Filipino ARMY Dianne Aguilar was one of the 1,000 fans who got to hug BTS member Jin. Photo courtesy of Aguilar. 

A lucky Filipino fan was among the 1,000 ARMY, or fans of South Korean supergroup BTS, who got a chance to hug member Jin.

After his military discharge, Jin of BTS held an in-person event to celebrate his band’s 11th debut anniversary wherein ARMY had a chance to meet and greet him at the Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul on June 13.

Jin, in a Weverse live, said his agency originally said he should only do 50 free hugs. He refused and requested for more, until they agreed on letting 1,000 fans to get a light hug or handshake from him. 

BigHit Music, the agency of BTS, announced the raffle winners on June 8 through Weverse. The winners are those who purchased an ARMY Membership and official albums from the group including their solo albums.

Dianne Aguilar, 26, a lucky fan from the Philippines is one of the winners in the said event. 

She has been an ARMY since 2017 and went to over 40 BTS concerts. After receiving a notification from Weverse of the said event, she did not hesitate to enter and tried her luck because she is hopeful to meet Jin after 18 months of waiting for his return.

“I felt sad when he’s enlisting. I missed him a lot! I was so happy nung na-discharge na siya. Nakakaiyak, hindi ko ma-describe yung feeling,” she said. 

When she received the news that she was one of the winners who will get a chance to hug Jin, she cried out of happiness. She had a plan to go to South Korea to celebrate BTS’ debut anniversary but she didn’t expect that she would meet Jin in person. 

“Super happy and ang comforting talaga. Also, overwhelming and surreal! I just softly said ‘welcome back’ with a smile, then hugged him,” she revealed. 

Her love for BTS is truly undeniable, and what she admires the most about BTS is how grounded and sincere they are. 

“It reflects on their music and on how they communicate with one another and with ARMY. Like everything they do for us is always sincere and out of love,” she shared. 

Jin is the first BTS member who returned from the mandatory military enlistment in South Korea. 

BTS is expected to return in 2025 as a full group to continue producing music and performing it in front of their fans again. 

There were two sessions in the 2024 FESTA event. In the first session, as per his request, Jin did a free hug event with his fans who waited for his return. 

In the second session, Jin performed his solo songs such as ‘Moon’ and ‘Super Tuna’. He also performed ‘Seven’, a song from his co-member, Jungkook. 

BTS mania hits Seoul ahead of 'huggathon' with Jin

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