This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you later! Jimin just released “Closer Than This,” a love letter to ARMY (BTS’ fandom name), amid his enlistment into the South Korean military.
Keep reading for a lyric breakdown on Jimin’s “Closer Than This.”
What Is Jimin’s ‘Closer Than This’ About? Lyric Breakdown
Within the first few seconds of the music video for “Closer Than This,” Jimin explains exactly what the song means to him.
“So in a way, this really is a fan song. We’re not parting ways forever, we just can’t see each other for a short while,” Jimin reveals in the beginning of the video. “We’re telling them not to worry.”
The lyrics often refer to the other band members, and their own special moments throughout the years.
“Whenever it rains, I’ll remember the times I sang in the rain/Whenever it snows, I’ll cherish how you smiled for me in the snow/On the spring day we meet again, I’ll tell you everything I couldn’t before/My love, my babe, forever by your side/Seven equals one, right, our hearts still beat as one.”
However, he says not to worry — as he and the rest of the BTS members will eventually “reunite” with fans.
He croons, “Let’s sing it together, this song/For the day we’ll reunite again with a pat on the back/Gazing at one another with tears in our eyes/Calling out each other’s names.”
In a later verse, Jimin looks back on how far he’s come with the band and celebrates the fans who have always been there.
“Starting on June 13/To the us of the present, here and now,” he sings, referencing the date of BTS’ anniversary. “Even if you’re not here/At the same place, always/I could never let you go/Never let you go.”
“Closer Than This” marks Jimin’s first official solo release since releasing his debut solo album Face earlier in the year.
When Does BTS Return from Military?
“Closer Than This” comes weeks after Jimin, RM, V and Jung Kook officially began the South Korean military enlistment process, following J-Hope, Jin and Suga, who enlisted earlier in the year. They officially enlisted into the military in December 2023, where they’ll be serving for the next two years.
ICYDK, it is mandatory for all able-bodied men born in South Korea to complete two years of military service before turning 30 years old due to the ongoing threat with North Korea.
Following their military service, the band hopes to be reunited in 2025.
“Since the creation of BTS over ten years ago, the band has risen to international success, broken records, and catapulted K-Pop into the global stratosphere,” BTS’ agency wrote when first announcing the members’ military service in November 2022. “BIGHIT MUSIC has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that’s now.”
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