Unboxing: BTS Proof Official Merch

Wow, my BTS Proof merch finally arrived and I legitimately forgot I even ordered them.

Way back in June, when Proof came out, BigHit had released a small collection of official merch for the album. There was a total of 7 items, and I was set to buy at least 5 of them. But they all sold out within minutes and I didn't end up getting anything, so I thought, "I guess it's not meant to be." Then the next morning, they released a second pre-order run, so I was like, "Okay, this is my chance, NO FOMO FOR ME." But after having mulled over it overnight, I thought, "Well, I'm not going to use the magnet set and I have way too many black BTS shirts as it is." So I narrowed it down to just 2 items: the tumbler, which was my first choice, and the badge set, because I collect all of BTS' pins.

BTS Proof Official Merch — Tumbler — Outer Box
BTS Proof Official Merch — Tumbler — Side #1
BTS Proof Official Merch — Tumbler — Side #2
BTS Proof Official Merch — Badge Set
This is probably the smallest BTS merch collection haul I've ever made. But in hindsight, I think it was for the best — I ended up spending $530 CAD on the absolute monster that is the Proof Collector's Edition set a couple weeks ago. (It's a whopping 24 lbs. You can imagine how insane the shipping fee is. And how brutal the duties are going to be.)

BTS — "Yet to Come" (feat. #MyBTStory) MV

"Many moments were spent together. There were times when my story became your story. I am so glad we have the opportunity to reflect on our memories like this. Precious moments unfolded before my eyes, reminding me vividly of the emotions and memories of that time, and left me with a crushing feeling. As I looked through your #MyBTStory one by one, whether near or far, I felt we were tightly connected through song and dance. 

From the clumsy appearance to the extravagant stage, our every moment was also a moment together with you. There were happy times and sad times, but we felt blessed to have you as a part of our story and so blessed for being a part of your story. There are people who continuously support us, and to be able to grow together with them for such a long time is a rare blessing. The Best Moment is Yet to Come. I purple you. 

Sincerely yours, J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Suga, and V."

I'M NOT CRYING, YOU ARE.

Unboxing: BTS — Proof Compact Edition

 (Warning: This post is long and photo-heavy.)

My BTS Proof set finally arrived a few days ago as Weverse Shop was having delays in shipping. Proof is BTS' 17th Korean language album, 5th compilation album, and their first anthology album. It was globally released on June 10, 2022, at all music retailers both online and in-store. The Proof set is exclusive to Weverse Shop, and includes both the Standard Edition and the Compact Edition. The set retails for $68.93 USD or ₩74,200 on Weverse Shop Global, plus shipping. Note that the set is literally the cost of the Standard and Compact Editions together, so you do not save any money by buying the set as opposed to each version separately.

This post will feature the Compact Edition only. You can find the unboxing of the Standard Edition here.  The Compact Edition retails for $17.92 USD or ₩19,300 on Weverse Shop Global, plus shipping. Both the Compact Edition and the Standard Edition are available at all music retailers online and in-store globally. I pre-ordered the set on Weverse Shop because it came with extra pre-order and special edition gifts, but as those benefits no longer apply, I would highly recommend looking into local retailers as international shipping from Weverse Shop is incredibly inflated. 

BTS Proof Compact Edition — Outer Sleeve
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Outer Sleeve
The BTS Proof Compact Edition measures 15.4cm L x 15.3cm W x 1.5cm D — a bit bigger than your standard CD case. This edition is held together by an outer sleeve, which is made of a matte black card stock and features the Proof logo in a holographic silver inlayed on the front. As there is no box, all the contents of this album must be slid out of this sleeve.

BTS Proof Compact Edition — Fold-Out CD Sleeve
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Fold-Out CD Sleeve
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Fold-Out CD Sleeve + CDs

The first thing you will find is a fold-up sleeve in matte black card stock with the Proof logo inlayed on the front in metallic silver. Once you unfold the sleeve, you will find all three CDs of the album. In general, CD 1 includes BTS' title tracks and major hits over the last 9 years, CD 2 includes member solo and subunit tracks, and CD 3 includes demo versions of existing songs and previously unreleased tracks. The music content of the Standard Edition and the Compact Edition are the same. The contents of the CDs are as follows:

CD 1:

