WEEK 58 | The Beat of Destiny.

Monday Muster
Written By Quince

February 10-17, 2025

Trust.

 

2018 MAMA Awards

2018 was quite the year for j-hope. Not only did it mark the release of his first mixtape, HOPE WORLD, it also saw BTS negotiate an early (and very beneficial) contract renewal for the group. They had spent the previous year burning their collective candle at both ends, resulting in some very serious burnout amongst the members.


At the beginning of that year, they had come dangerously close to giving in to their fatigue and calling it quits. There were many hours of soul-searching they went through before finally deciding, all together, that disbandment was not what they wanted for themselves, each other, or their fans. Hence the early contract renewal—the terms of which brought about much-needed changes to their future scheduling, and built in non-negotiable periods of rest and time off for the future.


When BTS won the daesang for “Artist of the Year” that December at the MAMA awards ceremony, j-hope was the one who took hold of the trophy and began their acceptance speech. 


“ARMY! I really worried a lot before coming up on stage. We always want to show everyone our best sides, and not the sides of us that make mistakes. So every time, before coming up on stage, I clench my heart and prepare for the performance. This award is really… I think I would’ve cried whether we received this award or not today, because we’ve been through so much…”


As he spoke, he became more and more emotional, and did begin crying—setting off several of the other members as well when they added to the speech. By the time Jin brought it to a close by frankly saying how they had almost decided to disband at the beginning of the year, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was clear to see how much BTS and ARMY meant to each one of them, and how hard they had fought to stick by each other and make it worthwhile to keep going.


The next few years saw monumental growth for BTS—both in artistic achievement and in global popularity. Though the COVID-19 Pandemic forced them to cancel a world tour and pivot all of their plans for 2020 and beyond, the way they used their time and platform during the lockdown to help their fans cope was nothing short of heroic inspiration. They gave us hope—which, after all, was j-hope’s entire mission statement. He threw himself into livestreaming to keep ARMY company, and into all of the new choreography and dance breaks they created for the songs in their English Trilogy (“Dynamite”, “Butter”, and “Permission to Dance”). It was more important than ever that he lived up to the legacy he created for himself.


But the amount of energy he (and the others) gave away during that time was not without a price. The Pandemic caused both frustration and inspiration for j-hope, leading ultimately to the creation of his next solo project, JACK IN THE BOX, which released in the summer of 2022, about a month after the Festa dinner at which the members had announced an upcoming break from group activities. They needed time to fulfill obligations to their country, find themselves outside of BTS, and do some much needed regrouping.

So, not only was JACK IN THE BOX j-hope’s first solo studio album, it was the first solo studio album released by ANY member of BTS, and it officially kicked off BTS’ Chapter Two…



 
 
 
 

Skip to Content: Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five

 

DAY ONE:

 

After coming through the fire together and rejecting disbandment, BTS threw themselves into their next projects and promotions throughout 2018 and 2019. They got hard to work on a Festa gift for ARMY that would both reassure them that BTS wasn’t going anywhere, but also reassure their haters that BTS wasn’t going anywhere.


The result was a laid-back masterclass in wordplay evisceration—Rap Line’s unforgettable SoundCloud track, “Ddaeng”. It’s 3 minutes and 57 seconds of playful double and even triple entendres that are smart brags and subtle digs. 



The group also recorded and released the Love Yourself album series and followed it up with a world tour. Through the LYS series, j-hope had multiple solo songs across the albums, each of them carrying not only his signature style and sound, but also lyrics that highlighted his perennial uplifting message as well.  

 

“Ddaeng” Performance

It feels strange

Because we match so well,

I feel like everything will work out great

But you’re my Friend, yeah my Friend

Just..
I like the feeling of being together, with you
I like the dances we do together, with you

I just wanna, wanna, wanna

I really wanna, wanna, wanna

Just dance



Over the course of his career, j-hope has brought everything in his life back to dance. It’s his touchstone and the basis for how he relates to music at all. So it was no surprise to anyone that he’d come up with a song entitled “Just Dance”. In it, he invites the listener to just let go and have fun, something that most of us find easier said than done.

 
 

PUMA Turin - Made by BTS j-hope


 
 

J-HOPE "TRIVIA 起: JUST DANCE" | STAGE MIX

 

J-HOPE "TRIVIA 起: JUST DANCE" | FANCHANT MOMENTS

 

Fun Fact:

Let’s spend some time with 3J…


Even though BTS doesn’t make a big deal about member “positions” in their group any longer, they did debut with an “official” dance line. Originally it was j-hope, Jimin, and Jung Kook—the strongest dancers in the group. (V was added to the dance line in 2018 after his solo performance of “Singularity”, but for now we’re just going to be talking about the original three.)


