The oldest member of the K-pop phenomenon BTS is spending his day hugging 1,000 fans, after finishing his mandatory military service in South Korea on Wednesday. Jin made his first public appearance at Seoul's Jamsil Sports Complex this afternoon, where he is performing and meeting fans. At the event, 1,000 lucky fans who won in a raffle will receive hugs from the 31-year-old, while a total of 4,000 select fans will be able to attend his performance at the end of the day.
Some BTS superfans – known as ARMY (Adorable Representative MC for Youth) – have journeyed from overseas to attend the BTS Festa event. The country's compulsory military service, which requires almost all able-bodied men to serve for 18 months by the time they are 28 years old, enforced a hiatus on one of the world's most successful contemporary pop acts. The government passed a law in 2020 that allowed major pop stars to defer until the age of 30.
The other six members of the septet are still serving. Mim Cheenchanya from Thailand is one of the lucky fans who will hug Jin – and told CNN she started crying tears of immense joy when she learned she had won in the raffle. "I wish to tell Jin if he comes to Thailand, can he hold a concert for seven days, because I love BTS so much," Cheenchanya said.
As Jin started giving out hugs in the afternoon, videos began flooding social media from ecstatic fans, showing the star quickly hugging each person as they walked across a purple stage in a line. Many can be.