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The viral clip of BTS' Kim Taehyung patrolling at Chuncheon during the Veteran Cultural Festival on June 9, 2024, started trending across several social media platforms. The K-pop idol was suited up in his all-black special forces uniform, a black cap, and sunglasses. Various video clips of him surfaced online, showing the artist initiating a conversation with South Korean veteran singer Lee Ji-young of Big Mama fame.
Immediately, several hashtags such as "CAPTAIN TAEHYUNG," "BORAHAE TAEHYUNG," and "KIM TAEHYUNG," among others started trending on X globally. The news even dominated his country's popular search engine, NAVER, for over 24 hours. Additionally, Google Trends saw a 100% spike ratio worldwide with the search term "V."
Trending
For the unversed, K-pop idols and Korean actors serving in the South Korean military (Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force) can attend certain events and be photographed with special permission. For instance, My Good Bad Mother actor Lee Do-hyun attended the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards on May 7, 2024, despite being enlisted in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps.
However, BTS' Taehyung has not attended any events so far but was sighted on duty with his comrades at Chuncheon on June 9. Several fans clicked his pictures and shared them online along with singer Lee Ji-young, who posted their interaction on her personal Instagram profile.
BTS' Taehyung demonstrates his global popularity despite serving in the military
The Layover musician enlisted in the military on December 11, 2023, alongside bandmate Kim Namjoon, aka RM. BTS' V is the only member in his band who voluntarily applied for the Special Duty Team (SDT) — a special forces battalion of the ROK Army that falls under the direct supervision of the President.
Renowned performers like Lee Ji-young gave amazing performances at the June 9 celebration of Korea's "Month of Patriots and Veterans." On June 6 of each year, the nation honors the loyalty and selfless sacrifices of martyrs and service members who defended the nation. Memorial Day is seen as a national holiday honoring those who served and lost their lives in the Korean War.
BTS' V was seen patrolling with his SDT team during the event that was held to honor the soldiers of the nation. Immediately, several posts of the BTS musician amassed over 100,000 likes with each hashtag surpassing 30K posts and retweets within a few hours. Additionally, several other teams from the ROK Army, Marine Corps, and the police were present at the event.
In the video clip, which Lee Ji-young posted on her Instagram profile (@luv270), the K-pop idol was heard informing the Big Mama singer that he is currently on duty patrolling the area. She then complimented him for looking extremely defined in his SDT uniform. V immediately expressed his gratitude by bowing to the veteran singer and saluting her before walking away.
In other news, the eldest member of BTS, Kim Seokjin, aka Jin, will be discharged from the military on June 12, 2024. He will celebrate the band's 11th anniversary with their fans (ARMYs) by meeting 1,000 fans at the Jamsil Stadium on June 13, 2024. Meanwhile, Taehyung, Namjoon, Jimin, Suga, and Jungkook will return in June 2025 after fulfilling their conscription. On the other hand, j-hope will return in October 2024.
