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A customized boarding pass was created to celebrate BTS Jin by KONI (@btsforever1207 on X, previously Twitter) and a fan base in Japan in anticipation of his birthday. To provide boarding passes with the BTS idol's face from the Yet to Come performance in Busan in October 2022, the fandom collaborated with airline JINAIR.
The BTS fandom started posting pictures of their boarding tickets online lately, claiming they seem even prettier in person. However, HYBE has recently declared that this fan initiative has been put on hold, as reported by Koreaboo on November 17, 2023. On this, a fan, @btsjingal, tweeted, "That is unfortunate."
South Korea's Jin Air Co. Ltd., or JINAIR, is an economical flying carrier. It offers flights to six local locations and 26 overseas destinations as of April 2018. December 2015 saw the inauguration of its first long-haul service between Incheon and Honolulu.
"It doesn't make sense": Fans debate over the sudden steps taken by HYBE to halt Jin's birthday project by fans
This is not the first time a fan club has taken the initiative to do something grand for a BTS member before their birthday. Previously, a similar project was executed by a fan club of BTS Jimin from China. At the beginning of its campaign in April 2023, a fan club of BTS Jimin (@JIMINBAR_CHINA) generated an unprecedented 1 million yuan (S$208,000) in three minutes, and following an hour, it had amassed 2.3 million yuan.
Using the funds collected, the fan club worked with Jeju Air, a South Korean airline, to decorate an aircraft's outer body of the plane. The flight carrier was to fly with the decorated design from September 1 to November 30, 2021.
"Happy Jimin Day" was also customized on airline tickets and in-flight beverages and was part of the fan project. On top of that, the fan club placed ads that would be run on Jimin's birthday in The Times in Britain and The New York Times in the United States.
Hence, several fans are clueless about the drastic step taken by HYBE Corporation to halt the fan project. A fan, @bemyjinjinjara, tweeted on X and wrote, "I just read about JINAIR. The project might have attracted a lot of people (SJ impact), and of course, if company isn't getting anything from it, they'd hate it. What about the boarding passes? Maybe we can buy to help ease the losses."
Another fan, @Alpacayaa, tweeted, "It doesn't make sense, is this aircraft project illegal so it passes? Why is it that when Jin fanbase created a ticket project and it was just a boarding pass, @BIGHIT_MUSIC acted immediately to cancel it?"
Conversely, several other admirers are also speaking up and consider the effort to be an invasion of their idol's privacy. Many fans believe it is unfair to use an idol's picture without consent. They also criticized the airline (JINAIR) because they thought it was trying to make money from the artist while he was still in the military service.
A fan, @Lita_purple825, tweeted on X and wrote, "That’s why you don’t use an artist's likeness without permission. This airline profiting off of his face and while he’s serving in the military: you all didn’t think it through and do proper research you just went head first and spent all your money on this project SMH."
Another fan, @moshimisen, tweeted, "It’s clearly advertising that changes the airline’s market reach. Hybe is right."
However, on November 12, 2023, Star News announced, "Jin Ticket for JINAIR!" Commemorating The Astronaut singer's birthday on December 4, 2023, 400,000 airline tickets with the idol's photo have been distributed, garnering media attention. On November 10, 2023, boarding passes featuring The Astronaut singer images were produced by KONI (@btsforever1207) on the flights leaving Incheon and Busan.
Further information regarding checking in at the airport through the JINAIR counter, where one could obtain a BTS pass, which they can retain without cutting upon request. Additionally, Star News mentioned that web or mobile check-in does not provide the ads ticket for boarding.
Meanwhile, the news outlet credited the Japanese fan club, @JP_jinfanbase, of The Astronaut singer for producing the special edition of 400,000 ticket copies of this birthday celebration event, which were made available starting November 10. After December 4, 2023, this ticket will still be accessible, as added by Star News.
Other fan projects to commemorate the birthdays of other BTS members
In 2021, even though @JIMINBAR_BAR organized a fan project in partnership with Jeju Air to celebrate Jimin's 26th birthday, the club's Weibo account was banned in China.
As reported by The Straits Times on September 7, 2021 (PT), due to the stringent laws enforced upon the celebrity and fan culture, the Chinese microblogging site banned the club's account on the grounds of exploiting the platform's guidelines by conducting crowdfunding to celebrate "an artist."
The project included three airplanes of Jeju Air with the images of Jimin plastered on the exterior of the aircraft, which were supposed to fly with the new makeover for three months.
Furthermore, the Chinese fandom of BTS V, known as @KIMTAEHYUNGBAR_, is recognized for its extravagant and imaginative birthday initiatives for the group. The fan club announced "Triumph in the skies," the fourth installment of their "Vionysus" birthday gift series, on December 2, 2019. The first global full-flight flight cabin assistance video for an idol on an Asiana Airlines trip, regardless of the destination or country, only to celebrate BTS V.
Over the whole month of December, the airway video advertisements will be screened on KBS Channel. With the "Triumph in the skies" initiative for BTS' Kim Taehyung, aka V, hopes to improve his future by broadening his public and global impact.
Since December 4, 2023, is The Astronaut singer's birthday, fans are perplexed why HYBE Corporation will discontinue a fan initiative in honor of the singer. The BTS idol will most probably receive his discharge from active military duty in June 2024.
