Best K-Pop Music Videos With Storylines
Seven music videos that will pull you in with their plot. These plot-driven music videos are often five to eight minutes long and can send you on just as emotional of a rollercoaster as any full-length movie.
This Brown Eyed Girls Kill Bill-inspired music video of the same name takes place during two time periods. First, the video opens in black and white with the four members each attempting to kill an ex-lover, Bill. Gain succeeds by shooting him, but shoots JeA in the eye in the process. This begins the cycle of each member killing one another. However, by the time they are all dead, the music hasn’t even started. After the music starts, there is a four-year time skip where each of the members are now alive and hunting down whichever girl killed them in the past.
In “ONE SHOT” by B.A.P a rival gang kidnaps Youngjae from B.A.P’s gang and holds him for ransom.
B.A.P go along with it in order to get their member back. The remaining members buy guns and steal money to pay off the gang and meet them in a subway. Following a dramatic plot twist, a gang war breaks out leaving all of the gang members dead. Just when you think it’s over, the video rewinds to show an alternative plot twist where a member of B.A.P is instead an undercover cop who plotted the entire thing to get both gangs arrested.
Speaking of plot twists, “Please Don’t…” by K.will is one of the most well-known music videos in the K-Pop community to date. Its popularity widely comes from the iconic surprise ending in this story of a love triangle fueled by jealousy. The video stars Seo Inguk, Ahn Jaehyun, and Dasom with Jaehyung and Dasom getting married, leaving Inguk to ruminate in his envy.
And you can’t mention “Please Don’t…” without talking about its sequel “No Sad Song For My Broken Heart.” Over 10 years after the release of the iconic “Please Don’t…” video, K.will brought Seo Inguk and Ahn Jaehyun together again for a part two. At the beginning of the video, the two reunite years later at a funeral and exchange numbers. Based on their clothes, the middle scenes, sandwiched between the funeral scenes, all take place on the same day. Later while the two are hanging out, Jaehyun shows his left hand to Inguk, signaling that he’s now divorced. Chronologically, the story is a bit confusing, but regardless, the plot twist at the end is still a punch to the gut.
IU’s “Love Wins All” is a bittersweet story of lovers during the end of the world. The couple explores an abandoned mall where they find a camcorder that allows them to see an alternative version of each other, where the world is normal. For a few minutes, they are able to spend their lives together not worrying about anything and living in peace.
In “30 Minutes Might Be Too Long” Jun. K sings about taking 20 minutes to win a girl back after ruining their relationship. However, the music video shows the story being reversed. Here, the man runs from his ex who is pleading for him to take her back. He gets stuck in a time loop trying to escape from her in his apartment and she traps him so that she can blow the apartment up so they can be together forever. She soon realizes she regrets her decision, but it is too late. The story then takes place again with Jun. K becoming the main character.
In “OMG,” NewJeans play young psychiatric patients who are explaining their delusions to the doctor who is in charge. Hanni believes that she is an iPhone. She runs all the apps herself, sending messenger pigeons, sorting mail, and even telling the weather. Hyein believes she is a princess, and envisions herself in various fairytales. Haerin believes she is a cat and even eats cat food while sitting at the table with the other members. Danielle’s delusion is NewJeans themselves. She exclaims to the other members, “We’re shooting a music video right now,” but the other members don’t believe her. Minji believes she’s a doctor, trying to assess the other members and even turning into the doctor at the end of the video. She rounds up the escaped patients and puts them into an ambulance only to end up in the back of the ambulance herself.