
All 7 BTS Members Reunite After Military Service, ARMY Reacts with Joy
It finally happened: BTS is back. In a moment that brought tears, screams, and global trending hashtags, all seven members of the iconic K-pop group reunited in public for the first time in years, just one week before their official return.
The reunion took place at j-hope's solo concert in Seoul, part of FESTA 2025, BTS's annual celebration with fans. ARMY around the world had been holding their breath for a full group moment, and this week delivered just that—with a sprinkle of magic, nostalgia, and surprise performances.
J-Hope, who was discharged earlier this year, has been promoting his new solo material with a series of live shows in Korea. The concert was anything but ordinary. Fans spotted Jin, RM, V, Jimin, Jungkook, and—most notably—Suga among the crowd, dancing, waving, and singing along. It was the first time all seven BTS members were seen together in public since their military enlistments began in 2022.
Suga's appearance was particularly emotional. Unlike the others, he served as a public service worker due to a prior injury and had maintained a low profile throughout his duty. His return to the public eye marks the final chapter in the group's military hiatus. From Uniforms to Microphones
Jin was the first to be discharged in December 2023, quickly followed by J-Hope. Over the following months, V, RM, Jimin, and Jungkook completed their mandatory service, with Suga scheduled to wrap up his duties officially on Friday, June 20, 2025. That date marks a historic moment: all BTS members will be officially done with military service.
Although HYBE and BigHit Music have not confirmed any specific comeback plans, the group's presence at FESTA 2025 has fueled speculation that a group project or world tour could be announced in the coming weeks. Until now, Jin and J-Hope are the only two confirmed to be working on individual promotions.
But the moment that truly stunned fans was when Jungkook and Jin joined J-Hope on stage for a surprise mini performance. The energy in the venue was electric as the three stars embraced and performed a short medley of BTS classics and solo tracks. Fans screamed, cried, and chanted in unison—a sound not heard since BTS paused group activities in 2022. ARMY Reacts
Social media exploded with hashtags like #BTSisBack, #SugaReturns, and #OT7Reunion, with fans posting videos of the members interacting from the stands and clips of the surprise performance. Many noted that the unity among the members felt stronger than ever.
"I've waited three years for this moment. Seeing Suga with the boys again... I can't stop crying," wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter). Another added, "The fact they all showed up for Hobi's concert tells you everything you need to know about their brotherhood."
In recent months, some online critics questioned whether BTS would return as a full group following individual controversies, including debates over Suga's exemption from active military duty. But if this week proved anything, it's that BTS remains a tight-knit unit with unmatched star power—and ARMY has their backs, no matter what. @starbyz97
#bts#starbyz97#foryoupage ♬ original sound - favsoundds What's Next?
While the official post-service comeback date is still under wraps, FESTA 2025 and this powerful reunion have made one thing clear: BTS is gearing up for a new era. With their 12th anniversary now behind them and military duties nearly complete, the stage is set for one of the most anticipated returns in music history.
Stay tuned. The kings of K-pop are coming back.
Originally published on Kpop Starz

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DW
2 days ago
- DW
BTS member Suga completes South Korea's military duty – DW – 06/21/2025
A comeback of BTS is expected now that Suga, the final BTS member to complete his military service, has been discharged. Unlike other members, Suga's discharge was not publicly celebrated due to overcrowding concerns. Suga, the last member of the K-Pop group BTS to complete his mandatory military service with the South Korean army, was discharged on Saturday, opening the way for the band's reunion. Suga started his service in 2023. Earlier this month, BTS members Jimin and Jung Kook were also discharged from their duties. "We confirm that Suga effectively completed his alternative service on June 18 by using his remaining leave. His official discharge date is June 21," BTS' label, Big Hit Music, said in a statement. He completed his military duty as a social service agent. Unlike other members, Suga's discharge was not celebrated with the public, amid fears of overcrowding. After his release from the national service, Suga posted a message on fan community platform Weverse. "Above all else, I wanted to... sincerely thank our fans who waited for me all this time," SUGA told the group's fans — collectively known as ARMY. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He also said he was "sorry for the disappointment and concern caused by what happened last year," extending his apology to his bandmates. Last year, Suga was fined 15 million won ($11,500; €9,978) by a court for drunk driving while on an electric scooter. Suga's discharge fills fans with anticipation for a comeback of South Korea's most celebrated band that has been on a self-described "hiatus" since 2022 as its members undertook the mandatory service, in place amid growing tensions with the North. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Before their "hiatus", the megaband generated over 5.5 trillion won (roughly $4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. BTS is expected to hold its largest-ever world tour in 2026, an NH Securities entertainment analyst said in a report. Details of a reunion have yet to be released.


