'We’ve been here since 3 a.m.': ARMY show their dedication as BTS Festa begins

Fans queue for hours at BTS Festa to celebrate the group's 11th anniversary as the boy band's members begin to return from military service, starting with Jin.

Fans fill the Sports Park at the Seoul Sports Complex in southern Seoul on June 13 at around 11 a.m. for the 2024 Festa, an event celebrating boy band BTS's 11th anniversary of debut. [YOON SO-YEON]

“I've been waiting here since midnight,” said 34-year-old Jo A-reum as she proudly entered the BTS annual anniversary event, Festa, as the very first person in line at the Seoul Sports Complex in southern Seoul that was already swarmed with thousands of fans queuing up on Thursday morning.

Jo was the first of many fans who had been queuing up hours before the event officially began at 11 a.m. in order to get their hands on the limited goods package given out to members of BTS’s fan club, ARMY, on a first-come-first-served basis.

“We’ve been waiting in line since 3 a.m.,” said 54-year-old Satou Jikako who came with three other friends for the 2024 Festa. “We arrived at the airport at 10 p.m. We dropped our bags at the hotel and then came straight here because we knew that other fans would also be here early.”

Jikako and Jo, along with hundreds of other fans who successfully got themselves a package each, hurriedly opened up the boxes to check which member’s photo card they got in order to exchange it with other cards of their favorite members.

The package included a BTS strap, postcard and photo cards.

Fans exchange photo cards from the limited package given out to members of BTS's fan club ARMY at the 2024 Festa held on June 13 at the Seoul Sports Complex in southern Seoul. [YOON SO-YEON]

In mere seconds after the clock struck 11 a.m., the sports park was filled with fans yelling, “Does anyone have Jimin?,” “Who has Jin?” echoed by an excited voice yelling out, “I have Jin!”

Thursday’s Festa came as BTS celebrates the 11th anniversary of its grand career with the annual celebration featuring music, games and a love that filled a sports complex brimming with thousands of fans from all over the world.

Experience booths set up by BTS’s agency HYBE filled the sports park of the Jamsil Sports Complex including photo booths, photo zones, hands-on experience booths where fans could make their own bracelets or badges, merchandise sales and more.

“We would have come earlier if we knew that there would be this many people,” said 66-year-old Yukie who came from Japan, who said that she had been waiting since 9 a.m. “We knew that there would be many people, but not this many!”

Fans of boy band BTS attend the 2024 Festa event in southern Seoul on June 13, a day after member Jin was discharged from his military service. [AFP/YONHAP]

A group of Japanese BTS fans wear matching T-shirts designed by one of the group's members on June 13 while they stand in line to enter the 2024 Festa event at the Seoul Sports Complex in southern Seoul. [YOON SO-YEON]

Yukie was in line with five other friends who became acquainted last year at a BTS fan group based in Tokyo. Yukie and the gang were wearing pink T-shirts, designed by the group’s very own member, 62-year-old Takumi, reading, “Welcome back! Jin.”

“I’m so glad that he’s back — I’ve been waiting so much for this day,” said 58-year-old Setsuko. “I love Jin, but we’re all united by our love for BTS.”

A large-scale digital screen welcomed fans to the venue with images of handwritten letters from BTS members who could not make it to the venue on Thursday.

"I really want to hear ARMY roar," wrote Jungkook. "I want to make great music again. I miss you so much. It won't be long until I stand in front of you again, if I enjoy myself, right?"

Jimin also wrote a letter, saying, "I'm doing well here [in the military], so don't you worry about me and enjoy your time with Jin for now. We'll be back with you one by one. I can't wait to get back together with everyone."

But Jin was, in fact, the special man of the hour on Thursday.

The BTS member just finished his year and a half of military duty on Wednesday, becoming the first of the seven members to return to civilian life. He was welcomed by his fellow bandmates who greeted Jin at ROK Army 5th Infantry Division Recruit Training Center in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday morning, with the BTS leader playing the band's hit song "Dynamite" (2020) on his saxophone.

Jin waves to reporters on June 12 as he leaves the ROK Army 5th Infantry Division Recruit Training Center in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi, with bandmate RM playing the saxophone at his right. [YONHAP]

Fans stand outside HYBE headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul, on June 12 to welcome BTS member Jin on the day he finished his military duty. [HYBE]

Around 100 reporters were present at the scene to record the moment, but only a few fans after HYBE requested that fans refrain from coming to the site for safety reasons. Some 70 officials from the regional government and the fire department were present in case of any accidents, according to HYBE.

Fans instead took to HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul, to greet the BTS members. The building has been decorated with the phrase, "Apobangpo," which can be translated to "ARMY forever BTS forever" in Korean.

Some 1,000 fans filled the streets outside the building, while 900,000 fans logged in to Weverse fan community app to watch Jin hold his first solo live stream in a year and a half — since Dec. 4, 2022. Viewers logged in from 211 countries around the world, according to HYBE.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon congratulated Jin on his return with a Facebook post reading, "I feel delighted to hear that BTS's oldest member Jin is coming back."

"Military duty is mandatory for every able-bodied Korean man, but it is true that a sense of sadness was prevalent to see seven artists, who had been loved by the world, take a break in their career," wrote Oh. "I, along with many other people, applaud you for completing your duties without any foul play or privileges and becoming an exemplary model for everyone else."

Members of boy band BTS pose for photos after greeting member Jin on the day he was discharged from his year and a half of military service on June 12. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Jin is set to hold a special meet and greet with fans at 3 p.m. where he promised to give hugs to 1,000 fans in a never-before-seen K-pop event. He wanted to make that number 3,000 but his agency narrowed it down in case of any safety hazards, according to a livestream Jin held on Wednesday.

“I tried not to cry but I cried twice because I was so happy,” Jin said during the livestream. “I insisted on holding the ‘free hug’ event. I really wanted to go ahead with it because I wanted to give warm hugs to fans who waited the long year and a half. I hope you all understand my intentions.”

A larger-scale meet and greet will begin at 8 p.m. with 4,000 fans present at the Jamsil Indoor Arena where Jin will greet fans with anecdotes and his own songs.

Starting with Jin, BTS members are expected to finish their military duties one by one to reunite by the end of June next year.

Next up will be J-Hope, set to be discharged on Oct. 17, followed by members RM and V on June 10, 2025, Jimin and Jungkook the next day on June 11, 2025 and Suga’s scheduled finish on June 21, 2025.

The headquarters building of boy band BTS's agency HYBE is decorated with the word "Apobangpo," which can be translated to "ARMY forever, BTS forever" in Korean, in celebration of the boy band's 11th anniversary of debut that falls on June 13. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Fans of boy band BTS attend the 2024 Festa event in southern Seoul on June 13, a day after member Jin was discharged from his military service. [AFP/YONHAP]

HYBE had promised that all the members would finish their services by 2025 and then reunite. Fans were sad but still excited to hear that all members had begun their services by late 2023 to finish around the date of the band’s 12th anniversary, which falls on June 13, 2025.

This year’s Festa included an online “Bang Bang Con” video that included BTS’s live performances from the past.

Last year’s Festa saw 11 locations across Seoul decorated with artworks and purple-shaded lights as a collaboration between BTS’s agency HYBE and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to honor the record-breaking achievements by the septet over the last decade.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]