Who is Jung Kook?
Jung Kook is a member of BTS. The official site gives his birthday as 1 September 1997 and writes his name as two words, “Jung Kook”. He debuted with the other six members on 13 June 2013.
Twice on a World Cup stage
On 20 November 2022 he sang ‘Dreamers’, the official theme song of the tournament, at the World Cup opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. Hankook Ilbo reported that he was the first Korean singer to perform an official World Cup theme song, and that he took the stage in black before a crowd of 60,000. Kyunghyang Shinmun recorded that his slot was scheduled between 5.40 p.m. and 6.10 p.m. local time.
Three years and eight months later he stood on the same tournament’s other end. On 19 July 2026 the halftime show of the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was his second World Cup stage, and this time all seven members were on it. The Korea Herald reported that it was the first halftime show ever staged at a World Cup final, and that the group sang ‘Dynamite’ in black, red and white outfits drawn from the colours of Korea’s Red Devils supporters.
Solo work
His first solo album GOLDEN arrived at 1 p.m. KST on 3 November 2023. Segye Ilbo reported that it carries 11 tracks, among them ‘Seven (feat. Latto)’ from that July and the second single ‘3D (feat. Jack Harlow)’.
The chart run of ‘Seven’ was still lengthening three years after its release. Star News reported on 9 August 2026 that the song had entered a 159th week on Billboard’s Global excluding US chart, the first and longest such run by an Asian act; that it had entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one and stayed on that chart for 15 weeks; and that it had reached a 157th week on Spotify’s weekly global chart. The same piece recorded 146 consecutive weeks for GOLDEN on Spotify.
Military service
He enlisted in December 2023 alongside Jimin. Star News reported that the two served in the 5th Division artillery brigade, that Jung Kook served as a cannoneer, and that they were discharged together in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province on 11 June 2025.
What to watch
The solo music videos sit on the HYBE LABELS channel and the group’s films on the BTS channel. K-Culture Radar links to official uploads rather than rehosting them.