BTS’s J-Hope to release single before starting military service

Seoul, Feb 27 (EFE).- The member of South Korean group BTS Jung Ho-seok, better known by his stage name J-Hope, will release a solo single Friday called “On the street” as he prepares to join the country’s compulsory military service.

Hybe, the agency behind South Korean band BTS and its members’ individual careers, said today that the single is a “lo-fi hip-hop song with a warm melody and lyrics, where J-Hope participated in the composition and lyrics.”

J-Hope already debuted as a soloist on Jul. 15 with the album “Jack in the box,” the first to be published after the well-known boy band announced a temporary separation on Jun. 14 for their members to focus on their individual careers.

The news about the rapper’s new single comes a day after his agency announced he would become the second member of the group to enlist in the military after the oldest member, Jin.

Big Hit, the entertainment company to which J-Hope is signed, said Sunday the rapper had canceled a permit to delay enlistment, although it did not say when the rapper, who turned 29 on Feb. 18, would enlist in the military.

Jin, the oldest member of BTS, began his service on Dec. 13, mandatory in South Korea for all men fit for exercise.

After years of uncertainty about the future of the band due to military service and after a legislative reform allowed the deadline for BTS members and other K-Pop artists to enlist by two years – until they turned 30 – the group announced in the summer it would take a break until at least 2025. Until then, all its members would take advantage of this requirement, which lasts between 18 and 24 months.

Consisting of RM, Jimin, Jin, V, Suga, J-Hope and Jungkook, the band has broken several records and won national and international awards no South Korean pop group has ever achieved before, being the first Asian group to become a global musical phenomenon. EFE

asb-emg/lds