"Come Back Home" is a song by South Korean boy band
Seo Taiji and Boys
() was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful ...
, from their fourth and final
self-titled studio album, which was released on October 5, 1995.
The group's foray into
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
, the song's lyrical content addresses the societal pressures on young people that push them to run away from home, while the
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...
conveys the perspective of the runaways' parents.
Following its release, "Come Back Home" was met with success in South Korea, and achieved the top positions on music program charts for multiple weeks. It won several awards, including the Asia Viewer's Choice Award at the
1996 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The show centered on The Smashin ...
. In 2007, music webzine ''Music Taste Y'' ranked it as the fourth best Korean song of all time.
Music and lyrics
"Come Back Home" is a song that is rooted in
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...
; according to
The Korea Foundation
The Korea Foundation (Korean: 한국국제교류재단, Hanja: 韓國國際交流財團) is a non-profit public diplomacy organization established in 1991 to promote a better understanding of Korea and strengthen friendships in the internation ...
, it provided the grounds for
hip-hop music to take root in Korea. Its lyrical content revolves around the problem of the increasing number of teenage runways around the time of its release, as
Seo Taiji
Jeong Hyeon-cheol (Korean: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, ...
often ran away himself while he was younger.
In an interview with ''
The Chosun Ilbo
''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...
'' in 2008, Seo revealed that he often ran away from middle school and almost dropped out due to
corporal punishment in the classroom; however, he credited his third year middle school teacher for guiding him and abolishing physical punishments in his class. He said that "When making 'Come Back Home', I put everything I felt when I was in third grade in that song."
The song's chorus line supports the perspective of the parents' worries, thereby serving as a sort of mediator between the teenagers and parents.
While the majority of the song was written in Korean, assistant professor of music at
University of Hildesheim
The University of Hildesheim (in German ''Universität Hildesheim'') is a public university located in Hildesheim.
History
Alfeld University of Education (Pädagogische Hochschule Alfeld) - University of Hildesheim
The University of Hildeshe ...
Michael Fuhr wrote that the function of the English words that were used in the title and the
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...
: "you must come back home", served as an attention getter. Fuhr said that the
code-switching
In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...
between English and Korean represented the generational gap between parents and youth, whereas the English chorus formulates a greater appeal to younger generations than it would with Korean words.
Reception
The song was received well in South Korea upon its release—according to a poll conducted by
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
in 2005, it was the ranked the most popular song from 1995. ''
The Korea Herald
''The Korea Herald'' is a leading English-language daily newspaper founded in 1953 and published in Seoul, South Korea. The editorial staff is composed of Korean and international writers and editors, with additional news coverage drawn from int ...
'' wrote that "The track, which dealt with the issue of teenage runaways, had a ripple effect of bringing runaway teenagers back home." In 2007, webzine ''Music Taste Y'' ranked "Come Back Home" number four in their list of 100 Best Korean Songs of all-time.
In 2021, it was included in
Melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...
and ''
Seoul Shinmun
''The Seoul Shinmun'' (translating to The Seoul Newspaper) is the oldest daily newspaper in South Korea with more than a century of publication. Its original name was ''Daehan Maeil Sinbo'' (''The Korea Daily News''), which was started on July 1 ...
''s list of 100 top K-pop songs since 1992, with KBS Radio director Soyeon Kang writing that because of the song and its refrain, teenagers who ran away returned home; its expression of real-world problems was "a social phenomenon that went beyond simply music."
"Come Back Home" has been criticized for being similar to American hip hop group
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
's 1993 song "
Insane in the Brain
"Insane in the Brain" is a 1993 song by American hip hop group Cypress Hill, released as the first single from their second album, '' Black Sunday'' (1993). In addition to hitting number one on the US rap chart, the song also was a mainstream hi ...
". Cypress Hill member
B-Real
Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...
later explained that they were aware of the controversy but "we were cool about shit like that."
Accolades
Seo Taiji and Boys won several accolades with "Come Back Home", including the Asia Viewer's Choice Award at the
1996 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The show centered on The Smashin ...
—their first international award. The song additionally earned
11 wins on South Korean weekly
music programs throughout November–early December 1995, including five consecutive wins on KBS's ''
Top 10 Songs'', and two triple crowns (three wins) on the programs SBS's ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...
'' and MBC's ''
Popular Songs Best 50''.
Music video
The music video was directed by Hong Jong-ho.
Set in an abandoned building and on the street corners of a city, the music video opens with a teenager running out of his house after arguing with his father. He then ventures off into the woods, backyards, and the streets of the city. The scenes of the boy running away are juxtaposed with Seo Taiji and Boys along with their dancers performing the choreography in the abandoned building. Meanwhile, as the teenager recalls the dispute, his face and body gestures reflect his distress. However, he is suddenly chased by a group of mobsters who beat him up and hurl him to the ground. Seo Taiji and Boys appear and is seen through the window of the boy's house, as the teenager eventually returns to his home on a sunny afternoon. The last scene finishes with a close-up of Seo smiling as he sits in the abandoned building. The video conveys the primary theme expressed through the song's lyrics, where it contrasts the dark and rough images of the outside world with the bright and welcoming imagery of the teenager's home.
In April 2005,
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
ranked it one the top ten best music videos in South Korea released within the past decade.
Covers and other usage
In 2014,
2NE1
2NE1 (, ) was a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, which was active between 2009 and 2016. The group was composed of four members: Bom, CL, Dara, and Minzy. Known for breaking typical stereotypes of K-pop, musical experiment ...
—managed under band member
Yang Hyun-suk
Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...
's label
YG Entertainment
YG Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1996 by Yang Hyun-suk. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production compa ...
—released the single "
Come Back Home" as part of their final studio album. Although not a cover, the song's choreography was specifically requested by the 2NE1 members to incorporate dance moves from the version by Seo Taiji and Boys, as they felt that its elements would also suit the color of their new performances. As part of
Seo Taiji
Jeong Hyeon-cheol (Korean: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, ...
's 25th anniversary project "Time: Traveler",
BTS
BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
released a remake of the song in July 2017. In their version, group members J-Hope and RM reworked the sound and lyrics with Seo Taiji himself while retaining its similar sentiments toward societal change, in addition to keeping the "intensely dark feeling" that was present in the original version. BTS was later invited by Seo to perform as backup vocalists and dancers for eight songs in his
Seoul Olympic Stadium
The Seoul Olympic Stadium (), also known as Jamsil Olympic Stadium (formerly romanised as ''Chamshil''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Seoul, South Korea. It is the main stadium built for the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1986 Asian Games, 10th ...
concert held early September.
References
{{Seo Taiji
1995 songs
1995 singles
Hip hop songs
Seo Taiji and Boys songs