J-Hope is back: BTS star’s return to PH thrills fans

A fan takes a photo with a wall featuring BTS member J-Hope at the Mall of Asia Music Hall, hours before the K-pop superstar takes the stage of the Mall of Asia Arena for his ‘Hope On The Stage’ concert, April 12, 2025. Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — Fans flocked to the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday for BTS member J-Hope’s solo concert, the first time in nearly eight years that a member of the K-pop supergroup performed in the Philippines.

Saturday’s concert is the first of the two-day Manila stop of J-Hope’s “Hope On The Stage” concert tour, kicking off the Asia leg after the North American run.

Hours before the show, the venue’s vicinity buzzed with excitement, as concertgoers arrived early to take part in various fan activities.

At the “UARMYZONE” in the MOA Music Hall, for instance, fans—known as ARMY—took photos with J-Hope standees and a large wall featuring a photo of the artist, and browsed booths selling BTS merchandise.

Around the mall, fans handed out self-made merchandise to fellow ARMYs, including concert banners, bracelets, stickers and photocards.

Shanette Mae Fernandez, a 29-year old who has been a BTS fan since the group debuted in 2013, said it felt “touching” that J-Hope came back to the country.

“Sobrang nakaka-touch lang kasi bumalik siya dito. Super happy lang, sobrang overwhelmed,” Fernandez told ABS-CBN News.

(It feels touching that he came back here. I feel super happy and overwhelmed.)

Another fan, Patricia Bacusmo, said: “Hindi ako makapaniwala na makikita ko kahit isa lang sa kanila.”

(I can't believe I'll get to see even just one of them.)

“Sana pagbalik niya (J-Hope), dala na niya ‘yong other six members,” Bacusmo, 22, added

(I hope when J-Hope returns, he brings the other six members.)

Posters of the 31-year-old rapper and dancer, whose real name is Jung Ho-seok, also hung in lampposts around the sprawling mall complex.

In the days leading up to the concert, the iconic MOA Globe in front of the mall lit up with a special design for “Hope On The Stage,” as seen in photos shared on the mall’s official Facebook page.

J-Hope is the first BTS member to perform in the Philippines since the group’s two-day “Wings” tour in May 2017, also held at the same venue.

Since then, BTS has soared to global superstardom, becoming the first all-South Korean act to top key music charts in the United States and earn Grammy nominations.

As of now, only J-Hope and Jin are active among the group’s seven members, with the remaining five still completing their mandatory military service — a requirement for most able-bodied men in South Korea.