BTS' Jin celebrates with bandmates after completing military service

The first member of BTS to complete his military service has made a triumphant return.

Jin, the oldest member of the wildly popular South Korean boy band, was discharged from the country's army on Wednesday after serving 18 months.

The 31-year-old singer was seen waving, holding a bouquet of flowers, and reuniting with bandmates J-Hope, V, Jimin, Jungkook and RM while wearing his army uniform at a military base in Yeoncheon County, South Korea. Videos also showed RM playing the K-pop group's hit song "Dynamite" on the saxophone.

South Korean media reported several members of the septet, who are currently serving in the military, applied for leave to celebrate the occasion.

Jin was also seen celebrating with his bandmates in a photo shared on X. The group gathered behind a cake and were surrounded by balloons spelling out, "Jin is back." Translated into English, the post read, "I'm home!"

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Jin is the oldest member of BTS and began his mandatory military service in December 2022. Other members of the group began serving the following year. They are "looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment," the band's label, Big Hit Music, has said.

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The group previously said in 2022 its members would be focusing more on solo projects.

Jin plans to kick off his post-army activities with an event in Seoul on Thursday where he will greet fans as well as perform an hour-long set as part of the annual FESTA designed to celebrate BTS.

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Fans flocked to online streams to view live footage of Jin's return on Thursday, with one YouTube video amassing more than 450,000 views alone.

South Korea requires all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 to serve between 18 to 21 months in the military or social service, but it revised the law in 2020 to let globally recognized K-pop stars delay signing up until age 30.

Contributing: Hyunsu Yim, Reuters; Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY