Shin Woo Seok, the director of NewJeans’ “ETA” MV has revealed his explanations about the music video’s true meaning.
On July 21st, NewJeans released the MV for “ETA”, one of the three title songs from their latest EP “Get Up”. “ETA” which still follows NewJeans’ classic “pop RnB” color yet boasts a powerful and impressive rhythm from the first listen, also introduces a new side of NewJeans with a horror-themed MV, all shot using a mobile phone.
If the “Cool With You” MV embraces a mythological touch with the love story of Cupid, then “ETA” follows a murder case. However, in a true “Min Hee Jin’s storytelling style”, the MV doesn’t explicitly depict how the murder happened, and instead leave it up to the viewers to interpret, with clues embedded through characters and images.
The “ETA” MV starts with the five NewJeans members making a phone call to a friend named Eva, informing her that her boyfriend is cheating on her. Towards the end of the video, Eva can be seen driving on a cliff, with her boyfriend’s shirt hanging out of the car’s trunk, implying that Eva has murdered the cheater and is off to get rid of his corpse.
The boldness of the MV’s story immediately caught the public’s attention, sparking countless discussions on Korean forums. So far, viewers have attempted to dissect the MVs in all sorts of perspectives, but the MV director, Shin Woo Seok, has offered a reasonable explanation.
Specifically, the director explained that the “ETA” MV is actually about a rumor, and the “murder” symbolizes the consequences of distorting and exaggerating information. Additionally, the director revealed that there are 2 key details in “ETA” that may help to decipher the story.
Below is the explanation from director Shin Woo Seok, as stated via an Instagram conversation:
“Hello. Thank you very much for enjoying this music video. However, I don’t like explaining every little detail of my projects after completing them. It would be difficult for me to provide a specific explanation. Therefore, within the limitations of what I can say, with ‘ETA’, I want to depict a story about ‘rumors.’ In modern society, we all encounter rumors that we haven’t witnessed with our own eyes, and we need to find a basis to believe in them. During that process, many truths are distorted and exaggerated. NewJeans, who unintentionally created the rumor in the story, also adheres to such a norm
If you break down the timeline of this MV, it can be seen that the timing of Hanni’s call and the moment Eva picks up the phone do not match. Additionally, the hairband, which can be seen next to the phone, does not appear until after the story started. In fact, the woman has already murdered the man, and is on her way to dispose of his corpse.
The MV doesn’t tell people whether the man actually cheated. The kiss scene is an imagination of the woman, which her mind conjures as she refuses to pick up the call.
In this day and age, we are exposed to too much information. However, we rarely think about confirming the truth before spreading such information. Thank you once again for your interest in the music video.”
With the director’s analysis, it seems that NewJeans and their team have conveyed a weighty message. Despite the colorful palette of the “ETA” MV, its story is tragic, yet relevant all the same.
Source: Daum