Int'l Business Times
6 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Soft Power: BTS Fans Rally Behind Korean International Adoptees
K-pop megaband BTS is back from military service, and their international fandom -- long known for its progressive activism -- is celebrating by rallying behind a cause: adoptees from South Korea. Now Asia's fourth-largest economy and a global cultural powerhouse, the idols' native South Korea remains one of the biggest exporters of adopted babies in the world, having sent more than 140,000 children overseas between 1955 and 1999. The country only recently acknowledged, after years of activism by adult adoptees, that the government was responsible for abuse in some such adoptions of local children, including record fabrication and inadequate consent from birth parents. The septet's fandom, dubbed ARMY, is known for backing causes like Black Lives Matter and ARMY4Palestine, and launched the #ReuniteWithBTS fundraising project last week to support Korean adoptees seeking to reconnect with or learn about their birth families, which can be a painful and legally tricky process. Almost all of BTS members have completed South Korea's mandatory military service, required of all men due to the country's military tensions with North Korea. "We are celebrating both the reunion of BTS and ARMY, and BTS members being able to reunite with their own family and friends," the BTS fan group behind the initiative, One In An ARMY, told AFP. "Helping international adoptees reunite with their birth country, culture, customs and families seemed like the perfect cause to support during this time." The fans are supporting KoRoot, a Seoul-based organisation that helps Korean adoptees search for their records and birth families and which played a key role in pushing for the government to recognise adoption-related abuses. Peter Moller, KoRoot's co-representative, told AFP it was "very touching" that the BTS fans had taken up the cause, even though "they're not even adoptees themselves". For many adoptees, seeing Korean stars in mainstream media has been a way for them to find "comfort, joy, and a sense of pride" in the roots that they were cut off from, KoRoot's leader Kim Do-hyun added. BTS, who have discussed anti-Asian hate crimes at the White House and spoken candidly about mental health, have long been considered one of the best examples of South Korea's soft power reach. For years, Korean adoptees -- many of whom were adopted by white families globally -- have advocated for their rights and spoken out about encountering racism in their host countries. Some adoptees, such as the high-profile case of Adam Crapser, were later deported to South Korea as adults because their American parents never secured their US citizenship. Many international adoptees feel their immigration experience has been "fraught", Keung Yoon Bae, a Korean studies professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, told AFP. Some adoptees have found that, like Crapser, their guardians failed to complete the necessary paperwork to make them legal, she said. This is becoming a particular problem under US President Donald Trump, who is pushing a sweeping crackdown on purported illegal immigrants. Bae said it was possible that "'accidentally illegal' adoptee immigrants may fall further through the cracks, and their deeply unfortunate circumstances left unremedied". Reunions between Korean adoptees and their birth families can be emotionally complex, as Kara Bos -- who grew up in the United States -- experienced firsthand when she met her biological father through a landmark paternity lawsuit. During their encounter in Seoul in 2020, he refused to remove his hat, sunglasses, or mask, declined to look at her childhood photos and offered no information about her mother. He died around six months later. "The journey of birth family searching is very lonely, difficult, and costly. Many adoptees do not even have the means to return to their birth country let alone fund a family search," Bos, 44, told AFP. To have BTS fans rally around adoptees and provide help with this complex process is "a wonderful opportunity", she said. For Malene Vestergaard, a 42-year-old Korean adoptee and BTS fan in Denmark, the group's song "Whalien 52", which references a whale species whose calls go unheard by others, deeply resonated with her. "I personally sometimes feel like that whale. Being amongst my peers, but they will never be