Jungkook, a member of the group BTS, who completed his military service 10 days ago, said about his discharge ceremony, "I was so nervous my hands were shaking when I saluted," adding, "I don’t even remember what I said; I managed to organize myself to go, but I don’t recall anything. "
Jungkook said this during a live broadcast on the fan platform Weverse alongside fellow discharged member Jimin. Jimin shyly remarked, "We both are quite shy. We are shy with the camera and the ARMYs (fan group name) too."
Jimin noted, "I was very worried when I enlisted. I was really troubled when I went to the training camp. This friend (Jungkook) was a bit okay. I spent 5 weeks in the training camp, struggling every day with meals and experiencing distress before sleeping. Jungkook gave me a lot of strength during those times." He added, "Things turned around once we got our assignments. Jungkook felt pain every day."
Jungkook stated, "A year and a half wasn’t a short time, but I realized the preciousness of time. It was a valuable experience." Jimin said, "The first thing I want to say is thank you for waiting. There was COVID-19, and as each member went to the military, the time we couldn't meet became long," adding, "The time we spent together has become significantly longer, so we should prepare something again."
BTS members RM and V were discharged the day before. According to their agency HYBE, the live broadcast featuring RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook on Weverse recorded a total of 15.8 million views in real-time. On that day, Jimin and Jungkook communicated with fans for 1 hour and 10 minutes and received a total of 157 million "hearts."
The total number of views in real-time sums up the number of times the play button was pressed during the broadcast. It includes counts from the same individual logging in multiple times or reaccessing. This figure differs somewhat from the number of simultaneous users counted by the number of devices or IDs accessed.
The two men enlisted together in December 2023 in the Army, serving in the Army's 5th Division artillery brigade. After being discharged that day, they greeted fans with a salute at a commemorative event held at a nearby public sports ground in Yeoncheon. About 500 fans from around the world who were present cheered.
With the discharge of the BTS members, the area around HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, was bustling with ARMYs (fan group name) who flocked in from around the world. HYBE estimates that around 4,000 fans visited the headquarters over the course of two days.