Has this been brought up before? I apologize if this belongs under an existing thread, since I'm kind of new here.
So, 'haegeum's' dual meanings—the traditional musical instrument, and the lifting of a ban.
As it turns out, the phrase "pull out all the stops" not only means 'bans' being lifted, but also refers to a musical instrument: the organ. Merriam-webster has a page for this. A "knob stop" being pushed or pulled by the organist controls the airflow going through a pipe, allowing it to produce sound. Pulling a stop lets air escape; organ goes 'toot'. Pulling out all the stops = all pipes TOOT. Colloqially, as Merriam-webster says, it means to "make every possible effort or use all available resources to achieve an end."
Going all-out to 'achieve an end' isn't the same as 'liberation', thematically speaking, but both do refer to some sort of relief or granted permission. Stoppage removed. Close enough.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out that we DO have a linguistic/conceptual equivalent in English, sort of, and this is it! Now, if there were a spiritual equivalent of the song using the grand organ…
by mufflekid
Interesting! It always fascinates me how language actually works and such (can’t think of a better word lol). It’s even more fascinating how the members can pull off such word play. I know turns of phrase exist in other languages, but the way the BTS members do it in Korean is even more fascinating to me. And the fact that a lot of the things don’t have a literal, direct translation but there are equivalents, just like this. It makes me wonder how many things I’m missing out on because I don’t speak Korean and there are so many things that are impossible to translate!