What if, like the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once starring Michelle Yeoh, Jin existed across countless multiverses, each with their own Jin making their universe a better place—the handsome game developer, the handsome chef, the handsome tennis player? As it turns out, there’s no need to hop between parallel universes to see all these Jins in action. It’s hard to say for sure whether or not he came from space, as the music video for his recent song “The Astronaut” seems to suggest, but not only is he a global superstar, he’s also a fan and master of many talents and works to ensure the happiness of others. Read more about all these different sides to Jin below and explore the universe this multitalented idol has built himself.

Jin is “worldwide handsome”

When BTS took to the red carpet at the Billboard Music Awards in 2017, the Internet was abuzz with people asking about “the third one from the left.” The question went so viral that Billboard declared the phrase the meme of the year and shows how easily people are swayed by Jin’s charm. Similarly, people were asking about “that handsome man coming out from the car” when he showed up at the 2015 Melon Music Awards, creating the new buzzword: “car door guy.” His looks seem to earn him a new nickname everywhere he goes: Grammy Zoom-In Guy, Vest Guy, Pink Mic Guy, UN Speech Guy and more. But what’s best about Jin’s perfect features, other than making him handsome, is that he can use them to lighten up the mood by making his looks the butt of the joke. He sounds like he’s bragging when he says things like, “I look handsome from afar as well,” or, “I love seeing my own face in the mirror first thing in the morning,” but it’s really all an over-the-top persona he puts on to make others laugh. As he said in an interview with Weverse Magazine, the reason he overreacts about the compliments he receives is because “people might feel intimidated talking to someone famous.” That’s likely the reason why, in an interview with Vogue Korea, he said that “‘worldwide handsome’ is a joke I like to make for laughs.” Compare this to how he brushes off questions about the challenges he faces with a simple “it’s all right” or “it’s no big deal,” and it’s clear how attentive he is toward alleviating others’ concerns. It’s the mark of a world-class superstar who can be so courteous of others.

Jin loves variety shows

Jin has been promoting his solo song on numerous variety shows, from Lee Young Ji’s web series Although There Is Nothing Much Prepared to Running Man on SBS. As he mentioned on Nothing Much Prepared, it’s been a long time since he or any of the members of BTS had been on a variety show. Their appearances are mostly limited to their own shows, like their long-running Run BTS series (seven years and counting!). It’s fair to say that Jin has used the group’s series to hone his sense of humor, including nonstop dad jokes and winks and air kisses to anyone and everyone. One thing that makes him so entertaining to watch is his unique way of speaking, like, “Excuse me, friend,” or, “You, there,” which, along with his iconic “windshield wiper” laugh, leads others to wonder if he’s doing some sort of impression. He’s also good at physical comedy: In one instance, the typically athletically inclined Jin falls during a game of jokgu (Korean footvolley) and stays down for a moment, explaining that he’s going to “think about what to do” in a great show of improv comedy. In the “Fly BTS Fly” episode of Run BTS, he puts everyone in stitches by simply spinning around on his own. The part where he calls out to the instructor because he can’t control his own body was even the most replayed part of the video. But the crux of Jin’s knack for entertainment is in his good attitude and his ability to keep things light no matter the circumstances. ARMY always talks about his sense of humor, like when he was asked in an NME interview conducted in English to describe himself in three words and he answered, “world, wide, handsome.” Jin said that “it makes me laugh when I make other people laugh,” which explains why it’s impossible not to laugh when you watch him.

