BTS’ J-Hope brags about hanging out with IVE’s Leeseo to military juniors, reveals how beloved girl group is among soldiers
BTS member J-Hope was an army drill instructor during his mandatory military service, which began in April 2023 and returned in October 2024.

BTS’ J-Hope was popular during his military service and boasted a wide range of military juniors who turned into his friends while serving for 18 months. Moreover, he rose in the ranks, becoming a private and then a sergeant while juggling his life as an army instructor. Previously, the singer shared how he chose to go for the drill instructor role because the food provided there was good and to his liking. During a shoot with IVE member Leeseo, the rapper revealed how he checked out a lot of their songs, much to the surprise of the younger star.
J-Hope reveals stories from his military days when they used to tune into IVE
He appeared on the snack store program run by SBS’ Inkigayo, a Korean music show’s YouTube promotion, which is hosted by ZEROBASEONE’s Yujin and IVE’s Leeseo. While chatting about how much he knew about the two juniors’ music, J-Hope shared how IVE was one of his base’s top-listened-to acts. After much thought, he revealed that their Off The Record was his favorite track.
He addressed his friendship with IVE to his military juniors, "I listened to so much of IVE in the military. My juniors right now are going to go crazy. The ones who were privates when I was discharged, if they were next to me right now, it would be absolutely chaotic. Are you watching me right now [guys?] Hyung was this kind of person, did you know? This is what I used to do.”
His appearance was a part of the Killin’ It Girl promotions, for which he appeared on all four Korean music shows, including Music Bank, Music Core, MCountdown, and Inkigayo. While speaking with Yujin on the show, the BTS member explored the younger star’s ARMY side. The ZB1 member revealed he liked the rap line’s Ddaeng and the group’s Dimple songs, proving his purple-blooded status.
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