Jin’s ‘RUNSEOKJIN_EP. TOUR’ Brings Silliness And Sincerity To Anaheim

Two months after BTS member Kim Seokjin, aka Jin, was discharged from the military, the first episode of Run Jin aired on BTS’ Official YouTube Channel. A spinoff of the group’s variety show, Run BTS!, Run Jin focused on the oldest member trying new things, such as fencing, climbing a mountain, returning to his old high school, playing against fellow artists in games, interacting with kids, and other various challenges. As the first member to complete his military service at the time, Jin didn’t want to keep ARMY – the name for BTS’ fandom – waiting for content.

With 36 episodes in total, the show concluded in May with Jin discussing his plans for the real finale, a world tour: #RUNSEOKJIN_EP. TOUR. As he enters his meeting with the concert planners, he details some information he had wanted to include but had been censored. He tells his team, “I just think it’ll be really fun! And it’ll make it feel like we’re really interacting [with ARMY]! Run Jin is all about fun.”

He then turns to the camera, telling his viewers, “The Run Jin that made you laugh may be ending, but the Run Jin where I come to see you is just getting started. Then, should we all start running?”

Last night, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, was the start of the North American leg of Jin’s tour. ARMY was scattered all around outside the arena, either waiting in line to purchase concert merchandise, waiting to enter the venue, or just meeting with other fellow fans. Many were dressed in “Jin-core”–the silly style of the singer. From fans dressed in Super Mario Bros. costumes (dedicated to his visit to Universal Studios Japan Nintendo World) to fans dressed as fishermen or fish (an ode to his love for fishing), it was apparent which member of BTS’s concert this was for. Many passed out “freebies”–a popular trend within the fandom–dedicated to Jin, filled with fan-made photocards, handmade bracelets, stickers, charms, or even a custom compact mirror. The Honda Center was even involved in the fanfare activities by offering free airbrush tattoos dedicated to the pop star at their arena brewery.

As the sold-out arena began to fill the purplish-blue-lit room, many were excited to see another adored member of BTS live on stage. It had been three months since j-hope performed in Los Angeles, and a month since the final member of BTS–Suga–was discharged from civil service to join the rest of the group. Fans chattered, wondering if there would be special guests joining Jin on stage, as BTS are all now reunited. Jin and Jung Kook had performed as special guests for j-hope’s final HOPE ON THE STAGE concert in Seoul. Also, with Jin as the most unpredictable member of the group, anything was possible.

All the noise came to a sudden stop as the lights dimmed, and then a burst of cheers as fans realized the concert was about to begin. Suddenly, the global superstar, dressed in a shimmery outfit, calmly walked on stage. With his hair slicked back and his forehead exposed (it’s a thing for his fans), he strutted down the runway as if he owned the place towards a podium with a buzzer on top. He held his hand up and slapped the buzzer, which prompted everything to come alive–laser lights, confetti, sparklers, and the screens lit up in Run Jin graphics. He screamed to the rousing audience, “Are you ready?!”

He began to dance around the stage in celebration, singing “Running Wild,” the lead single from his debut EP, Happy. The entire arena became a large dance party as they sang along to the chorus with him. The dance party continued with “I’ll Be There” as the room filled with laser lights shooting from the stage, with puffs of theatrical smoke blowing upwards on the sides of the stage.

He was welcomed with cheers and barks from the crowd. Like many other Korean artists, Jin didn’t seem to understand the concept, but accepted it as a sign of affection, even barking back at one point during the concert. He asked the crowd how the concert was going, and when he was met with screams, he laughed in response, “Ah, excited.”

To build up the anticipation for ARMY, he had a countdown timer set for a minute before moving to the next portion, which consisted of more upbeat, melodic tunes. As he began “With the Clouds,” from his recent album ECHO, the platform beneath him began to rise as if he were being placed in the sky with cloud graphics displayed behind him. The song, which goes through three tone changes without warning, seemed effortless for the singer. His steady voice shone through during the complex high notes, ensuring that he’s not depending on any backtracks throughout the pitch changes. He immediately followed up with the steady but lively song, “Falling.”

He began his introduction with his signature move–staring seductively into the camera before blowing a kiss to the audience–proving his nickname as World Wide Handsome. He introduced himself as “Jin of BTS,” which was met with more cheers at the mention of the beloved group he’s been a part of for over a decade. He explained that the concert wasn’t just any typical concert – it was designed to feel like a live episode of Run Jin. He had the audience learn a phrase spoken at the beginning and the end of his episodes. He will say “달리다” (“Run”) and the audience must respond, “Seokjin!” while moving their arm and finger across their body, symbolizing that the audience are his special guests in this episode. Instead of the traditional VCRs, fans were treated to fun games, which also meant the singer would have few moments to rest.

