One of Jin's legendary revelations is "If you look at the contact list on my phone, I have less than 10 celebrity friends", indicating that he doesn't make friends with many celebrities in this industry. On the other hand, Jin also admitted that he has few friends because he became a trainee at the age of 19.
So, in an interview, a host mentioned that “As you get older, there are moments when you get to reconsider what friends mean. A psychologist said that friendship is the greatest achievement in life.”
“We heard that you maintain close relationships with a few friends who have known you since childhood. Do you sometimes wish you had more friends?”, the interviewer continued to ask him.
Jin then explained that he has close relationships with both BTS members and non-celebrity friends, and they are enough. He is satisfied with his relationships and wants to focus on cherishing those friendships rather than making new ones.
“I believe I already have enough close friends. I have our BTS members as well as those I meet regularly. While I do occasionally meet other friends, it’s challenging to meet them often as they live far away and have busy lives. I also don’t actively seek to make more friends because I want to ensure I give enough attention to my current friends. I click well with them, and I am happy with my relationships with them,” he replied.
The interviewer continued with another question related to social relationships. Jin was asked, “When do you feel that someone has ‘crossed the line’ in a relationship?”
In this case, Jin outlined the boundaries in his mind for people who are hurtful and disrespectful when talking to others.
He clarified, “When someone says something hurtful and brings up things. There are people who use expressions that degrade others in the middle of conversations. I may hold back once or twice, but it’s really difficult for me to deal with such individuals. I choose not to continue relationships with those kinds of people.”
He also confessed, “Of course, I get angry from time to time. However, I believe there’s no point in holding onto anger. Life has its ups and downs, so it makes sense to move on from the downs as quickly as possible.” Similarly, Jin moves on and doesn’t continue to have relationships with problematic individuals.
With BTS’s domestic and global influence, finding people who can have a suitable dialogue as friends is not easy. Not only Jin, but two other members, RM and SUGA, have also shared that their circle of friends is very narrow, especially after the group became famous on a global scale.
However, that doesn’t mean Jin isn’t good at making or keeping friends. On the contrary, fans can see that he is very confident in social interactions and doesn’t hold back or act reserved when meeting people for the first time.
Additionally, people of all ages tend to be drawn to him because of his quick wit, humility, and respectful demeanor. Examples include Jin’s friendships with older celebrities like chef Baek Jong Won, MC Ji Seokjin, chef Lee Yeon Bok, and even younger idols like Park Ji Hoon.
Lastly, Jin has a close group of friends that he grew up with, and he introduced these non-celebrity friends to ARMY through the Disney+ documentary series BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star.
One of Jin’s strengths as a friend is that he tries to stay in touch via text messages. But as he mentioned, he only values good relationships and polite friends.
So, those who make Jin take the initiative to maintain friendships are definitely good people and they are also very lucky to have a friend who is “Worldwide Handsome”!
