BTS member J-Hope’s message for fans before military enlistment: Love you ARMY, will be back safely

PTI, Apr 17, 2023, 8:59 PM IST

J-Hope, the second member of the popular South Korean music group BTS, on late Monday night bid adieu to several fans across the globe hours before he enlisted for his mandatory military duty.

The 29-year-old took to fan community forum Weverse to share his message for ARMY — the fan group of BTS.

”I love you ARMY. Will be back safely!” he captioned his picture in Korean, showing off his military haircut.

The rapper, whose real name is Jung Ho-seok, is the second BTS member to enlist for active military duty after the eldest representative Jin.

In late February, BigHit Music — management agency of BTS — had announced that J-Hope had started his military enlistment process. J-Hope also shared a handwritten note on his official Instagram account.

”I’ll have a good trip!” he wrote in Korean.

In an emotional Weverse LIVE last week, J-Hope confirmed that he will enlist on April 18.

”Love you ARMY. Let’s meet in 2025,” the rapper had said during the session.

Jin, 30, was the first member from the Grammy-nominated boy band to enlist in the South Korean military. He began his 18 months of mandatory military service at a front-line boot camp in December.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18-28 are required to serve in the military for about two years. All BTS members had been allowed to put off starting their military service until they turned 30.

BigHit Music had earlier said other members plan to carry out their duty based on their own individual plans.

The group, which debuted in 2013, is currently on a break as a unit with each of its members pursuing solo projects.

BTS, known for songs “Blood Sweat Tears”, “DNA”, “Idol”, and the Grammy-nominated English tracks “Dynamite”, and “Butter”, had announced hiatus in June 2022. They hope to reconvene as a unit around 2025 following their service commitment.