Do you know BTS? Of course, you do — they’re just the biggest band in the world right now. The group includes members Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Seok-jin (Jin), Min Yoongi (Suga), Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), Park Jimin (Jimin), Kim Taehyung (V), and Jeon Jungkook (Jung Kook).
The group has been together since 2013 after debuting with their song “No More Dream,” and has quickly grown from a small K-pop boy group into one of the most prominent boy bands, ever. BTS’ oldest member, Jin, has specifically changed so much throughout the years — keep reading to see the singer’s transformation from debut to now.
BTS originally started off with little to no success in the K-pop industry when they first debuted, as they came from a smaller music company in South Korea called Big Hit Entertainment (now known as HYBE). As K-pop is known for it’s “Big Three” companies (YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment), this made it difficult for BTS to compete against K-Pop groups from bigger music companies with more money and resources.
Despite that, they grew a steady and loyal fanbase (known as ARMY) due to numerous reasons: the group wrote their own music (which was unheard of at the time of their debut), they opened up about societal issues in South Korea and also spread messages of self-love — oh, and also their music and performances rocked.
“We came together with a common dream to write, dance and produce music that reflects our musical backgrounds as well as our life values of acceptance, vulnerability and being successful,” said BTS’s leader, RM, in a 2017 interview with Time.
And despite their humble beginnings, the group soon became internationally loved after they were nominated and won a Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist in 2017 — the first K-Pop group to ever be nominated for such an award. They soon crossed into the global music market, leading the Korean Wave into the United States and have continued to break numerous sales records.
However, the group announced that they would be taking a hiatus in June 2022, explaining that they would be focusing on their solo careers. Jin launched his own solo career in October 2022, with his song “The Astronaut,” which Coldplay helped cowrite. The news of his solo debut was followed by some unfortunate news for ARMY.
On October 17, 2022, BTS’ label announced that all seven members of BTS would be serving in the South Korean military, starting with their oldest member, Jin. As it’s mandatory for all men under 30 to enlist for three years, we can expect for the boys to be back together sometime in 2025.
Scroll through our gallery to see BTS Jin’s transformation over the years.
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