The Code (EP)

Not to be confused with The Code (album) or Code (album).

The Code is the fifth extended play by the South Korean boy group Monsta X. It was released by Starship Entertainment and distributed by LOEN Entertainment on November 7, 2017. It consists of seven tracks, including the title track "Dramarama".

The Code
EP by Monsta X
Released	November 7, 2017 (2017-11-07)
Recorded	2017
Genre	K-pop
Length	24:00
Language	Korean
Label	Starship LOEN
Monsta X chronology
The Clan Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter (2017) The Code (2017) The Connect: Dejavu (2018)
Singles from The Code
"Dramarama" Released: November 7, 2017

Background and release

In October, Monsta X had announced the comeback, through the official SNS channel, alongside the personal photos of intense colors and visuals. In the released image, the dreamy color and close-up of each member's face were included in the background, with some sensuous typography and part of the seven logos for each member,^[1] while subsequently released the story images for each member, ahead of their comeback.^[2]

The group's comeback showcase was held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung District, Seoul on the same day of the comeback.^[3]

The EP was released in two versions; DE:code and Protocol Terminal.

Critical reception

"Dramarama" received critical praise, alongside the music video, with Taylor Glasby of Dazed describing both of them as "intriguing and alluring", noting the music video's concept of time travel with ambiguous meaning while praising the song's ability to highlight the "individual signatures" of the group members.^[4] Writing for Rolling Stone, Kim Jae-ha added that the song's "throbbing bass line", "funky rhythms", and "searing guitars", intensified its "hypnotic incantation" effect to the listeners.^[5]

Listicles

Name of critic or publication, name of listicle, name of work and rank

Critic/Publication	List	Work	Rank	Ref.
Song
Dazed	The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2017	"Dramarama"	10	[4]
Rolling Stone	The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music		74	[5]
Tone Glow	The 50 Best K-pop Songs of 2017		48	[6]

Commercial performance

As of 2022, the EP had sold over 170,000 units in South Korea.^[7] It also peaked at number one on the weekly Gaon Album Chart.^[8]

"Dramarama" debuted at number seven on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart upon its release while the song "From Zero" debuted at number one in 2020.^[9] It had marked the group's first-ever weekly music show win, achieving it on The Show.^[10]

Track listing

The Code track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangements	Length
1.	"Dramarama"	Seo Ji-eum Seo Jung-a Jooheon I.M	Andreas Öberg Drew Ryan Scott	A-Dee Stereo 14	3:06
2.	"Now or Never"	별들의전쟁 (Galactika) Jooheon I.M	별들의전쟁 (Galactika)	별들의전쟁 (Galactika)	3:11
3.	"In Time"	Jooheon Ye-Yo!	Jooheon Ye-Yo!	Jooheon Ye-Yo!	3:08
4.	"From Zero"	Wonho Jooheon I.M Brother Su	Wonho Rich Jang Brother Su	Wonho Rich Jang	3:26
5.	"X"	Oh Min-ju Jooheon I.M	어벤전승	어벤전승	3:46
6.	"Tropical Night" (열대야)	Jooheon I.M Crucial Star	Crucial Star Kooky	Kooky	3:44
7.	"Deja Vu"	JQ (Makeumine Works) Kan Eun-yu Kim Hye-jung (Makeumine Works) Jooheon I.M Choi Ji-hye	Flow Blow, JJ Evans, Shin Hyuk	Flow Blow	3:36
Total length:					24:00

Charts

Album

Weekly charts Chart performance for The Code Chart (2017) Peak position French Download Albums (SNEP)[11] 120 Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[12] 57 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] 16 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[8] 1 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[14] 12 US World Albums (Billboard)[15] 2

Monthly chart Chart performance for The Code Chart (2017) Peak position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[16] 4

Year-end chart Chart performance for The Code Chart (2017) Position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[17] 25

Songs

Weekly chart

Chart performance for "Dramarama" Chart (2017) Peak position US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[9] 7

Chart performance for "From Zero" Chart (2020) Peak position US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[9] 1

Sales

Region	Sales
South Korea (Gaon)[18]	175,902
Japan (Oricon)[19]	5,006

Accolades

Music program award for "Dramarama"

Program	Date	Ref.
The Show	November 14, 2017	[10]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominated work and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Golden Disc Awards	2018	Disc Daesang	The Code	Nominated	[20]
		Disc Bonsang		Won
Mnet Asian Music Awards	2018	Mwave Global Fans' Choice	"Dramarama"	Nominated	[21]

Release history

Release history and formats for The Code

Region	Date	Format	Label
South Korea	November 7, 2017	CD digital download streaming	Starship Entertainment LOEN Entertainment
Various		Digital download streaming

See also

• List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts
• List of K-pop albums on the Billboard charts
• List of K-pop songs on the World Digital Song Sales chart
• List of Gaon Album Chart number ones of 2017

References

1. Kim, Eun-ji (March 12, 2018). '컴백' 몬스타엑스(MONSTA X), 개별 티저 이미지 공개…기대감 ↑ ['Comeback' MONSTA X releases individual teaser images... anticipation ↑]. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved March 12, 2018 – via Naver.
2. Kim, Eun-yoo (November 2, 2017). 몬스타엑스(MONSTA X), 미니 앨범 '더 코드(THE CODE)' 스토리 이미지 공개!. News Free Zone (in Korean). Retrieved November 2, 2017.
3. Kim, Hwi-seon (November 7, 2017). [★포토]몬스타엑스, 'THE CODE'로 컴백 [[Photo] MONSTA X, comeback with 'THE CODE']. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved November 7, 2017 – via Naver.
4. Glasby, Taylor (December 7, 2017). "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2017". Dazed. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
5. Kim, Jae-ha (July 20, 2023). "The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
6. "The 50 Best K-pop Songs of 2017". Tone Glow. February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
7. Cumulative sales for The Code:

   • 2017년 Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2018.
   • 2018년 03월 Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved April 15, 2018.
   • 2019년 12월 Album Chart [December 2019 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
   • 2022년 02월 Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved March 10, 2022.
8. 2017년 51주차 Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 23, 2017.
9. "Monsta X Chart History: World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
10. Shin, A-ram (November 15, 2017). 몬스타엑스(MONSTA X), 데뷔 후 첫 1위…‘꽃길 시작’. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved November 15, 2017.
11. "Top Albums Téléchargés". SNEP (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2017.^{[dead link]}
12. Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2017/11/22 公開. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 28, 2017.
13. 週間 アルバムランキング - 2017年11月20日付. Oricon News (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
14. "Monsta X Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
15. "Monsta X Chart History: World Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
16. 2017년 11월 Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 15, 2017.
17. 2017년 Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2018.
18. Cumulative sales for The Code:

    • "2017년 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2018.
    • "2018년 03월 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved April 15, 2018.
    • 2019년 12월 Album Chart [December 2019 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
    • "2022년 02월 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved March 10, 2022.
    • "Week 51 of 2022 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). December 11–17, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
19. • 週間 CDアルバムランキング - 2017年11月06日～2017年11月12日 [Weekly CD Album Ranking from November 6, 2017 to November 12, 2017]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
    • 週間 CDアルバムランキング - 2017年11月13日～2017年11月19日 [Weekly CD Album Ranking from November 13, 2017 to November 19, 2017]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
20. Mathew, Ilin (January 10, 2018). "Golden Disc Awards 2018: BTS, IU bag grand prize; Complete winners list". International Business Times, India Edition. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
21. "2018 MAMA Winners". Mwave. Retrieved December 20, 2018.