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Korean boy band BTS has released the music video for their new song 2.0, and it pays homage to one of cinema’s most memorable action scenes: Oldboy’s iconic hallway fight.
The global K-Pop superstars made their comeback in March with a huge concert in the centre of Seoul that was streamed on Netflix to celebrate the release of their latest album, Arirang.
2.0 is the second song to receive its own MV after lead single Swim, and features all seven members of the group arriving in an elevator to be greeted by several angry-looking men holding weapons in a clear homage to the modern Korean classic, Oldboy.
THIS IS THE HOTTEST INTRO TO A SONG IN A MUSIC VIDEO EVER. pic.twitter.com/nkVTDlXwzu
— ajk ⋆ (@archiveforJK) April 1, 2026
Park Chan-wook’s masterpiece features a now-synonymous fight scene where its lead character, portrayed by Choi Min-sik, takes on dozens of goons in a thrilling one-shot, tracking sideways along the hall with him. In the BTS video, the group can be seen dancing as the camera moves in a similar way as they’re flanked by attackers. Later on in the video, they can also be seen performing in an office that looks pretty much identical from one in the film where many of its most shocking revelations come to light, but we won’t go into those here for more than one reason…
Oldboy is largely credited with sparking interest in the West in Korean cinema, with its 2003 release coming at a similar time to other breakout hits such as Bong Joon Ho’s Memories of Murder and The Host.
BTS can claim to have a similar impact when it comes to K-pop. While not arriving in the first wave to come to popularity, they have achieved global success like no other Korean pop stars, aside from perhaps Blackpink.
Their new album, Arirang, takes its name from a traditional Korean folk song, in a celebration of the country’s culture, so it makes sense that the group would further honor their nation’s cultural heritage by paying homage to one of its most famous films.
For more on Park Chan-wook, you can check his breakdown of the very scene being honored in the BTS music video, or his picks for his favorite shots from some of his most iconic movies, such as Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and No Other Choice.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
