The 31-year-old singer returned to the stage this Thursday, June 13 after completing his military service. He took part in a “marathon of hugs”, organized with his fans for the occasion.
One of the kings of K-Pop, South Korean pop, is back. Jin, dean of the boy’s band phenomenon BTS, became on Wednesday June 12 the first member of the group to complete his military service. For the occasion, he performed on stage this Thursday, June 13 in Seoul for the first time in two years and gave a “marathon of hugs”.
The objective was to hug, on the sidelines of the concert, 1,000 fans drawn by a raffle organized on the social network Weverse. This “huggathon” – an abbreviation of “hug” (“hug”, in French) and “marathon” – took place, and some images were shared on social networks.
The 31-year-old singer declared on the platform that the “huggathon” was his idea, and that he had “initially wanted to hug 3,000 fans”, before restricting himself for security reasons.
Annual festival
His concert and huggathon were organized during BTS FESTA, an annual festival organized by HYBE, BTS’ label. This year, FESTA also marked the eleventh anniversary of this phenomenon group. 400,000 people attended last year but the event is expected to attract even more people this year.
Jin left the training camp in Yeoncheon, 40 km north of Seoul, on Wednesday. He was greeted by fellow group members J-hope, V, RM who played the chorus of BTS’ hit on the saxophone Dynamite as well as by Jungkook and Jimin. Everyone was able to spend some time together, as evidenced by a photo published on social networks.
Outside the base, fans hung colorful banners that read, “Seok-jin, you have done a good job for the past 548 days. We will support you with our unwavering love,” saying referring to the star by his full first name.
Six members of the septet are still serving in the army – an obligation in South Korea where all able-bodied men are called up for at least 18 months due to tensions with the North – forcing the most popular boy band in the world to take a break since 2022. The group is supposed to resume activities in 2025.
