BTS fans flood online military forum with concern for Jin

GBNEWS24DESK//

Ever since South Korean singer Jin from superstar K-pop boy band BTS enlisted in mandatory military service earlier in December, his fans have not been able to stop worrying about him.

K-pop media outlet Allkpop reported that fans of Jin – whose real name is Kim Seok-jin – have been flooding an online military community with their concern over the 30-year-old singer’s well-being, much to the frustration of other enlistees’ families.

The target of fan support is the “5th division key unit family love room” message board on a South Korean online community called The Camp.

Examples of fan messages about Jin included queries about his diet, such as: “Do you often give foods that contain potatoes, garlic and fish? Because Jin is allergic to those foods, that is why I am asking if those foods are given out often.”

In response, other members of the community have complained, pointing out that “Jin is not the only person who enlisted in the military” and “it’s so hard to ask about my son or find information”.

The Camp community administrators have now created a separate message board for Jin’s fans, called “BTS’s Jin A.R.M.Y.”, in hopes of ringfencing Jin-related queries.

An administrator also asked that fans ease off their messages. “If there are too many letters being uploaded, the computer server will go down and other soldiers may not be able to receive their letters from their families and friends.”