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On Tuesday, August 13, BANGTANTV released the first episode of its new variety show Run Jin (달려라 석진) on YouTube, starring the group's eldest, Jin. The show is a spin-off of the fan-favorite Run BTS. The artist is known among fans as 'Variety Show King' for his social, entertaining, and confident nature seen on various reality programs.
For this video, he was on a mission to climb Jeju Island's popular hiking spot, Mt. Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea, just five days after discharge from the military. The BTS vocalist, who finished his conscription on June 12, was also given an amusing task on this hike that would allow him to get his lunch from the staff.
The task was to get five discharge congratulations while on the trail to Baengnokdam - a crater lake situated at the summit of Hallasan - on a 9.6 km hike. He would receive a special custom meal if he succeeded. He then responded with,
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"Five times? Come on, that's so easy"
As he approached the first stranger to ask for discharge congratulations, explaining it had been five days since he had come back, the lady just clapped for the idol as he awkwardly laughed, admitting he had failed in the first attempt. Eventually, he did win the challenge and was fed a meal of his choice—jarimulhwe.
While seeing his reaction, ARMYs (BTS fans) could not help but mention it on their socials,
"Lmaooo he still won and got his food. He's so funny"
Here are some more comments on the viral clips of the Dynamite star asking for discharge congratulations to meet his goal,
"The whole interaction was so cute," a fan's reaction to Jin meeting a fellow soldier on the trail.
"Watching this Run Jin episode i realised how much i missed his voice, the way he casually and confidently interacts with people around in typical Jin style !" a comment read.
"seokjin is so precious asking for ppl to congratulate him on his discharge, man wanted to have that lunch," another X-user stated.
Some even reacted to his expressions when he instead received claps for his discharge,
"the disappointment on his face," said a post.
"same energy with "hello, i'm world wide handsome"" wrote a netizen.
"please his reaction" said another fan.
Memorable highlights from BTS' new variety show Run Jin as the artist received a certificate for successfully completing his climb
Several other moments from the pilot episode of Run Jin amused fans. At the beginning of the episode, BTS' Jin was seen packing his hiking backpack with food for the trip and heading out with encouraging comments for the mission.
However, he was barely past the ticket booth when he informed he was tired already. He worried if there would be bears on the trail and asked a few times if anybody else was fatigued, going on to say,
"Am I the only one who wants to take a break? That's weird. I was an Elite Soldier."
He even played another game on the hike to win 10,000 won, snacks, a cup of ice, cooling patches, a cup of ramyeon, and an iced Americano. The challenge was to name five things that come to mind when he thinks of Jeju. While he named things like tangerines, Hallasan, Mysterious Road, etc., he could not name the fifth item and was given another game instead.
The idol had to describe Jeju Island to someone without giving away specific details about his location. He phoned the famous chef Baek Jong-won, with whom he shares a friendly bond. For Jin to win, he had to guess the spot and its famous tourist location, Hallasan.
When he won the game, Jin explained to the perplexed chef why he was quizzing him early in the morning by saying he just won a coffee in the variety show's challenge, thanks to him.
While on his mission to collect five congratulatory wishes on his discharge, he spotted a child and requested that he congratulate him. The latter shyly complied, and the 31-year-old thanked him.
He then met a fellow soldier who recognized him and stated his service number, saying he was waiting for Jin's discharge. He explained that his own discharge would follow after Jin's, so he was looking forward to his release date. The Moon singer also got congratulations from him, leaving only one congratulatory wish to succeed on his mission.
Later on the trail, he was amazed to spot a monorail. He even took a while to rest but was ready to keep moving to reach the next shelter. Along the journey, he comically wondered if the show's motto could be changed from "I can do anything" to "Should we try something at least?"
BTS' Jin even met fans at the next shelter and greeted them, saying his well-known dialogue,
"Hello! I'm handsome, right? Thank you"
He even received gifts from some children at the location, including the expensive Manuka honey from the kid who congratulated him previously. He gave them food items in return, wishing them well. He humorously said,
"Of course, young fellows love handsome fellows"
After a tiresome hike through the rigorous trail, the BTS member finally reached the peak of Mt. Hallasan in 4 hours and 20 minutes. He even clicked pictures after his victorious climb and enjoyed the honey gifted to him by the kid. On the way down the mountain, he jogged past the filming crew at an energetic speed.
The 7-hour and 30-minute-long hike finally came to an end. BTS' Jin won the challenge of receiving five discharge congratulations and was awarded the lunch promised at the beginning of the day. As his prize was any meal he wanted to eat, he picked jarimulhwe, the local dish of Jeju, and ate heartily.
Furthermore, when asked if he wanted to recommend this experience to someone, he instantly named Jungkook. According to him, the BTS maknae happened to ruin his "Seokjin of the day" picture. ARMYs are curious as to what this might mean and are also taking to X to wonder about it.
Meanwhile, the video ended with Kim Seok-jin, aka BTS' Jin, receiving the Hallasan Mountain Climbing Certificate. With high spirits, he expressed his wishes to build on the teamwork with his team for future Run Jin episodes, ending the video with a signature BTS style, "Run Jin!"
The first episode even offered snippets of what fans may expect to see in future segments of Run Jin. In one, BTS' Jin was shown in a school uniform and in a classroom set-up, arm-wrestling with a student.
The next episodes promised a chaotic experience, as Jin was seen having fun on set. It also hinted at an unrevealed legendary guest appearance. Run Jin was initially announced on July 31, 2024, through a teaser video released on the BANGTANTV channel on YouTube. It is scheduled to air every Tuesday at 9 PM KST.