Jin is an expert event planner

Jin has his own way of showing his love for his fans. His view of his fans was already apparent in EatJin​​, the first self-made video series he put out after his debut, when he said, “I’m just happy they like it.” He’s always been engaged with fans, eating his meals on camera for them between work, saying, “I’ll talk more starting in season two.” Since that time, Jin’s done numerous events for the benefit of his fans, including doing cover songs, making pajamas, putting out songs for inclusion on drama soundtracks and releasing the song “Super Tuna.” At the end of each concert during the group’s WINGS TOUR in 2017, he would produce a heart that had been hidden somewhere different each time. This evolved into a running game for every tour, where the prop would be changed to a pair of glasses or a hat, or he would even change his hairstyle. As shown in a behind-the-scenes video, Jin will do anything for his fans during even the busiest times, carefully choosing an item backstage to bring out for them. One notable choice was the “apple hair” he wore at the end of BTS’s 2021 MUSTER SOWOOZOO concert in Seoul, which he did at fans’ requests. According to Jin, he’s “always trying to listen to what fans have to say and do what they want” to show that BTS will always be by their side. All of these things he does, he does to communicate with ARMY. Jin has said he would have worked in planning had he become an office worker instead, but the reality is that he became a planner as soon as he became an idol—only there is one audience.

Jin is a solid chef

In the “Jin | COOKING VLOG” episode of BTS VLOG, Jin learns how to make menbosha from Chef Lee Yeon Bok. While he wrote a caption himself reading, “This rookie cook is counting on you, Chef,” he’s actually quite good at cooking. He surprised Lee with his expert use of the knife and when he told him he “learned that you have to remove the chalaza” when separating egg yolks. He isn’t intimidated by how tricky dicing shrimp looks (“I’ll give it a go”) and he’s not afraid to guide things with his opinions, such as with his idea to cut the bread into the shape of the BTS logo. Lee tastes the finished menbosha and praises it, calling it “flawless” and adding that “it’s not easy for beginners to make it this delicious,” but he did a fantastic job. Jin has posted on the BTS blog ever since he was a trainee about how he cooks. He made tteokguk (rice cake soup) on Seollal and seaweed soup on the first anniversary of the group’s debut. He even prepared the lunch box for RM to take for his CSAT. Jin always used to cook for himself and the other six members while half-jokingly complaining about the associated costs, including on In the SOOP. On one occasion, he even made hwe from flatfish. But Jin’s cooking isn’t down to skill alone. When he was frying kimchi jeon (savory pancakes) in the second season of In the SOOP, Jin’s mind went back to something the others told him in the first season: “Kimchi pancakes taste best when you fry them in oil.” Although he personally prefers less oil, this time he covered the pan in it. He’s upping his cooking game thanks to more than just skill.

Jin’s great when it comes to inventing new characters

When the BTS members designed characters to represent their own personalities for their BT21 line, Jin introduced the now famous RJ, but to promote his new song, “The Astronaut,” Jin invented a character named wootteo. “RJ’s really successful now, so he’s too busy,” Jin said. “I’m doing this new album with wootteo.” wootteo means “space wanderer,” and Jin opened an Instagram account for it before “The Astronaut” was released. The alien character communicated to fans through its account, first with an illustration of itself imitating one of Jin’s hairstyles, and then with photos that gave a behind-the-scenes look at the idol hard at work on his new album. Fans said they were happy about the introduction of wootteo because, while they can’t leave comments on Jin’s personal Instagram, they can on wootteo’s, which feels like they’re talking with Jin directly. In its series of posts, wootteo has clearly developed its own traits, such as always writing sentences composed of exactly seven Korean syllables and riding in its spaceship rather than on airplanes. In a Weverse Live Jin hosted from Argentina commemorating the release of the single, he discussed the reason he invented wootteo, saying, “I didn’t expect wootteo to become this hot,” but couldn’t remember the exact circumstances behind how he came up with the character, adding, “There are times fans feel the burden about drawing us,” so wootteo can “fill that seat for me. … Or … since the human face can be burdening to draw at times … you can fill up the space with this character … or … by making this cute thing appear, fans can have a more enjoyable time! It’s one of these three.” Jin made wootteo to make fans happy and think of BTS. wootteo, as well as Jin’s other creations like RJ, the whale KORE and the dog Bangtani, all take after their creator in some fashion—and say to his fans the things he wants to tell them.

