Some K-Pop groups have adopted a sort of lore to go with the release of an album, video series, or songs, such as Enhypen’s vampire schoolboys or BTS’s gritty alter egos in “RUN.”
ATEEZ has taken this to a new level, and their Fritz Lang-style dystopian multiverse has already stretched over at least nine albums… and is still going. To very briefly explain their lore, it encompasses entering parallel worlds devoid of freedom of artistic expression and beauty (Strickland). Fortunately, there are groups like the Black Pirates fighting for liberation and ancient, powerful relics to be found. There is so much more nuance to this, but if I were to devote a post to their lore it would be way too long.
Also, discovering the story is part of the fun.
You can see this lore heavily in their music videos, album concept designs, and live performances, but it is well explained in the diaries contained in some versions of their albums. These “diary entries” are written from the point of view of each member, and can turn very dark and slightly violent at times. It can also be very confusing if you don’t know where to start.
A couple of months ago, I pre-ordered the collected chronological version of these diaries in the form of the ATEEZ — The World: To the End book and disc set. It arrived last week, about the same time I received their latest mini album, Golden Hour Part 2.
This book contains a large paperback version of their diary lore from Fever: Part 2 to The World: Fin, collected in prose form in English, Korean, and Japanese, titled Dear Diary: The World. Being able to read this in one place gave me a huge appreciation for the storytelling behind their works’ concepts.
Even the small print on the cover hooks you in:
We can no longer live in a world like this. We’ve already lost our loved ones, we cannot afford to lose any more. No longer can we let our children live in a world like this. With the same heart and mind the people cried determination burning through their red eyes. We must let the Black Pirates and ATEEZ know. We are here.
Pretty deep for a K-Pop group.
If the diary had been available on its own, that would have been enough for ATINY to enjoy. However, this impressively big and hefty set also has video content, a sizable photo book, and a postcard set.
There were two versions available, the DVD and the Playcode versions. The Playcode version includes the DVD content as a digital code but also includes an extra set of photo cards. That version sold out quickly, due to the photo card set, but I always prefer physical media to digital.
And there is a lot of physical media, in this set: five DVDs featuring more than eight hours of concert footage, behind-the-scenes making of some of their famous music videos, and more.
What really appealed to me in this set was the photo book. Seasoned K-Pop album buyers know the photo book is a big part of album packaging, and ATEEZ put together a beautiful collection from their photo shoots, concert photos, and music video stills. There are also some wonderful images of their video sets and costume designs during the group’s The World era in 2022 and 2023. I would love to see a full “art of” book for ATEEZ’s history, but for now, this comes close.
If I have one small issue with this set, it is that the diary collection doesn’t really begin where their actual diaries started, with Fever Part 1. I had my daughter print out the diaries from that album to put in my set. If you are unfamiliar with the lore, I recommended finding this album’s diaries online, and reading them before you set into the book.
Since the lore is continuing beyond this set, with ATEEZ’s first two Golden Hour mini albums, I would love to see them release a full prose version of all their diary lore in just a big prose collection. I would also love to see this lore released as a Dark Horse-style graphic novel or webtoon, but that is just a personal dream of mine.
From the packaging to where the diaries end, this set is a good companion to anyone who particularly loves ATEEZ’s The World era, as it wraps up with that story.
As a gift for an ATINY, it is beautifully and simply packaged and filled with everything that makes ATEEZ such a groundbreaking performing arts force.
If you’re not an ATEEZ fan yet, seeing the mix of literature, performing, and visual art that goes into their creative endeavors found in this book might turn you ATINY quicker than you would think.
Geekmom Lisa purchased the now sold-out DVD version from Hello 82 for $64.98, but it is available from Amazon and other sources averaging around $80.