1. Born Singer
2. No More Dream
3. N.O
4. Boy in Luv
5. Danger
6. I Need U
7. Run
8. Fire
9. Blood Sweat & Tears
10. Spring Day
11. DNA
12. Fake Love
13. Idol
14. Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)
15. ON
16. Dynamite
17. Life Goes On
18. Butter
19. Yet to Come

CD 2:

1. Run BTS
2. Intro: Persona
3. Stay
4. Moon
5. Jamais Vu
6. Trivia: Seesaw
7. BTS Cypher Pt. 3: Killer (feat. Supreme Boi)
8. Outro: Ego
9. Her
10. Filter
11. Friends
12. Singularity
13. 00:00 (Zero O'Clock)
14. Euphoria
15. Dimple

CD 3:

1. Jump [Demo]
2. Young Love
3. Boy in Luv [Demo]
4. Quotation Mark
5. I Need U [Demo]
6. Boyz With Fun [Demo]
7. Tony Montana (Agust D feat. Jimin)
8. Young Forever [RM's Demo]
9. Spring Day [V's Demo]
10. DNA [J-Hope's Demo]
11. Epiphany [Jin's Demo]
12. Seesaw [Suga's Demo]
13. Still With You (Acapella)
14. For Youth

There are three brand new songs that were released on this album: "Yet to Come" on CD 1, "Run BTS" on CD 2, and "For Youth" on CD 3. ("For Youth" is the only track from CD 3 that is available to stream digitally. All the other songs from CD 3 are exclusive to the physical album.) There are also two previously unreleased tracks, "Young Love" and "Quotation Mark," both on CD 3, and two new recordings of "Born Singer" and "Tony Montana (feat. Jimin)" which have been performed live but were never released on an album. 

BTS Proof Compact Edition — Discography Guide
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Discography Guide
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Randomized Member Postcard + Photocard
You will then find a small accordion booklet in matte black card stock with the words, "We are Bulletproof," printed on the front in white. This is a Discography Guide. Each fold features all of BTS' album releases from debut to last year, including the date of release and a small blurb about the theme of the album. (Note that this discography does not include Japanese releases or soundtracks.) Next to the Discography Guide, you will find a randomized member postcard and a randomized member photocard. I ended up pulling a double Suga! (Note that the postcard in the Compact Edition is smaller in size to the one in the Standard Edition.)

BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet
BTS Proof Compact Edition — BookletLyric Pages
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet"Proof" Concept Photo
BTS Proof Compact Edition — BookletLyric Pages
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet"Proof" Concept Photo
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet
The Compact Edition only comes with one singular booklet, which uses PUR binding. This booklet is made of the same matte black card stock as the outer sleeve and the CD sleeve. The booklet features the Proof logo on the cover in an ombré greyscale. This booklet basically condenses three of the books that come with the Standard Edition. When you open the booklet, you will find the track list and the lyrics of all the songs on the album. Like the Standard Edition, the lyrics pages are colour-coded by CD: CD 1 is red, CD 2 is black, and CD 3 is grey. In between the lyrics sections for CD 1 and CD 2, you will find solo and group shots from the "Proof" concept, as well as one group photo spread in between the lyrics sections for CD 2 and CD 3.

BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet"Door" Concept Photos(Left: RM, Right: Jin)
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet"Door" Concept Photos(Left: Suga, Right: J-Hope)
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet"Door" Concept Photos(Left: Jimin, Right: V)
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Booklet"Door" Concept Photo + Thank You Note(Jungkook)
BTS Proof Compact Edition — Mini Poster
The final section of the booklet is the individual members' thank you notes, accompanied by some of the most gorgeous photos of our boys from the "Door" concept. The last item you will find in the Compact Edition is a mini poster (30.5cm x 30.6cm) featuring a group photo from the "Door" concept. All in all, the Compact Edition comes with much less content than the Standard Edition but is still worth the price — it's about 1/3 of the price, and you get about 1/3 of the content. This is a great option for more casual listeners, new ARMYs, ARMYs who don't really care about extra multimedia, ARMYs who don't have the money to splurge on the Standard Edition, and ARMYs who want a portable version to travel with (maybe keep an extra copy at work or school). Or, if you're like me, you'll just want it for the sake of collecting. It's just a much more condensed version of the Standard Edition — you still get a decent amount of content, the gist of the theme and the message of this album, but all of the music.

Unboxing: BTS — Proof Standard Edition

(Warning: This post is very long and extremely photo-heavy.)

