J-Hope appearance in military cooking competition canceled

J-Hope of BTS [WEVERSE]

J-Hope was scheduled to appear as a host in a Korean military cooking competition, but it was canceled at the last minute.

"We thought that it would be good to have J-Hope to promote the internationalized competition," a military insider told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. “Discussions around inviting J-Hope were taking place between both parties."

J-Hope's agency, BigHit Music, responded positively to the discussion about his appearance, according to the source.

The Defense Ministry had previously refrained from inviting BTS members currently serving in the military to appear at special military events, as the members wished to serve as normal soldiers. Had J-Hope actually appeared in the cooking competition, it would have gone against the ministry's policy thus far.

The cooking competition expanded internationally this year to include countries like the United States and Singapore.

The decision on his appearance was almost at its final stage, along with discussions of making a promotional video about the cooking competition with BTS members.

The whole process was put to a halt when Shin Won-sik, the minister of the Defense Ministry, ordered a re-evaluation of the plan.

“It looks better to show people that BTS is serving diligently like the rest of the soldiers,” Shin said during the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts meeting on Tuesday.

“I ordered that they not assign extra positions to soldiers who were famous before entering the military,” Shin added.

BigHit Music agreed and said that it looks forward to another opportunity, according to a defense insider.

J-Hope started his military service in April, following fellow BTS member Jin who began in December of 2022. Suga is also completing his mandatory service as a social service agent due to his shoulder injury. The other four members — RM, Jimin, Jungkook and V — are still focusing on their solo careers as of yet.

To find out more about BTS and J-Hope, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY LEE KEUN-PYUNG [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]