Exhibition in Seoul celebrates BTS member J-Hope’s solo career

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Exhibition in Seoul celebrates BTS member J-Hope’s solo career

Published: 30 May. 2025, 16:42 Updated: 02 Jun. 2025, 20:31

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

BigHit Music holds an exhibition highlighting BTS member J-Hope's solo career, titled ″And What?″, in western Seoul, which runs from May 30 through June 22 [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

A spacious venue in western Seoul’s hip Hongdae neighborhood became a fitting frame to J-Hope’s artwork — or perhaps, the artist himself — on Friday, as the BTS member unveiled a new exhibition chronicling his solo career so far.

While looking back on J-Hope's past milestones, the exhibition also highlights that he still has a lot left to offer, as reflected in its title, “And What?”.

About 700 to 800 visitors attended the exhibition on the opening day of the event, which will run from Friday through June 22, according to BigHit Music.

“We deliberated on how best we could present J-Hope’s identity as an artist while preparing for the event,” said a HYBE official from the exhibition organizing team.

BigHit Music holds an exhibition highlighting BTS member J-Hope's solo career, titled ″And What?″, in western Seoul, which runs from May 30 through June 22 [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

J-Hope of boy band BTS featured on the May edition of U.S. music magazine Billboard [BILLBOARD]

Artistic versatility stood out as the key trait that captures who J-Hope is as an artist, the official noted.

“We wanted to highlight that J-Hope embodies a diverse range of identities and artistic personas,” she added.

That is how the exhibition’s five thematic sections came to be, each representing a unique aspect of the K-pop star: the Pioneer, the Dancer, the Performer, the Storyteller and the Musician.

When entering the venue, visitors can press a button on a machine that dispenses a card with one of the five personas of J-Hope. After going through a corridor that greets fans with J-Hope’s signature catchphrase, “I am your hope, you are my hope, I am J-Hope,” the Pioneer section highlights the singer’s milestones so far: the first BTS member to launch a solo career, the first Korean artist to take to the main stage at the Lollapalooza Chicago music festival in 2022 and the first solo K-pop act to perform at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

BigHit Music holds an exhibition highlighting BTS member J-Hope's solo career, titled ″And What?″, in western Seoul, which runs from May 30 through June 22 [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

The Dancer segment explores his beginnings, as J-Hope had been in a dance crew before joining BTS, which is followed by the Performer segment, where footage of the performer on stage is displayed.

“In the end, I think I feel the happiest when I’m on stage,” said J-Hope on screen — a remark made during his solo concert.

“I’ll keep singing and dancing on stage, just as I always have — so I’d be so grateful if you could keep watching me as I am, and loving me for who I am.”

In the Storyteller segment, fans could pick up a colored plastic ball from a pool, each with keywords representing or related to the artist, such as his hometown “Gwangju,” and “Squirrel,” fans’ affectionate nickname for J-Hope.

Pictured is a plastic ball with the Korean word ″ambition″ written on it, one of the keywords associated with J-Hope. BigHit Music held an exhibition highlighting BTS member J-Hope's solo career, titled ″And What?″, in western Seoul, which runs from May 30 through June 22. [SHIN HA-NEE]

BigHit Music holds an exhibition highlighting BTS member J-Hope's solo career, titled ″And What?″, in western Seoul, which runs from May 30 through June 22 [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

Most of the fans on site said the final Musician segment was their favorite, as it features items and outfits from J-Hope’s solo discography, from mixtape “Hope World” (2018) through digital singles “Sweet Dreams” and “Mona Lisa” released in March.

The section finished with a space left out for his upcoming single, “Killin’ It Girl,” which is set to be released on June 13.

“My favorite song is ‘on the street’ (2023), so I was excited about listening about the production and all the stuff, including the clothes that he used,” said Deidre, a 23-year-old Mexican member of BTS's fan club ARMY, who visited the exhibition with her fellow ARMYs on Friday.

Recalling J-Hope’s solo journey so far, Camila, her friend, also pointed to his artistic range.

“When he showed another side of himself, like new colors, or new music, it’s totally different from one another,” she said.

J-Hope's official concert merchandise is displayed at the ″And What?″ exhibition, themed around the BTS member, held in western Seoul on May 30. [SHIN HA-NEE]

At the merchandise zone, arguably one of the most anticipated areas, the Acorn Keyring Charm appeared to be the hit item.

The plush acorn keyring, a piece of official merchandise from J-Hope’s ongoing world tour “Hope on the Stage,” comes in different colors for each concert stop, such as a red one exclusive for the Seoul show. So, fans were eager to secure the cute keyrings in various colors.

J-Hope began his solo world tour, “Hope on the Stage,” on Feb. 28 at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. He is set to visit a total of 15 cities for 31 shows, including New York; Mexico City; Saitama, Japan; Singapore and Osaka, Japan, and recently added two shows in Seoul as the last stops for the series, on June 13 and 14 at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]