My BTS Proof setfinally arrived a few days ago as Weverse Shop was having delays in shipping. Proof is BTS' 17th Korean language album, 5th compilation album, and their first anthology album. It was globally released on June 10, 2022, at all music retailers both online and in-store. The Proof set is exclusive to Weverse Shop, and includes both the Standard Edition and the Compact Edition. The set retails for $68.93 USD or ₩74,200 on Weverse Shop Global, plus shipping. Note that the set is literally the cost of the Standard and Compact Editions together, so you do not save any money by buying the set as opposed to each version separately.

This post will feature the Standard Edition only and there will be a separate post for the Compact Edition. The Standard Edition retails for $51 USD or ₩54,900 on Weverse Shop Global, plus shipping. Out of impatience for waiting for my set to arrive from Korea, I bought another Standard Edition a couple weeks ago at Indigo where it retails for $100.99 CAD, which actually ends up being cheaper than buying it on Weverse Shop Global because of inflated shipping costs to Canada. (They use DHL.) However, the international shipping cost and import fees don't even come as a surprise, because at nearly 5 pounds, the Proof Standard Edition is an absolute monster and BTS' heaviest album to date.

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Outer Box + Outer Sleeve
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Outer Box
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Outer Box
The BTS Proof Standard Edition measures 25cm L x 19cm W x 6.5cm D. The outer box is made of black canvas-covered board and comes with a transparent plastic sleeve with the Proof logo on the front in a light grey. The outer box has the same Proof logo on the front in a glossy black. The box opens from the centre like a door, similar to BTS' logo.

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Inside
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Foldout CD Sleeve
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Foldout CD Sleeve + CDs

Once open, the first thing you will find is a fold-up sleeve in matte black card stock with the word "Proof" on the front in holographic silver. Once you unfold the sleeve, you will find all three CDs of the album. In general, CD 1 includes BTS' title tracks and major hits over the last 9 years, CD 2 includes member solo and subunit tracks, and CD 3 includes demo versions of existing songs and previously unreleased tracks. The contents of the CDs are as follows:

CD 1:

1. Born Singer
2. No More Dream
3. N.O
4. Boy in Luv
5. Danger
6. I Need U
7. Run
8. Fire
9. Blood Sweat & Tears
10. Spring Day
11. DNA
12. Fake Love
13. Idol
14. Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)
15. ON
16. Dynamite
17. Life Goes On
18. Butter
19. Yet to Come

CD 2:

1. Run BTS
2. Intro: Persona
3. Stay
4. Moon
5. Jamais Vu
6. Trivia: Seesaw
7. BTS Cypher Pt. 3: Killer (feat. Supreme Boi)
8. Outro: Ego
9. Her
10. Filter
11. Friends
12. Singularity
13. 00:00 (Zero O'Clock)
14. Euphoria
15. Dimple

CD 3:

1. Jump [Demo]
2. Young Love
3. Boy in Luv [Demo]
4. Quotation Mark
5. I Need U [Demo]
6. Boyz With Fun [Demo]
7. Tony Montana (Agust D feat. Jimin)
8. Young Forever [RM's Demo]
9. Spring Day [V's Demo]
10. DNA [J-Hope's Demo]
11. Epiphany [Jin's Demo]
12. Seesaw [Suga's Demo]
13. Still With You (Acapella)
14. For Youth

There are three brand new songs that were released on this album: "Yet to Come" on CD 1, "Run BTS" on CD 2, and "For Youth" on CD 3. ("For Youth" is the only track from CD 3 that is available to stream digitally. All the other songs from CD 3 are exclusive to the physical album.) There are also two previously unreleased tracks, "Young Love" and "Quotation Mark," both on CD 3, and two new recordings of "Born Singer" and "Tony Montana (feat. Jimin)" which have been performed live but were never released on an album. 

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Envelope Sleeve + Member Photocard Set
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Randomized Member Postcards + Photocards(Left: J-Hope Postcard + Jungkook Photocard, Right: Suga Postcard + Jimin Photocard)
Once you lift out the CD sleeve, you will find a small black envelope that includes a set of seven photocards (one for each member), a randomized member photocard, and a randomized member postcard. From my first album, I pulled a J-hope postcard and a Jungkook photocard, and from my second album, I pulled a Suga postcard and a Jimin photocard.

