“Collab when?” — Fans react to BTS’ j-hope and IU’s reunion at the latter’s Seoul encore concert

On September 22, 2024, BTS' j-hope attended IU's last encore concert from her HEREH World Tour Concert Encore: The Winning in Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Korea. The BTS rapper is currently serving the last month in the military and is set to be discharged on October 17, 2024. Meanwhile, at IU's last show, he was accompanied by his bandmate, Kim Taehyung, who is also serving in the military.

During the Seoul World Cup Stadium encore performance of her 2024 World Tour, IU commemorated her 100th performance. IU became the first and only Korean female solo artist to have held 100 shows. Despite his ongoing enlistment, j-hope took official leave to attend IU's 100th concert.

Furthermore, the Arson rapper-songwriter met IU backstage after she successfully concluded her world tour on September 22. Several clips and pictures of the two posing for the cameras went viral online, sending fans into a frenzy.

This was the second time the two artists reunited for pictures. The first time they met was on IU's talk show, IU's Palette, in 2022, ahead of j-hope's military enlistment. Fans were moved to see the two together in one frame and expressed their wish to see them collaborate in the future.

One fan wrote,

"love this friendship. collab when? we already know how well they sound together."

Others expressed similar wishes to see the two artists work together and hailed them as an "iconic duo."

"Vhope x Iu a collab we never knew we needed," wrote one fan on X.

"Omg yes jhope and iu, the best combo ever, when vocal queen meets dance king!! Iconic duo!! Wish to see them singing. Together someday live...." wrote another fan.

"Me and a guy named jungkook would have a field day," joked another fan.

Some fans also mentioned how they have been praying to see the two artists release a Billboard Hot 100-worthy song together soon.

"j-hope and IU are a few of those musicians who can belt any genre of songs and turn it into a hit. I pray that I can see them collab and get a Billboard Hot 100 No.1 with it. Their voices together will this broken world." added one fan.

"Best friendship in K-drama industry !!! After Suga and tae, I want jhope to collaborate with IU, badly because I want to see her sing and rap every member of BTS. They will break the K-pop industry and western charts!" commented another fan.

"Now that’s a collab we all have been waiting for. Hope these two maestros surprise us with a new song because the world needs a song that has IU’s baritones and j-hope’s killer rap verses. Praying for it with all our hearts." said another fan.

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BTS' j-hope shares an update with a heartfelt letter on Weverse

With less than a month left until his discharge from the military, BTS member Jung Ho-seok, also known as j-hope, provided an update on his military duty on Weverse. On September 17, 2024, the rapper said that he was feeling overwhelmed in a letter he posted on Weverse in honor of Chuseok, the South Korean annual harvest festival. j-hope remarked that many of his early concerns now appear needless when he considers the last year and a half of his military service.

As per the translation provided by Allkpop, j-hope looked back fondly on his days as a soldier and said,

"One month, exactly 30 days! Time felt so slow, but now I’ve grown attached to it. As I clean up, giving my well-used items to my juniors and seeing my emptied locker, I feel more sentimental. Looking back, it wasn’t a big deal, but back then, I was so tense. Even the sound of the locker opening would get on my nerves."

The Arson rapper-songwriter continued in his letter about how the new recruits at the barracks reminded him of his initial days of enlistment. He wrote,

"Seeing the new recruits now, I feel a connection with them and find myself smiling at how I used to be. I’m proud of my time here! I feel good about it! [...] Though it’s a bit of a warm Chuseok, I wish you all a prosperous holiday. I hope autumn comes soon. I’ll see you next month. Until then, please take care and stay healthy."

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In other news, BTS members Namjoon, Suga, Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook will return from the military in June 2025. The eldest member of the group, Jin, was discharged from the military on June 12, 2024, and is set to release his debut solo album by the end of this year.