They dubbed themselves “3J” and they were the members you were most likely to see front and center during heavy choreography moments, ensuring the audience’s attention was mostly focused on them. There have been a few 3J unit performances and special choreographies over the years, so we’ve collected them all—including practices and Bangtan Bombs—here for you here to enjoy.

  1. 2013 DANCE PRACTICE BY J-HOPE & JIMIN & JUNG KOOK (1:40)

  2. 2013 CHOREOGRAPHY: 3J DANCE BREAK PRACTICE (1:03)

  3. 2015 KBS SONG FESTIVAL X BTS J-HOPE, JIMIN, JUNG KOOK | VLIVE (33:42)

  4. 2017 BTS DANCE PERFORMANCE - 3J (JIMIN, J-HOPE, JUNG KOOK) (8:02)

  5. 2017 BANGTAN BOMB: 613 BTS HOME PARTY PRACTICE - UNIT STAGE SAM JUI (3J) (9:50)

  6. 2018 BANGTAN BOMB: "IDOL" INTRO PERFORMANCE (3J FOCUS) | 2018 MMA (1:56)

  7. 2018 G.C.F 3J | 2018 MMA PRACTICE (1:33)

  8. 2020 BANGTAN BOMB: 3J UNIT PHOTO SHOOTING BEHIND (2:55)

  9. 2020 BANGTAN BOMB: A BOISTEROUS SHOOTING OF 3J (4:01)

  10. 2020 BANGTAN BOMB: CUTE AND ADORABLE 3J (1:34)

  11. 2021 CHOREOGRAPHY: 3J "BUTTER (FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION)" SPECIAL PERFORMANCE VIDEO (1:09)

  12. 2021 BANGTAN BOMB: THE 3J "BUTTER" CHOREOGRAPHY BEHIND THE SCENES (14:37)

  13. BTS 3J DANCE UNIT COMPILATION (J-HOPE, JIMIN, JUNG KOOK) (9:50)

 
 

DAY TWO:

 

“Chicken Noodle Soup” Official M/V

Amidst the craziness of the LYS series and tour, j-hope worked on a project he wanted to release in order to pay homage to his dance roots—an adaptation/remix of one of his favorite songs from when he was a kid—”Chicken Noodle Soup” by Webstar and Young B (feat. AG aka The Voice of Harlem).


j-hope credits the song’s accompanying dance as one of the first that helped him realize his passion for it. So he wanted to honor the classic choreo, while adding on his own flavor, and writing lyrics that would make the song a celebration of diversity and culture, showing pride in where one comes from.

Hobi knew he wanted a collaboration so he found someone who also counted “Chicken Noodle Soup” as one of her favorite childhood songs—Latin American artist, Becky G. In the verses they wrote, both j-hope and Becky G utilize metaphorical language and cultural references to enhance the lyrics. For example, j-hope mentions a prominent street in Gwangju, South Korea, connecting his identity to his hometown and to the journey he undertook from local street dance roots to international stardom. The line "Popping, rocking, hopping, tutting, dougie, flexing, swaggin'” describes a number of moves that highlight the importance of rhythm in dance. Becky G’s lyrics (which she wrote) and her decision to rap in Spanish reflect her heritage. Her verses are about overcoming societal expectations—she mentions that a lot of people don’t believe women can excel in hip-hop—and they showcase themes of resilience and empowerment. 

The repetitive chorus serves not just as a catchy refrain but also as a metaphor for a universal comfort food, which evokes feelings of belonging across cultures.The song was a huge risk, but the reward ended up paying off more than enough. Especially in connection with the M/V which celebrates the culture of hip-hip, and also features over fifty young street dancers from many multi-cultural backgrounds showing off their freestyle moves.

Becky G got to perform the song live with j-hope for the first time ever when he headlined Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2022. The pair have become friends over the years and they had a lot of fun together on stage. Becky G is a staunch supporter of BTS and ARMY, and we’re hopeful that maybe we’ll get another performance of the song during the U.S. leg of Hobi’s upcoming “HOPE ON THE STAGE” tour.

 

“Chicken Noodle Soup” Official M/V

 
 
 
 
 

Bangtan Bubble: What’s your favorite j-hope dance break moment?

 
 

Let us know your answer in the comments below or on social media (include #BangtanBubble)!

 

DAY THREE:

“Dynamite” j-hope

During BTS’ Map of the Soul era and the Pandemic, j-hope got several opportunities to lean into both the bright and sunny part of his personality, but also the cool and swaggy side as well. On Map of the Soul: 7, his solo song is “Outro: Ego” and it’s a celebration of how much he enjoys just being himself, no matter what.

