On this day, media outlets around the world hailed BTS as “the biggest boy band in the world,” describing their return with ARIRANG as “the return of the kings.” According to Billboard Boxscore, BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ has grossed more than $433 million and sold approximately 2.3 million tickets after just its first 38 international shows. This achievement made BTS the third artist in history, after Beyoncé and Bad Bunny, to surpass $100 million in revenue for multiple consecutive months.

Along with their global fame and soaring career has come the enormous wealth they have accumulated, allowing them to buy virtually anything they want. Even luxury apartments worth millions of dollars can be purchased outright in a single cash payment, without the need to take out a loan.

However, before enjoying the life they have today, the superstars went through some extremely difficult times. If you have been an ARMY since the early days, you surely cannot forget the time Jin wanted to cook tteokguk (rice cake soup) for the BTS members to celebrate Lunar New Year but did not have enough money to buy meat. In the end, half of the ingre∂ιєnts for that meal were purchased with “sponsorship” money from Jin’s older brother.

Although those days are long behind them, fans have never forgotten the precious memories from their financially struggling days, as they are part of BTS’ history. Especially now, as BTS are writing a new chapter in their career with ARIRANG, those memories have become even more precious to look back on. Among the stories fans have recently been bringing up again is the story of Jin “stealing his mom’s expensive pot.”

Specifically, at a time when BTS had just debuted and had very little money, Jin—the youngest son in a wealthy family—“secretly took” various household items from home and brought them to the group’s dorm so he could cook for the members. The orange pot shown below became a “historical witness” to one of the eldest member’s famous “thefts.”

The pot belongs to the cookware brand Le Creuset, which costs 574,000 won after discount, with an original price of 820,000 won. Besides the pot, Jin also “stole” other items from his mother’s kitchen, including a pan, spoons, plates, utensils, salt, and even money for food. Feeling deeply apologetic, he once left a message that read: "I'm here to rob everything after all. Mom I'm sorry. I love you". 

The post recounting this story quickly went viral on X, reaching 4.3 million views. Fans were deeply moved as they remembered the young Jin’s warm heart and the love he had for his six younger members. Of course, it also highlighted the generosity and affection of Jin’s mother toward all of the boys. Even when her pot had been “stolen,” she was still willing to support the young dreamers who were chasing their idol ambitions.

At the same time, the story also reminded fans of a line RM once shared when BTS reunited after their hiatus due to mandatory military service : “Seven together, we can do anything. Keep swimming.” From their most difficult moments to their greatest successes, that belief has always remained true.

Discussing this anecdote, fans could not help but leave a lot of comments: 

- Kim Seokjin my man being rich even before joining BTS you know, with his family having farm and businesses. and now he is a ceo of his own company, as a part time job aside from his main job of being an idol but still crossing finger he could side line as an actor soon

- If I took my home's best cookware trust my *ss would be spared bc no one uses the good dishes anyway

- It's ѕєχier when it's revealed like this without showing off…From debut, saying stuff like 'I'm actually a chaebol but gave everything up to become an idol even though it’s hard' just gives off a weird ‘commoner sympathy’ vibe and creates backlash. Like, you're a chaebol and you're still trying to take fangirls’ money with that fierce attitude?

- He was stealing his moms LE CREUSET?????? oh he loved those boys

- Seriously people are now going after the pot jin stole from his mom for bangtan

- Seokjin used to steal LE CREUSETS from his mother to feed the tannies in their dorm ohmygod....

- Le Creuset is like the Hermès of cookware, so if you buy one, it lasts a lifetime… He's actually from a chaebol family

- Seokjinnie’s mom is better than mine. my mom would have stopped talking to me for months if i stole a cooking set,worth at least one lakh,to cook for my friends/roommates.

- He grew up in an environment where he lacked nothing, and then went on to join BTS… That's impressive, especially when you think about the public opinion and atmosphere back then

- Back then, the only thing that made it obvious Kim Seokjin came from a wealthy family was the Le Creuset pot he clearly brought from home — the one he used to cook for the members in that tiny dorm. I want to cry hard

- Seokjin even had his own car — a Mini Cooper — and he used to give the younger members rides to schoo

- The hard days are over. How happy they are as they have what they worked for.

- He really loves kids. That's why BTS is always 7

- He had to take that pot because there probably wasn't a cheaper pot in the house. Oh my Seokjinnie, so cute