After he performed “Don’t Say You Love Me,” the lead single from ECHO, he shared that they were going to play a game with a special guest. Everyone cheered, thinking it might be one of his members, but was met with a mixture of cheers and sighs when he revealed, “Anaheim ARMY!”

The first game was charades, where the audience had to act out the word for Jin to guess. On screen, audiences were given three outfit options from Run Jin – traditional Korean hanbok, taekwondo gi, or the farmer’s look – that he would wear in the next set if they were to complete the mission. After two hilarious guesses, one of which he made fun of ARMY’s interpretations, Jin was successful in the game, and the farmer’s outfit was declared the winner.

In the complete farmer outfit–a large straw hat, purple rainboots, and all–Jin performed his viral hit, “Super Tuna,” to graphics reflecting the ridiculous nature of the song. He then had the audience pick a song to karaoke to while he changed for the next set. The audience picked a classic BTS song, “Anpanman,” which had Jin dancing in the background of the karaoke video.

He appeared again onstage with a piano, introducing his slower, more heartfelt and heartbreaking songs, “I Will Come To You,” “Abyss,” Background,” and “Another Level.” All of which showcased Jin’s wide vocal range, including his impressive control of the high notes, proving that he’s more than just a “handsome face.”

With his second game, ARMY had to sing snippets of select songs for Jin to guess correctly. The first guess was the all-English track, “Don’t Say You Love Me,” which proved easy for the American audience to understand. When it came to the second song challenge, which was BTS’s debut song “No More Dream” (and entirely in Korean), the audience failed to keep up with the Korean words, prompting Jin to poke fun at ARMY’s limited knowledge of Korean. In the third song challenge, “Loser,” which was a mix of English and Korean, the audience was able to perfectly sing the English parts while hilariously stumbling over the Korean portion.

After the game, he continued the set with “Loser,” followed by his country song, “Rope It,” during which he donned a cowboy hat.

As homage to his group, he performed a BTS medley piece consisting of “Dynamite,” “Butter,” “Mikrokosmos,” and “Spring Day,” which caused several people in the crowd to burst into tears—images from their respective music videos played in the background of each song. Though Jin had made fun of ARMY’s lack of Korean, it felt as if everyone in the room knew the [Korean] lyrics to Spring Day by heart. At least the ending vocal portion, which prompted Jin to stop and look into the crowd, taking in the moment.

He then moved on to a new set design, one filled with graphics of the universe, for “The Astronaut.” It felt inspired by his song collaborators, Coldplay, as the stage lights and ARMY Bombs (their official lightstick) shone in multiple colors, with giant planet balloons floating through the crowd. It showcased Jin’s close connection with the British rock band, one that was mutually shared. He then ended the set with “Nothing Without Your Love.”

The time between the concert and the encore was a moment for fans to show off their posters, signs, costumes, and flags on the big screen. As each was shown, cheers echoed the arena as many were highlighted, including “Thank You, Jin,” “King Seokjin,” “Can I Be Your Best Catch?,” and a poster with BTS saying “We Are Back!”

Before Jin appeared back on stage for the encore, a video-game style recap of Run Jin was played on the screens. Memorable moments from the series were played, and met with cheers, as “I’ll Be There For You” played over the speakers.

Wearing his Anaheim jersey merchandise, Jin stepped out from the darkness to sing his thoughtful ballad, “Epiphany.” Afterward, he expressed his appreciation to ARMY for their continued support, promising to continue doing his best for them. He then challenged a few lucky ARMY to sing the introduction to “Moon”–a song written with ARMY in mind–with him. The three challengers all passed with the notes, which left Jin impressed, as he sang the rest of the pop-rock song.

Though many thought that was the end of the show, since Moon was Jin’s love song to ARMY, he popped up to sing the final song, “To Me, Today.” The uplifting song is about being in the moment and letting go of worries, which he wanted to send ARMY off with. As he sang, images from his Run Jin series appeared in the background to remind viewers that this was the entire reason he created the show and the concert — to allow audiences to enjoy and embrace it.

The entire concert was a reminder of what J-hope said in the Run Jin finale, “I’m sure you had fun watching the show, but he always thought long and hard about what he could do to make ARMY happy. He really is a fool who thinks only about ARMY. He does his best even in the toughest moments, and when he finds himself in unfamiliar environments, he naturally fits in. That’s just who our Seokjin is.” And, it’s apparent that ARMY truly loves him for it.