Yeah, I don’t care, everything is my
fate’s choice, so we’re here
I look ahead, the way is shinin’

Keep goin’ now

(Ready, set, and begin)

If there’s one thing we can always count on, it’s that j-hope is always gonna j-hope. This fact was particularly comforting for ARMY during the Pandemic lockdown. BTS had to cancel their MOTS world tour, so they couldn’t cheer ARMY up in person, but they made up for it by holding online concerts and leaning heavily into livestream content. 


When they started to release their English language songs as mood lifters, they had no idea how popular they would end up becoming. The songs already had amazing choreography, but as they blew up in popularity and the group began to be invited to perform those songs over and over again, they started adding in more dance breaks and extra flair. And, of course, j-hope was always at the center of it. 

Who can forget his amazing “Dynamite” dance break when he was wearing the purple velvet jumpsuit? Certainly not me. Nope. Not EVER.

 

Map of the Soul: 7 ‘Outro: Ego’ Trailer

 
 

BANGTAN BOMB: "DYNAMITE" DANCE BREAK (BTS FOCUS) | 2020 MMA

 

Bangtan Bomb: Hobi’s POV

 

Fun Fact

 Bonus j-hope variety show content and dance challenges 2018-2023


Listen, I’m not saying that we can find pure joy and happiness in these sixteen clips linked below, but I’m also not NOT saying it.


Watching j-hope work with choreography and do dance challenges is like listening to RM and SUGA talking about songwriting and music production. It’s feeling the satisfaction of seeing a master working in his craft, and utterly excelling at it. I dare you to try and leave this Fun Fact without a giant grin on your face.

  1. J-HOPE JIMIN ON PON! | NIPPON TV (14:50)

  2. BTS' J-HOPE & JIMIN PICKING A GIFT | NIPPONTV THE GIFT (1:44)

  3. JIMIN AND J-HOPE ON ZIP! | NIPPON TV (3:21)

  4. SPECIAL DIRECTOR 'BTS J-HOPE' VISIT | UNDER NINETEEN (2:40)

  5. J-HOPE'S DETAILED CHOREOGRAPHY BY BTS J-HOPE TEACHES CHOREOGRAPHY | UNDER NINETEEN (2:38)

  6. THE BEST MEMBER TO SING THE SONG, "FAKE LOVE" | UNDER NINETEEN (2:50)

  7. &TEAM MET J-HOPE OF BTS! (1:48)

  8. &TEAM REACTION TO BTS J-HOPE SURPRISING THEM! | PART 1 (2:38)

  9. BTS J-HOPE RECOGNIZES &TEAM K, FUMA, NICHOLAS, EJ AND TAKI | PART 2 (2:40)

  10. BTS J-HOPE THOUGHT HARUA IS THE MAKNAE OF &TEAM | PART 3 (1:26)

  11. BTS J-HOPE’S REACTION TO &TEAM’S UNDER THE SKIN PERFORMANCE | PART 4 (3:07)

  12. I’M NOT JUST FLATTERING YOU. IT’S REALLY COOL! - J-HOPE, BTS TO &TEAM | PART 5 (0:57)

  13. &TEAM PERFORM RUN BTS IN FRONT OF BTS J-HOPE | PART 6 (2:05)

  14. BTS J-HOPE ADVICE TO &TEAM’S K 💜🐺 J-HOPE TALKS ABOUT NO MORE DREAM DEBUT | PART 7 (1:30)

  15. &CUT: DANCE CHALLENGE WITH J-HOPE & JIMIN OF BTS (4:16)

  16. BTS J-HOPE W/ &TEAM ON THE STREET TIKTOK 💜 + HOBI FT. &TEAM INSTA STORY: THANK YOU FRIENDS 😘🥰😍 (1:03)

 

DAY FOUR:

 

j-hope ‘Hope in the Box’ visual teaser

We’ve seen BTS, and j-hope, reference Greek mythology in their music before. “Intro: Boy Meets Evil”, one of j-hope’s solos on the WINGS album, alludes to the tale of Icarus, who crafted a pair of wings from wax and used them to escape the Minotaur’s maze, only to then fall to his death into the sea after ignoring his father’s warning to not fly too high—too close to the sun.

By the time 2022 arrived, and it looked like Pandemic restrictions would finally start loosening up more and more around the world, the members of BTS probably felt themselves that perhaps they had been flying a bit too close to the sun. In their pursuit of putting good into the world and being supportive to ARMY, they’d started releasing some fun, happy singles, hoping to spread joy instead of despair. And these singles were in English. They hit far more than the desired effect… “Dynamite” and “Butter” both helped to catapult BTS onto the international stage in a way they’d never experienced before. They went from being “very famous” to GLOBAL SUPERSTARS in a short amount of time.

