BTS's J-Hope has officially enlisted in the army. The artist started his military training as part of South Korea's mandatory conscription on April 18, 2023. He is the second member of BTS to do so after Jin, the oldest member of the group, who started his compulsory military service in December 2022.
Per Reuters, J-Hope's private enlistment ceremony was held in the city of Wonju, located approximately 90 miles east of Seoul in the Gangwon Province. J-Hope's company, BigHit Music, had previously announced "there [would] be no official event on the day of his entry" via fan platform Weverse, advising that "the entrance ceremony is a time to be observed by military personnel and families only." His fellow BTS members were, of course, in attendance.
J-Hope reunited with the other six members of BTS on site, including Jin, in uniform as he is currently on military leave, as well as Jungkook, who traveled from Los Angeles to South Korea in record time to not miss the ceremony. The youngest of the group had traveled to the U.S. this past weekend to attend Weekend 1 of Coachella in Indio, California. Per Dispatch, he landed in Seoul on April 17.
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The group made sure to immortalize the moment on social media, posing for two snaps that were re-shared across multiple channels. Jin posted the pictures on his main Instagram feed with a playful caption that reads "next person" in Korean. V posted both pictures captionless to his Instagram Stories. Leader RM also went for a Story post, posting just one of the pictures with a small message, in English, for his fellow '94 liner: "See you soon, brother." Jimin previously posted a selfie alongside J-Hope showing off his new military buzzcut on Weverse.
Per Yonhap, J-Hope's basic training in the Gangwon Province will last for five weeks. After that, he will serve as an active-duty soldier for the conventional 18 months.
Prior to his official enlistment, J-Hope had given ARMYs a heads-up by posting a few messages of farewell. On April 17, he took to his Instagram account to share his newly-buzzed haircut alongside a hand-penned message. "I'll return safely and healthily!" the small script reads in Korean.
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J-Hope, whose real name is Jung Hoseok, echoed that sentiment with a post on Weverse the same day. Clad in sweatpants, the singer also showed off his new buzzcut and posed doing the classic military salute. In the post, he also promised to return safely and added a heartfelt "I love you, ARMY" in formal Korean. Understandably, fans flooded the comment section with messages of support.