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 1: The Art of Proof
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 1: The Art of Proof
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 1: The Art of Proof
(Discography: 2 Cool 4 Skool + The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 1: The Art of Proof
(Discography: You Never Walk Alone + Love Yourself: Her)
Next, you will find a whopping three photobooks, all of which use PUR binding. The first book is called "The Art of Proof," and the cover is matte black with the Proof logo in glossy black inlayed on the front. Inside of this photobook, you will find the history of BTS: their discography with images from each era, a timeline of their career including major achievements or records, a timeline of their tours with images from each one, and a section featuring their speeches and visits to the UN. 

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: Photograph

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: Photograph
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographJ-Hope / Jung Hoseok(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographJin / Kim Seokjin(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographJimin / Park Jimin(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographJungkook / Jeon Jungkook(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographRM / Kim Namjoon(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographSuga / Min Yoongi(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographV / Kim Taehyung(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 2: PhotographBTS(Left: "Proof" Concept, Right: "Door" Concept)
The second photobook is called "Photograph," and the cover features a photo of a dark blue room with a metal vault door filled with bullet indents and hundreds of bullets on the floor in front of it. This photobook includes all the concept photos taken for this album. The first concept is called "Proof," which is dark; all black clothing, lots of leather and heavy chains, slicked back hair and smoky eyes. The concept is that they're being spied on, hunted, and shot at, but they will always stand their ground; they are bulletproof. The second concept is called "Door," which is much lighter; muted pastel clothing, sheer silks and satins, soft cuts and subtle makeup. The concept is less obvious here, but my take on it is that they've found freedom and they finally see the light at the end of the tunnel; the best is yet to come.

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: Epilogue
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: Epilogue
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueRM / Kim Namjoon
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueJin / Kim Seokjin
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueSuga / Min Yoongi
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueJ-Hope / Jung Hoseok
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueJimin / Park Jimin
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueV / Kim Taehyung
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Photobook 3: EpilogueJungkook / Jeon Jungkook
The third photobook is called "Epilogue," and the cover is matte white with the Proof logo in matted silver inlayed on the front. This book features a candid photoshoot of the members taking photos, developing film in a dark room, looking at old photos, and selecting final photos. It also includes behind the scenes photos from the "Proof" and "Door" concept photoshoots featured in the "Photograph" photobook, and ends with the members' thank you notes.

BTS Proof Standard Edition — Lyrics Booklet
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Lyrics Booklet
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Lyrics Booklet(Left: Tracklist, Right: CD 1 Lyric Page)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Lyrics Booklet(Left: CD 2 Lyric Page, Right: CD 3 Lyric Page)
There is one final booklet included with this album, which is saddle-stitched with a more basic card stock. It has a white cover and the Proof logo in greyscale. This book includes the lyrics and credits for all the songs in Proof. The pages are colour-coded by CD: CD 1 is red, CD 2 is black, and CD 3 is grey.

BTS Proof Standard Edition — "Proof" Concept Poster(Top: Folded, Bottom: Rolled)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Proof Set Special Pre-Order Gift(Randomized Member Photo Film Strip — RM)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — BTS Island: In the Seom Photocard + Proof Pre-Order Gift(Randomized Member Photocard — Jungkook)
BTS Proof Standard Edition — Proof Pre-Order Gift(Randomized Member Photocard with Photo Stand — Jungkook)
Finally, the extra goodies. Each album sold from the first press run came with a poster; if you bought it from Weverse Shop, the poster came rolled in a poster tube, but if you bought it from any other retailer (online or physical store), the poster came folded inside the box. (This is actually huge reason why I still pre-order albums from Weverse Shop.) Note that the poster will no longer be available after the first press run. As I pre-ordered the Proof set from Weverse Shop, I got a special edition gift, which is a randomized member photo film strip, for which I pulled RM. The second gift was given to anyone who pre-ordered the Standard Edition from Weverse Shop, which was a randomized member photocard with a clear magnetic photo stand, and I pulled Jungkook for this one. All albums that were pre-ordered from Weverse also came with an adorable randomized member BTS Island: In the Seom photocard, which also doubled as a coupon code for the game. 

And now we know why this album is so expensive. It's beautifully packaged and well-thought out, jam-packed full of content, and includes a whopping 48 songs. An amazing introduction to new ARMY, a spectacular walk down memory lane for old ARMY, and a gorgeous album to add to any ARMY's collection.