Welcome Home, Jin!

The energy could be felt all over the world. It was finally June 12, 2024, a day ARMY had been waiting for, a moment 18 months in the making. Jin was home, and ARMY felt true joy for the first time in a long time. 

On December 13, 2022, Jin crossed into the Yeoncheon Army base in northern Gyeonggi to begin his mandatory military service in South Korea. Two months had passed since Big Hit announced that all seven members of BTS would fulfill their military service, starting with Jin. It had been six months since FESTA 2022 when the members tearfully explained they needed a break to be themselves. “I want BTS to go on for a long time,” RM said, “...and for BTS to last long, I think I have to retain who I am.” Yet, even with these six months of knowledge and preparation, ARMY was gripped with sadness and pride as the day progressed and Jin entered his service. 

Though it seemed like forever, it was about three months later when Jin posted a picture of himself with j-hope and Jimin on Instagram. Simply captioned, “어서 와” (or “Welcome” in English), the photo was ARMY’s first look at Jin in his uniform. After that, Jin continued to upload pictures once in a while, keeping ARMY’s hearts full as, one by one, the other members of BTS joined him in the military. 

In July 2023, Jin made a surprise announcement on Weverse that he had been promoted to Corporal. Commenting with light-heartedness and fun on a post authored by j-hope, Jin said, “How dare you, when you’re a private first class…[copying] a corporal’s stuff. Don’t [even] think about making eye contact with me when you’re out on vacation.” He then jokingly mentioned that j-hope would be a disgrace to BTS if he didn’t make Special Forces like Jin. 

In an interview with Weverse Magazine after his discharge, Jin said he was thankful for the senior soldiers who gave him advice and encouragement while working to gain the title of Elite Soldier. According to the Republic of Korea Defense Military official blog, as shared on X, “Conditions to become a ‘Special class warrior’ include achieving a 90% hit rate in shooting (typically 18 hits out of 20 rounds), 86 sit-ups within 2 minutes, completing more than 72 push-ups within 2 minutes, [and] a 3km run within 12.5 min.” As if ARMY didn’t already know, it was obvious Jin had been working hard while in the military. 

On October 13 and 14, while ARMY was busy celebrating Jimin’s birthday, Jin gave us a present. In six separate posts on Instagram, Jin uploaded several photos of himself visiting the MapleStory pop-up in Gangnam while on leave. It was later revealed that Jin also spent some time with the birthday boy, gifting him a MapleStory mushroom plushie and some money. It was wonderful to see Jin so healthy and happy during his leave! 

Soon it was Jin’s birthday, and ARMY showed their love with thousands of messages to remind him of our support. In response, Jin shared a heartwarming message of thanks, saying his heart hurt that he couldn’t do a live with us. Jin also shared his wish that time would continue to pass quickly so he could be with ARMY once again. He then signed off with a surprise announcement of yet another promotion, this time to Sergeant. 

Just a week and a half later, the last two members of BTS who had yet to enlist did just that. While the next six months seemed like a dark cloud hanging over us, ARMY couldn’t have been more wrong. BTS had plenty of pre-recorded content to keep us busy and as in love as ever. We are talking about albums, TV shows and docuseries, singles, collaborations, brand ambassadorships, and a movie. A MOVIE! We even had two songs by the entire group: the 10th anniversary single Take Two, and (a month prior) the theme song for the Korean animated film “Bastions”, The Planet. 

Before we knew it, and almost before ARMY could catch up with everything, Jin was home, having been discharged from service on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. As promised, Jin took to Weverse that evening to spend time with ARMY, talk about his service time, and discuss how he and the company decided on the number of fans Jin would hug. We even got an OT7 selfie after the live and another just a few days later! 

The next day was FESTA (or JINSTA as we like to call it), and Jin didn’t disappoint, despite his worries that he’d forgotten how to sing. The event, chronicled in a Bangtan Bomb posted in July 2024, was held at Jamsil Arena in Seoul's Songpa-gu District and streamed online through Weverse. Jin performed several songs, including an extended version of Super Tuna, participated in a special “Eat Jin!”, did some TikTok dances, completed Jungkook’s Seven dance challenge, and of course, gave an iconic Jin hand kiss. 

Jin has barely stopped since being discharged. He signed on as a brand ambassador for both Fred Jewelry and Gucci, completed a cover shoot with W Magazine, ranked #1 on the Overall Idol Individual Brand Reputation Ranking for June 2024, renewed his contract with Coway, commented on Weverse that he’s been recording, filming variety shows, executing other plans, and was a torchbearer for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. 

In the Weverse interview, Jin told author Oh Minji that being with ARMY is like being home. “They make us feel so secure,” he said. “I want to tell them I’ll always try my best and ask them to please stay by our side for a long time. I also want to thank them for waiting for us.” Sweet Jin, you don’t have to thank us – there is no place we would rather be than waiting for all of you. As you said in the letter marking the 10th anniversary of BTS’s debut, “Ten years is enough to move rivers and mountains, as the saying goes, but the love between BTS and ARMY never changes, and that’s just amazing.”

Written by: Marcie

Edited by: Lisa K

Designed by: Achan

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