And while they were grateful, it was also exhausting. So when it was time to celebrate their 9th Festa in June of 2022, they let ARMY know that they needed a break. That flight close to the sun had left them dizzy and they needed to reorient. They had their mandatory military service approaching, and they needed to take time to focus on their individual colors and music for a bit.


Thus began BTS’ Chapter Two. And who better to kick it off than j-hope? About a month after that fateful Festa dinner, he released his first solo studio album, JACK IN THE BOX, and showed us his color right out of the gate. It wasn’t what we were expecting.

 

JITB Promotional Photos

What Zeus had kept inside the box broke loose from their confinement

All that was foul was now unleashed upon the world

Pandora, unable to undo what she had done, fell into despair

As she grieved, she heard a feeble quiver from the box

She lifted the lid once more, and out fluttered a small, bright, most beautiful creature she had ever seen

It flapped its delicate wings as it danced around Pandora, lightly brushing against hеr shoulder

Pandora immediately fеlt her angst melt away and her heart glow with warmth

It was hope that was kept in the innermost nook of the box

It trailed behind the miasma of darkness

Assuaging their ill-effects on humankind

Hope gave people the will to carry on living amidst the pain and strife


The “Intro” to the album immediately tells us who he has always tried to be for us, and who he wants to continue trying to be in the future. But there is a bit of an ominous tone present as well, letting us know that it’s not always smooth sailing for him as he tries to be our “hope”. And the following track, “Pandora’s Box” continues that theme immediately. 

Yeah, now that I’ve lived through it, I can see through the world

The tens of thousands of high fevers that fire people up

Greed, jealousy, resentment, envy

revenge, and hatred

Maybe there’s no reason

We need hope


He knows he’s needed, but it’s not easy, and constantly giving of one’s self is not without eventual consequence. The set up of this album tells us that j-hope is going to be there for us, but he’s got some feelings he needs to get off his chest about it too…

 
 
 

EPISODE: J-HOPE JACK IN THE BOX (HOPE EDITION) JACKET SHOOT SKETCH

 

"PANDORA’S BOX" | LOLLAPALOOZA 2022

 

Fun Fact:

Grab your tissues. It’s time to learn more about Mang.


We love the adorable BT21 characters that were created by each member of BTS as their counterparts. Not only do they inspire fun merchandise, but the story content surrounding them is sweet and enjoyable as well. 


When the members were originally designing their characters, j-hope had begun by drawing out a horse idea. It was inspired by a nickname he’d heard several times over the years—from the public, the team at Big Hit, and even other members of the group. From his members, it was good natured teasing, but from the public, it wasn’t always so. Plenty of people over the years had mocked j-hope for his looks, saying he had a “horse face”.


After working with the designers at Line Friends, j-hope developed a whole storyline for his character, Mang. “Mang is a word in Korean commonly used to mean “pony”, but it is also part of the word for “hope”—huimang. It was decided that Mang would not be an actual horse, but would rather be drawn wearing a mask that made him look like a horse.


j-hope explained that the mask was present to “help the character successfully perform and dance without any anxiety or pressure to impress his audience”. But in the weeks just before j-hope’s military enlistment in April 2023, a storyline called “Inside Mang” was released on BT21’s YouTube channel, and it featured Mang finally taking his mask off for the first time, and learning that he didn’t really need it in order to perform after all. The story clearly mirrored some of j-hope’s insecurities he’d likely felt about himself over the years, and to see Mang overcome them gave strength to ARMY, but also to Hobi, I’m sure, on the cusp of his enlistment. 

  1. BT21 INSIDE MANG | TEASER (0:48)

  2. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 01 (5:12)

  3. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 02 (5:40)

  4. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 03 (4:55)

  5. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 04 (3:44)

  6. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 05 (4:53)

  7. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 06 (1:44)

  8. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 07 (5:20)

  9. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 08 (0:46)

  10. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 09 (5:27)

  11. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 10 (2:10)

  12. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 11 (5:41)

  13. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 12 (1:34)

  14. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. SPECIAL (4:18)

  15. BT21 INSIDE MANG | EP. 13 (5:41)

 
 

DAY FIVE:

We’d had a taste of what to expect before JACK IN THE BOX dropped, because of the pre-release track “More”. For ARMYs who only knew Hobi as BTS’ “sunshine”, the rock-infused song must have come as a complete shock. Heavy drums and guitars pound alongside j-hope singing passionately about how much more he wants from his life, and if you’re not headbanging by the time you get to the end of the song, were you even listening to it, bro?

