BTS’ Jin On Facing Extreme Weather Conditions While Serving In The Military: 'Beyond Imagination'

BTS’ eldest member, Kim Seokjin, also known as Jin, has made his return after fulfilling his mandatory military service. Although he’s now juggling a busy schedule with new work commitments and upcoming fan events, Jin has been open about his military experiences. During his service, he underwent a rigorous five-week boot camp in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi, before being appointed as an assistant drill instructor at the 5th Infantry Division. Despite the demanding training and harsh weather conditions, Jin persevered through it all.

In an interview with W Korea, Jin opened up about how the climate was at its extreme during the winter and summer months. “Beyond imagination,” he said while describing the midsummer and midwinter seasons.

“I enlisted in December 2022. My friend captured the weather app on the day he enlisted, and the temperature that day felt like -30 °C (laughs). It was amazing that the winter temperature could drop that much,” he said, as quoted by Koreaboo. The BTS member also recalled how the more experienced soldiers at the base warned him about the climate conditions. “When people who had been in the unit longer than me said, ‘The summer weather is also beyond imagination,’ I thought, ‘No way,’ but it really was hot in the summer,” he continued.

This is not the first time that the eldest BTS member has shared anecdotes from his time in the military. Earlier in a conversation with Weverse Magazine, Jin spoke about how he once got angry during the service.

When Jin Got Angry During Military Service

“I’ve been in the industry for 10 years. I still don’t know a lot of things, and I make mistakes; everybody does. But there was only one time I lost my temper. One soldier did something wrong but kept joking around and saying, ‘I’ll figure it out myself, sir’. So I told him, ‘It’s okay if you make mistakes. It’s not like I know everything. I make mistakes, too. But if a senior soldier tells you to do something, you must at least act like you’re listening. You can’t keep taking it as a joke. I get it—everyone’s different. But you at least have to figure out why you made that mistake. I’ll tell you how to do it one more time, so don’t mess around anymore,'” he said.

Having begun his services in December 2022, Jin was discharged from the military in June this year. The other six BTS members are still serving.