Jin is an avid gamer

Jin is a noted MapleStory player. He may be a global superstar now, but he still enjoys picking up the game he first got into when he was in fifth grade. He collects anything with Pink Bean, his favorite character, on it, and always makes sure to pack a gaming keyboard with him for any international tours. Jimin’s on the record as calling Jin an old hand at the game, to the point where he once saw him “playing the game with one hand and reading a webtoon with the other.” In MapleStory X BTS(EP.01)​, Jin said that, “when enhancing items, I’d locate where Nexon is on the map, and I’d bow like this.” In another instance, as soon as he meets Kang Won-ki, the game’s director, Jin asks him to “please fix the Damien bug,” showing how dedicated he is to the game. Finally, in 2022, Jin started a collaboration with MapleStory where he joins the game’s planning team as an intern and makes his own presentation and suggests they hold a Chuseok event in the game, specifically advising they add a neolttwigi minigame, make village improvements and add pajamas. Jin continues to show his love for the game by calling into a MapleStory live stream and promoting his new single. Anyone who’s ever cared deeply about one of their passions will understand what Jin’s love of MapleStory is all about. Plus, he said one of the reasons he became so invested in the game was to make friends he could talk with during his many overseas trips.

Jin’s getting into tennis

Unlike gaming and cooking, tennis came to Jin as a hobby later in life. The first time we saw him playing the sport was on episode 129 of Run BTS. When the BTS members decided to make it a long-term goal to learn to play tennis, RM observed that Jin was playing the game “more like it’s golf.” But it was Jin who showed up most often for practice, becoming a favorite of their coach along with j-hope and going on to win the BTS Tennis Championship on episode 130. This solidified Jin’s interest in the sport, and he’s continued to put work into his game ever since. He can be seen practicing night and day in the “Jin’s Tennis Practice” episode of BANGTAN BOMB on the group’s YouTube channel. He’s also posted practice videos to his personal social media and was recently seen on TV with his coach among the spectators at a match. In case there was any doubt surrounding his continued love of the sport, he named his limited-edition tennis bag and racket as his favorite items in an interview with GQ. While tennis started out as something to do for the sake of BTS’s video series, Jin’s since gone on to develop it into a serious hobby. He took the good fortune of having been introduced to it and put in the time and effort to make it his own.

Jin reveals himself through song

Jin says that, when he’s writing lyrics, “I’m very straightforward and to the point so I usually write about my own experience.” For example, in the first song he wrote, “Tonight,” he openly describes the sadness and fear behind leaving someone: “I’m worried I won’t see you again after tonight / Worried I’ll be left alone after tonight.” He said of “Abyss,” another song he wrote, that, “I don’t actually want [fans] to know that I feel that way, but now and then I feel the need to talk about what’s inside me,” and in “Moon,” he shows his gratitude toward ARMY, singing, “You are my Earth / To you, I’m just a moon / A small start that fills your heart.” “The Astronaut” is a song about “you and me” as we go through a universe so vast it makes the Moon look tiny: “Like that asteroid drifting by without a destination / I, too, was just drifting along,” but “my path to you” was “the only light found in the darkness.” What becomes “my universe” in this song is “us.” The “you” actually refers to “us” and Jin sends his love to everyone who’s been with him through his “unending history”: “When I’m with you / There is no one else / A life, a sparkle in your eyes.” Coldplay previously collaborated with BTS on “My Universe” and worked with Jin on “The Astronaut.” The song places Jin in a mysterious universe where Jin calmly relays his feelings to us. It’s easy to tell how he feels considering he traveled all the way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to perform one song with Coldplay in concert. There are times in life when you might feel happy, or sad, or everything feels crystal clear, or you feel entirely in over your head, but Jin will always be there, sharing our world and devoted to caring for you. The way we see Jin in “The Astronaut” video—pushing a child on their bike, riding his own down a long, quiet road—is a reflection of who he is as a member of BTS who loves cooking, gaming and tennis: a young man, fond of the world and the people who fill it.