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On Tuesday, April 15, BTS' j-hope landed in the Philippines for his concert in Manila as part of his ongoing solo world tour, HOPE ON THE STAGE. When the idol reached the airport, he was protected by a chain of bodyguards to safely escort him outside the airport since fans often crowd or mob airports when K-pop idols travel to different countries.
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However, unlike the usual fan crowd or mobs seen at airports, there were few people at the Philippines airport awaiting j-hope's arrival. When clips and pictures of the supposed fan crowd at the airport landed on the internet, many netizens began to claim that it was because of the idol's allegedly low popularity and fame. Regardless, many fans and netizens soon came to the idol's defense.
People explained that the airport fan crowd and mobs shouldn't be considered as a marker of popularity since these mobs often tend to invade the privacy of the artists and are unsafe in general. Additionally, people also explained that Filipino ARMYs held a fan project to prevent people from going to the airport for j-hope's arrival, in order to welcome him warmly into the country.
People defended the idol on several claims on the internet regarding the fan crowd for BTS' j-hope at the Philippines airport.
"Being mobbed at the airport is not a flex. Your fans respecting you enough to not show up at the airport so you can travel safely and peacefully is," a netizen wrote.
"It's wild that kpop stans want to drag an idol for not being mobbed at an airport to imply a lack of popularity/attention. Meanwhile ARMY have spent years trying to foster a fandom culture of NOT going to airports & allowing our idols space to travel freely. This is a win for us," said a fan on X.
"apparently airport mobs are a better measure of one's popularity now over ticket sales," commented a netizen.
More fans and netizens talked about how it was unnecessary for netizens to use airport crowds as a form of validation for the artist's fame.
"Lmao, it is supposed to be a drag? filo army didn't appear in the airport because we have a fan project to respect jhope privacy and personal space and we all mutually agreed with that. We know when to show up and where to respect him," stated a fan.
"Leave it to kpop stans to brag about artists getting mobbed at airports. Honey no sane person would go harass someone they say they love when they're just trying to catch a flight," added an X user.
"he is literally in the biggest group y’all reaching atp lmao calling him irrelevant? LMAO?" said a netizen.
"Imagine flexing bc your idols get hunted down at airports while Hobi was not. Speaks volumes of their fandom tho–," commented another X user.
All you need to know about BTS' j-hope and his recent solo activities
Following the idol's discharge from the military in October 2024, BTS' j-hope has been slowly making his way back into the idol industry. In October, he threw the first pitch at the second game of the 2024 Korean Series between KIA Champions and Samsung Lions. The next month, in November 2024, he attended the grand opening of Audemars Piguet AP House Flagship in Seoul.
BTS' j-hope also announced his solo world tour, HOPE ON THE STAGE, which is expected to make over 30 stops across 15 cities around the world.
Here are all the dates and venues of the solo world tour:
- Seoul, South Korea: February 28 - March 2, 2025, at KSPO Dome
- Brooklyn, New York, USA: March 13 - 14, 2025, at Barclays Center
- Chicago, Illinois, USA: March 17 - 18, 2025, at Allstate Arena
- Mexico City, Mexico: March 22 - 23, 2025, at Palacio de los Deportes
- San Antonio, Texas, USA: March 26 - 27, 2025, at Frost Bank Center
- Oakland, California, USA: March 31 - April 1, 2025, at Oakland Arena
- Los Angeles, California, USA: April 4 and 6, 2025, at BMO Stadium
- Manila, Philippines: April 12 - 13, 2025, at Mall of Asia Arena
- Saitama, Japan: April 19 - 20, 2025, at Saitama Super Arena
- Singapore: April 26 - 27, 2025, at Singapore Indoor Stadium
- Jakarta, Indonesia: May 3 - 4, 2025, at Indonesia Arena
- Bangkok, Thailand: May 10 - 11, 2025, at Impact Arena
- Macau: May 17 - 18, 2025, at Galaxy Arena
- Taipei, Taiwan: April 24 - 25, 2025, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena)
- Osaka, Japan: May 31 - June 1, 2025, at Kyocera Dome
On the other hand, j-hope also rolled out a few solo tracks.
In February 2025, he released the track LV BAG featuring Don Toliver, a track that was produced by Pharrell Williams. The song first debuted in January 2025 through the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2025 runway show in Paris. He released another collaborative track in March 2025, Sweet Dreams feat. Miguel.
Most recently, he rolled out his latest single, MONA LISA, and fans have been looking forward to more such content to come their way from BTS' j-hope's solo career.
