"The more the challenges continued, the more my fears disappeared and the performances made me grow"
A brief rain could not dampen his passion. Jin and ARMY (the fandom name) raised such heat that a huge moon appeared in the autumn night sky.
BTS member Jin held "#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR_ENCORE" at the main stadium of Incheon Munhak Stadium in Michuhol District, Incheon, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, wrapping up the fan concert tour that began in June. Jin performed 18 songs over about 150 minutes to the accompaniment of an all-live band, reaffirming his presence as a solo artist.
That day Jin made a surprise appearance on the stadium track rather than the main stage. He ran a lap around the track and passionately sang the title track "Running Wild" and "I'll Be There" from his solo album Happy. This opening was a staging idea from Jin and symbolized the concert title "Run Seokjin." It delivered the message of "coming closer" to the audience while marking the moment of completing the journey of returning to Korea after the world tour. Jin said he prepared the encore performance with the sentiment of decorating the finale. He added, "I will cross the Incheon finish line together with ARMY. Please run with me until the end."
As an encore fan concert, new stages were added. Jin played piano and performed "The Truth Untold (Feat. Steve Aoki)." He also performed his first solo song "Awake" for the first time in about eight years, drawing enthusiastic response from fans. The song had not been performed since BTS's 2017 world tour "2017 BTS LIVE TRILOGY: EPISODE III THE WINGS TOUR."
Various entertaining corners were placed throughout the concert. He constantly interacted with fans through games such as the telepathy game "Respond, ARMY," where audience movements are observed to guess words, and "Sing, ARMY," where he listened to the audience's group singing to guess the correct answer.
Support from BTS members added to the charm of the performance. On the first day J-Hope and Jungkook appeared to complete an energetic performance of "Super Tuna" with Jin, and on the second day V took the stage. J-Hope and Jungkook said, "We came to congratulate Jin hyung's encore fan concert. We will show you everything we can have fun with." V said, "I wanted to see this scene so much. Imagining the seven of us standing together suddenly overwhelmed me with emotion," and his eyes welled up.
The three each passionately performed their solo songs — "Killin' It Girl (Solo Version)" (J-Hope), "Standing Next to You" (Jungkook), and "Love Me Again" (V). On the second day, Jimin, who made a surprise appearance at the opening, joined them, and over the two days they performed a BTS medley that included "IDOL," "So What," and "My Universe."
Jin said, "While preparing for this performance, I rehearsed with the members after a long time and we came together very naturally. We will show even more amazing appearances as a group in the future." He added, "Your voices completed this performance. Until the end, I will trust only you. Watching ARMY, I will do my best to sing until the end."
On the encore stage he rode in a "Wootteo" hot-air balloon (a character associated with Jin's 2022 first solo single "The Astronaut") and circled the stadium to interact with the audience. It expressed the desire to communicate closely with the seats despite the stadium being larger than the June Goyang show.
The audience added emotion to the performance with loud cheers, group singing and surprise events. During "Nothing Without Your Love," multicolored flashes spread like waves, warming the venue. During "Moon," fans waved moon-shaped paper toward the "Wootteo" balloon to express their love for Jin. Amid fireworks decorating the sky and roaring cheers, Jin and ARMY became one in spirit.
In the final moments of the show, the screen displayed the title "#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR THE MOVIE" along with the phrase "DECEMBER COMING SOON." It heralded another chapter of "Run Seokjin," raising fans' expectations to a peak.
This performance was carried out as an extension of Jin's own content "Run Seokjin." Episodes of "Run Seokjin" that matched the mood of each song were incorporated into VCRs and props to strengthen the storytelling. Lavish fireworks were displayed, bringing the epic journey to a close amid the audience's enthusiastic acclaim.<
[Photo] BigHit Music
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