able to truly understand what my adoption has done to me," she told AFP. "For me, finding BTS at the same time I started looking for my birth family and the truth about my adoption and my falsified papers, was such a comfort." Vestergaard said the grief woven into her adoption would never go away, but that "BTS and their lyrics have made it easier to reconcile with that truth". BTS fans have launched a fundraising campaign to support South Korean adoptees seeking to reconnect with their birth families AFP BTS have long been considered one of the best examples of South Korea's soft power reach AFP Kim Do-hyun (L), KoRoot leader who has spent more than 30 years advocating for adoption justice, with Peter Moller (R), KoRoot's co-representative AFP


Int'l Business Times
14-06-2025
- Int'l Business Times
All 7 BTS Members Reunite After Military Service, ARMY Reacts with Joy
It finally happened: BTS is back. In a moment that brought tears, screams, and global trending hashtags, all seven members of the iconic K-pop group reunited in public for the first time in years, just one week before their official return. The reunion took place at j-hope's solo concert in Seoul, part of FESTA 2025, BTS's annual celebration with fans. ARMY around the world had been holding their breath for a full group moment, and this week delivered just that—with a sprinkle of magic, nostalgia, and surprise performances. J-Hope, who was discharged earlier this year, has been promoting his new solo material with a series of live shows in Korea. The concert was anything but ordinary. Fans spotted Jin, RM, V, Jimin, Jungkook, and—most notably—Suga among the crowd, dancing, waving, and singing along. It was the first time all seven BTS members were seen together in public since their military enlistments began in 2022. Suga's appearance was particularly emotional. Unlike the others, he served as a public service worker due to a prior injury and had maintained a low profile throughout his duty. His return to the public eye marks the final chapter in the group's military hiatus. From Uniforms to Microphones Jin was the first to be discharged in December 2023, quickly followed by J-Hope. Over the following months, V, RM, Jimin, and Jungkook completed their mandatory service, with Suga scheduled to wrap up his duties officially on Friday, June 20, 2025. That date marks a historic moment: all BTS members will be officially done with military service. Although HYBE and BigHit Music have not confirmed any specific comeback plans, the group's presence at FESTA 2025 has fueled speculation that a group project or world tour could be announced in the coming weeks. Until now, Jin and J-Hope are the only two confirmed to be working on individual promotions. But the moment that truly stunned fans was when Jungkook and Jin joined J-Hope on stage for a surprise mini performance. The energy in the venue was electric as the three stars embraced and performed a short medley of BTS classics and solo tracks. Fans screamed, cried, and chanted in unison—a sound not heard since BTS paused group activities in 2022. ARMY Reacts Social media exploded with hashtags like #BTSisBack, #SugaReturns, and #OT7Reunion, with fans posting videos of the members interacting from the stands and clips of the surprise performance. Many noted that the unity among the members felt stronger than ever. "I've waited three years for this moment. Seeing Suga with the boys again... I can't stop crying," wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter). Another added, "The fact they all showed up for Hobi's concert tells you everything you need to know about their brotherhood." In recent months, some online critics questioned whether BTS would return as a full group following individual controversies, including debates over Suga's exemption from active military duty. But if this week proved anything, it's that BTS remains a tight-knit unit with unmatched star power—and ARMY has their backs, no matter what. @starbyz97 #bts#starbyz97#foryoupage ♬ original sound - favsoundds What's Next? While the official post-service comeback date is still under wraps, FESTA 2025 and this powerful reunion have made one thing clear: BTS is gearing up for a new era. With their 12th anniversary now behind them and military duties nearly complete, the stage is set for one of the most anticipated returns in music history. Stay tuned. The kings of K-pop are coming back. Originally published on Kpop Starz