, it is understandable that some fans may have turned away from the group and that there were fans that stayed.  By placing the clips of past concerts and music videos and having the members of 2NE1 spectate the clips within the video for “Goodbye,” audience members that remember watching those clips prior to the release of “Goodbye” feel a connection to the spectating group members. By inducing this feeling of nostalgia in the viewers, it allows them to part with 2NE1 on slightly more positive terms as the clips show the ups of 2NE1’s career as opposed to the downs.

 

Visuals play an immense role in K-pop, and this is true for “Goodbye”’s music video (Epstein with Turnbull 2014, 316).  The music video for “Goodbye” can be split into two section. In the first half of the video, CL is seen on a bed alone, Park Bom is inside a tunnel, and Dara is covered by a sheet (2NE1 2017).  By the 2:45 mark of the video, Park Bom leaves the tunnel, Dara lifts up the sheet, and by the end of the video the other two members are seen lying in the bed with CL (2NE1 2017). The visuals of the first half may signify how prior to the disbandment, the members of 2NE1 are caught in a creative rut.  By leaving the tunnel and lifting the sheets, the members are figuratively able to set free their creativity and embrace their own paths, that they have chosen for themselves. Furthermore, the scene where all three of them are together show that despite no longer performing as a group, they are still connected.

 

In order to understand the meaning of a song, one should look at the title.  “Goodbye” is the chosen translation for the Korean title “안녕” (2NE1 2017). Since there is a tendency of K-pop song titles being originally in English, it is a deliberate choice for 2NE1 to go with a Korean title (Jin and Ryoo 2014, 123).  On sites such as Learn With Oliver, 안녕 has more than one meaning, as it can be used as both “goodbye” and “hello” (LearnWithOliver 2018).  Since the title of this song can be interpreted as both “goodbye” and “hello,” it shows how this song is more than a goodbye to 2NE1 due to their disbandment, but it is also a hello to members as they pursue personal careers.

 

“Goodbye” brings together fans of the group to celebrate the accomplishments of 2NE1 with the usage of nostalgia.  Despite being a farewell to the group, it also evokes the feeling, that it is not the last time fans will encounter the members of 2NE1, through its visuals and choice of title.

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Epstein, Stephen and James Turnbull. “Girls’ Generation? Gender, (Dis)Empowerment, and K-pop.” The Korean Popular Culture Reader, edited by Kyung Hyun Kim and Youngmin Choe. 314- 336. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014.

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Jin, Dal Yong and Woongjae Ryoo. “Critical Interpretation of Hybrid K-Pop: The Global-Local Paradigm of English Mixing in Lyrics.” Popular Music and Society 37, no. 2 (2014): 113-131.

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Shin, Haerin. “The Dynamics of K-pop Spectatorship: The Tablo Witch-hunt and Its Double-Edged Sword of Enjoyment.” K-pop - The International Rise of the Korean Music Industry, edited by JungBong Choi and Roald Maliangkay. 133-145. New York: Routledge, 2015.

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Wulf, Tim et al. “Blissed by the Past: Theorizing Media-induced Nostalgia as an Audience Response Factor for Entertainment and Well-being.” Poetics: Journal of Empirical Research on Culture, the Media and the Arts (2018): 1-11.

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Learn With Oliver: Online Language Learning. https://www.learnwitholiver.com/korean/translate-word-40-%EC%95%88%EB%85%95 (06/23/2018).

 

2NE1.”2NE1 - '안녕 (GOODBYE)' M/V.” Youtube Video, 4:02. January 20, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEkLHC7l25w.

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