GOYANG, Gyeonggi — “Did he seriously walk on stage just like that?” shouted a voice from the crowd.

The fan, half in disbelief, leaped to her feet and cheered wildly. The BTS member Jin had just made a decidedly no-fuss entrance to the stage for his solo fan concert, “#RunSeokJin_EP.Tour,” in Goyang, Gyeonggi.

The star, known to fans as “Mr. Worldwide Handsome,” kicked off his debut solo world tour on Saturday just like that, simply striding down onto the stage with little preamble and pressing a button. “Dojeon!” he announced — a catchphrase for his variety show “Run Jin” (2024-), meaning “Bring it on!”


The fanfare-free yet explosive opening set the tone for the evening, as Jin had one single mission: to entertain and delight his fans, ARMY.

He rose to the challenge by packing the show with dazzling spectacles, playful quiz segments and, at times, surprising twists — never once allowing his devoted fans to get bored.


“Both ARMY and I felt something was missing after we wrapped up ‘Run Jin,’ right?” Jin said, referring to his YouTube series where he tackled a variety of challenges, from mountain climbing to fencing and action stunts. The series, which ran for two seasons, ended with its 36th episode on May 27.


“To fill that void and to now run to my ARMY, I’m now taking on a new mission for the last episode of ‘Run Jin,’ with a concert,” Jin said.


“Starting from today, I am going to meet with ARMY from not only Korea but also from all around the world — I’m excited for the challenge more than ever.”

As the concert has been designed as a spinoff for the web series, the show was first and foremost, entertaining. It was filled with moments of genuine connection and laughter and stayed true to Jin’s promise that “ARMY is the special guest for today’s ‘Run Jin’ episode!”


Though the concert venue was reportedly difficult to get into, according to fans — likely due to the venue being relatively smaller in comparison to the main Goyang stadium — the intimate setting paid off, especially during the quiz segments.


Jin playfully tried to guess the keywords fans described through body language and name songs based on ARMY’s singing.

As much as Jin made the audience laugh with his signature banter and quick wit, ARMY gave it all right back. When fans struggled to hit the high notes in “Running Wild” (2024), Jin burst into laughter, exclaiming, “Your singing voices just shrank in half by the end of the chorus!”


But the concert wasn't all fun and games either, as Jin’s live performance delivered real emotional weight.


One of the evening's biggest surprises came when Jin sat down at the piano to perform "I will come to you” (2024) and "Abyss” (2022).


The singer shared that he had learned how to play the piano for about a month in preparation for the show, saying, “I was so nervous that my fingers and legs kept shaking.”


Still, true to his catchphrase “Dojeon!” — which he shouted to himself before launching into the piano performance — Jin took on the challenge, delivering a heartfelt performance for ARMY.


Singer Yena also joined Jin on stage to perform their collaboration track “Loser,” one of the B-sides on Jin’s second solo EP, “Echo,” released on May 16.

“I never imagined I’d one day perform in front of ARMY, not even in my wildest dreams,” said Yena. “It’s truly an honor to have this opportunity.”


J-Hope, RM and V were also in the audience to support their older bandmate. While greeting his bandmates near the end of the concert, Jin hinted at the long-awaited full reunion of BTS, as all seven of them have now completed their military duties after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus.


“I was worried at first if I would be able to perform these songs alone on stage,” Jin confessed, after a medley of BTS’s hits “Dynamite” (2020), “Butter” (2021), “Mikrokosmos” (2019) and “Spring Day” (2017).


“But thanks to ARMY, I never felt alone,” he said, and later added, “I hope the day comes soon that we [BTS members] can all perform these songs together.”


“Run Jin” was meant to keep ARMY engaged during the group’s absence, with Jin, the eldest of the septet, enlisting first and returning ahead of the others. As such, the concert was a moment for fans to show their appreciation for his hard work, as captured in one sign in the crowd that read, “ARMY knows your hard work; Thanks, Jin, for running tirelessly since your military discharge.”

“I’m excited to show Jin that he is so popular, and that he is so loved by fans,” said Klara, a 21-year-old ARMY from Poland, showing her handmade sign that read, “Came from Poland to see our Worldwide Handsome.”


After the two shows at the Goyang Sports Complex Auxiliary Stadium in Gyeonggi on Saturday and Sunday, the tour will bring Jin on to a total of nine cities, including Chiba and Osaka in Japan, Anaheim, Dallas, Tampa and Newark in the United States, London and Amsterdam.


BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]