BTS member Jin will represent South Korea in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The 31-year-old singer is set to act as a torchbearer from his native country during the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris for this year’s Olympic Games. A statement from BTS’ agency, HYBE, noted that Jin will take part in the ceremony to “spread the message of ‘harmony’ and ‘peace,’” multiple outlets reported.
“While the specific schedule is yet to be disclosed, Jin along with the other torchbearers are scheduled to go across various historic sites of the host country,” the statement continued. The Torch Relay started in April in Olympia, Greece, and will travel through 65 territories until the Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 26.
The official Olympic website says that torchbearers are chosen “based on their commitment, dedication and how they embody at least one of the core tenets of Paris 2024.”
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News of Jin’s role as a 2024 Paris Olympics torchbearer comes weeks after he was discharged from the South Korean military following 18 months of service. On June 12, video footage of Jin departing the Yeoncheon County military base in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province. The singer, dressed in his full uniform, hugged his fellow BTS members as he was given flowers to celebrate the moment.
“I cried during the ceremony,” Jin said during a livestream following his release. “But it was so fun for the last year and six months. It’s such a relief [and] I met so many amazing people.”
As the global boyband’s oldest member, Jin was the first BTS singer to complete his mandatory military service, which began in December 2022. South Korea requires all able-bodied male citizens to serve in the military for at least 18 months. They are eligible to serve starting at age 18, but service can be postponed until age 28.
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In October 2022, BIGHIT MUSIC announced that BTS would be on hiatus until “around 2025” so band members can complete their military service.
“Since the creation of BTS over ten years ago, the band has risen to international success, broken records, and catapulted K-Pop into the global stratosphere,” they shared at the time. “BIGHIT MUSIC has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that’s now.”
While Jin has fulfilled his requirement, the other six musicians are in active service. J-Hope enlisted in April 2023 while Suga enlisted in September 2023. Jimin, RM, V and Jung Kook all joined the military in December 2023.
