Do You Know, BTS? Let’s keep learning! And let’s talk about j-hope, both then and now! 
Jung Ho-seok was born on February 18, 1994 in Gwangju, South Korea. He is known by his stage name J-Hope and he’s the only member where we see his name “styled” in all lower-case letters: j-hope. He also goes by the nicknames Hobi and Hoseok fairly interchangeably.
He spent his formative years dancing and it sure has served him well! j-hope was a student of the Gwangji Music Academy from 4th grade until his early high school years, until he joined Big Hit Entertainment as a trainee at the age of 15 years old. His father was a literature teacher and j-hope has mentioned that sparked a love for reading and books at an early age. He enjoyed studying music in school but math was NOT a favorite! He also was a tennis player in his youth and the members often tease him about winning his bronze medal after playing in a local tournament (there were only three participants, LOL).
Prior to his signing on with Big Hit, he was a member of the underground dance troupe, Neuron, making him fairly known for his dancing skills, even at a young age. He’d won several dance prizes during this time, including placing first in a national competition back in 2008.
His dance experience and exposure to performing began to create an interest in singing too. As we mentioned in an earlier post, he had aspirations of becoming an entertainer/idol and set out to audition for agency, JYP Entertainment. He passed an early try-out, made it through a few rounds but was cut before too long. So, he moved on to his second choice, Big Hit Entertainment. His initial interest was in dancing and singing but alas—there was a fateful twist for j-hope!
Big Hit was creating a new group consisting of three rappers- two were already on board (RM and Suga) and it was decided that j-hope would further explore his skills as a rapper and become the third member. Of course, as we all know now, that iteration was short-lived and the four vocalists (Jung Kook, V, Jimin and Jin) were added and the group became the BTS of today.
Those early trainee/debut days had their ups and down. Hobi came to Seoul all on his own, knowing no one and moved into the Big Hit dorms. Remember: he was just 15. We’d already shared last week about the bond he created with Suga early on- it was that first New Year’s Eve when Suga came to spend it with j-hope who was young and all alone in the dorms. He’s mentioned in interviews that when something is troubling him or he needs advice, he still goes to RM or Suga for support. Those very early days, when it was just the three of them, created a very special and lasting connection.
Once the current line-up was assembled, it wasn’t smooth sailing quite yet. Hoseok struggled with confidence issues and just wasn’t sure BTS was going to make it (remember, Big Hit was also a struggling new record label at the time; everything was up in the air). In the documentary, “Burn the Stage” the members talk about the time when j-hope had decided to leave. Young Jung Kook cried, begging Hobi to stay but he chose to still walk away.
It was leader RM who finally stepped in and negotiated his return. Namjoon convinced Big Hit that there would be no BTS without j-hope—he was crucial to the dynamic of the group. And he made sure j-hope understood that as well. j-hope has said he came back because he first-and-foremost believed in the other six members. He chose to trust that if they all stuck together, they’d make it. Whew!.
Since that time, he’s been roomies with Jimin so they have a great connection too- the two primary dancers! Hobi is usually very involved in the choreography for most BTS routines and is greatly respected by the members as well as industry critics. He’s the one working with the members to perfect their execution. We’ve all seen his moves—there is no one more natural nor smooth. He is always fantastic! And fun! American singer Halsey (whom BTS collaborated with on “Boy with Luv”) tells the story of how much j-hope would tease her while she was learning the dance moves for their video and/or television appearances. Whenever there was giggling or pointing from the corner if she messed up? Hobi!
He has branched out and experienced great success in songwriting and producing as well, having released very popular solo music over the years too. We’ll save all that good info for future posts. Stay tuned!
And of course, we’ll be taking a deeper dive into all-other-things-Hobi too! We look forward to having you along with us this week! We can’t wait to celebrate this bright shiny star of BTS. He’s always outgoing and optimistic. He’s cares deeply for his other members, often putting their tough times or struggles ahead of his own. We think RM sums it up best, “j-hope always lights up the atmosphere.”
Get ready to light it up with us and keep learning more about j-hope this week!
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: OneLuv BTS | Content: various sources