“More” Promotional Photo

For 11 years, I’m teaching myself

Underlining with a highlighter, it’s the art of learning

Endless learning

The art that comes out of crashing and falling

Even from where I stand, I make it move, make it mine, make it right

It becomes someone’s favorite song again

That’s the second half of my life, the reason of my life, and the joy of my life

With that as a driving force, I carry on

This is j-hope walking us through the process of how he makes music and what drives him to do so. The heaviness of the song, how it sounds almost like heavy metal, certainly hard rock, tells us how invested he is in creating music for himself and his fans. He’s happy to be our hope, but he has to let the creative process do its thing so that can happen. He needs to keep his passion. 

Later in the song he says the line: “My work makes me breathe, so I want MORE,” but he sounds so angry and impassioned about it. In the M/V, he thrashes around with the band in a makeshift garage, wreaking havoc during the chaotic chorus. There’s no actual choreography for the song, which—unusual for a dancer, right? 

It’s almost as though he’s feeling the message of the song so deeply he cannot possibly be expected to concentrate on any kind of choreography. He can only let his body move with his feelings, as he screams gutturally into the microphone. Who was this j-hope? 

We weren’t sure, but we knew one thing… We wanted MORE.

 
 
 

“More” Official M/V

 

“More” MAMA Awards 2022

 
 
 
 

Bangtan Bubble: What did you feel the first time you heard and saw j-hope’s “More”?

 

Let us know your answer in the comments below or on social media (include #BangtanBubble)!

 
 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The immense pressure j-hope, and all of BTS, must find themselves under on a daily basis is overwhelming to try and comprehend. The fact that, despite all of that, j-hope is STILL commited to being a bright, and positive force in the lives of ARMYs around the world is truly inspiring. He pours his whole heart and soul into everything he does, and it shows in abundance.

Come back next week as we continue exploring JACK IN THE BOX, and we ask ourselves “What If?” and possibly even contemplate some “Arson”. Let’s burn… burn… burn…

 

 
 

Side Quest

j-hope’s VLIVEs (2019-2021)

Time for more joy. We start with the hilarious and chaotic LIVEs from the LYS World Tour, and then move into those that happened during the first year of the Pandemic.

BTS got a lot of people through the bleakness of lockdown and j-hope was a big part of that. Whether he was trying to craft or make custom smoothies, his infectious laugh was a healing balm for ARMY’s soul.

 

200217 HOB-AH I LOVE YOU~❤️💜 | VLIVE

 

210405 BTS CAFE YONGSAN BRANCH OPEN! TEA TIME WITH ARMY~SUGA, J-HOPE, V | VLIVE

 
 
 
 
 
 

CREDITS:

YouTube/Web

BANGTANTV, HYBE LABELS, &TEAM, aftaehyung, BANGTAN SUBS, Bangtan's Corner, BANGTANXSave ME, Brilliant, BT21, BTS WORLD Official, BTS_twt, BTSxEditing0, ctc0128, destinyKNicho : K & Nicholas, ENJOY BTS MORE, ESQUIRE KOREA, Gaemoji, Hoseok94, JAEGUCHI, JEAGUCHI, Jyimina PJ, KBS WORLD TV, kitchiekook, KOCOWA TV, LEMORING, MBCkpop, MMTG - 문명특급, Mnet Plus, Pierre Bertrand, PUMA, SBS ENTERTAINMENT, ShadowBy oongi, SUGA is Life, Tawnifer, ZICO, 비밀해죠TV, なっぴょん; Web:

ARMY Project 529 Volunteers

Research Team: Angel (TikTok: Lilangel2828), Leslie Day (TikTok: Leslie Day), Merry (TikTok: merryj67), Sam T (TikTok: samt_26), Shelley (TikTok: shels167), Trudy (TikTok: theeducationmommy), Viv (TikTok: VivEliz); Video Team: Leslie Day (TikTok: Leslie Day), Namz (TikTok: Namz07)

 
 

Join us on YouTube every Sunday evening at 8pm ET for #the529live, a wrap up of each week's “Monday Muster”, thoughtful discussions, and tons of laughter! And catch us every Wednesday night at 9pm ET for #the529tea, when we dish about all the news going on with Bangtan. Both live streams are hosted on ARMY Project 529’s YouTube channel: (@ARMYProject529)

If you can't watch in real time and want to catch up later, Lives are automatically recorded and posted to our YouTube videos. (@ARMY Project 529).


Quince
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WEEK 57 | I’m Your Hope…