Seoul, South Korea
CNN
 — 

The oldest member of the K-pop phenomenon BTS is preparing to hug 1,000 fans, a day after finishing his mandatory military service in South Korea.

Jin began his training in December 2022 and was discharged from the army on Wednesday. He is the first member of the group to complete his service.

As military service is compulsory in South Korea, it enforced a hiatus on one of the world’s most successful contemporary pop acts. Almost all able-bodied men are required to serve in the army for 18 months by the time they are 28 years old. The country’s parliament passed a bill in 2020 allowing pop stars – namely those who “excel in popular culture and art” – to defer their service until the age of 30.

“It was so fun for the last year and six months. It’s such a relief I met so many good people,” the 31-year-old said after his discharge in a livestream on the fan platform Weverse, speaking from the offices of BTS’ management agency HYBE.

But his first in-person appearance to the public will be at the Seoul Festa event taking place Thursday, a festival celebrating South Korean entertainment, culture and some of its most famous cultural exports – including K-pop, K-beauty and Korean food.

At the event, 1,000 lucky fans who won in a raffle will receive hugs from Jin – who will also perform three songs to some 4,000 select attendees in the Jamsil Sports Complex.

The festival was already packed by Thursday morning, with various activities and stalls set up – photo booths, bracelet-making, custom pins, BTS sticker shops and more. Fans queued to enter, with some enjoying snacks under the shade or using umbrellas to evade the boiling heat.

Some superfans have journeyed from overseas to attend the event.

Holly Campbell, who’d traveled from Melbourne, Australia, and Ashley Stoudnour, from Florida, both told CNN they wouldn’t have missed the event for anything. They had entered the raffle hoping for a hug – but no luck. “Everybody here tried,” Campbell joked, wearing purple – the band’s color – from her shiny boots to her lavender cap.

Purple has become ubiquitous with BTS since member V described it as a symbol of the band’s long-lasting love and relationship with their fans. Since then, the color has made appearances in many of their live performances, merchandise and branded collaborations.

“BTS themselves pour out so much love – they put love into their music, into their personalities, their fans,” said Stoudnour. Flying thousands of miles across the world to welcome Jin back was just a way for the fans to “give them love back,” Stoudnor added – describing him as the “comedian of the group.”

Another fan, Kim Yoon-jeong, said she had cried all night after finding out she didn’t win a coveted seat in the stadium for Jin’s performance, or a hug – but she was still excited to support him. Speaking to CNN from the festival, she showed off her artworks – digitally painted portraits of each BTS member – and tiny stuffed dolls of them in her bag, including one member dressed in a military uniform.

Michelle Pedraza, another fan who flew to Seoul from her home in California and also missed out on winning a hug ticket, showed off her purple-dyed hair for the event. “No hug, but all of the air that he’s breathing, I’ll be breathing,” she joked, adding she’d probably be crying and screaming once he took to the stage.

BTS have become worldwide superstars since debuting in 2013, earning No. 1 singles in more than 100 countries. They’ve racked up a long list of accolades – numerous Billboard Music awards, Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year award in 2020, and multiple titles at the 2021 American Music Awards – even becoming the first K-Pop act to earn a Grammy nomination in 2021.

Beyond music, the group’s members are among the world’s most bankable fashion icons – with what they wear on the red carpet and in music videos closely watched.

In 2021, Louis Vuitton named the group brand ambassadors and dressed them in complementary suits for the 64th Grammy Awards the next year. Dior outfitted the band in custom stagewear for their 2019 tour. Individual members have starred in various luxury fashion house campaigns.

In the last few years, the hiatus that military service would bring loomed large. Jin was the first in the group to enlist at 30. BTS is expected to reconvene as a group around 2025.

This story will be updated as the event unfolds.