BTS‘s older fans, who are aware of their trainee years, already know that during those days, Jin shouldered a mammoth responsibility to keep their dorms in order. ARMYs still fondly remember the pre-debut Jin that would post meticulously about the meals he would make at the dorm kitchen on his blog.
If you remember why these photos from jin’s cooking blog are iconic then you’re qualified for a veteran’s discount pic.twitter.com/uG1lwwwXUk
— A⁷ (@btsrkived) August 21, 2018
cooking with jin blog posts i miss you in every day of my life pic.twitter.com/y05YwWfXtp
— seven (said lovingly) (@track11sea) April 27, 2022
But what prompted the beginning of this responsibility? How did Jin come to be the one taking care of his members’ meals? In their recently-released memoir, Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS, the group talked in-depth about their trainee years, painting an honest picture of the difficulties they had to overcome.
A particular section of the book mentions his blog post from January 27, 2013, where Jin shared his meticulous documentation of “How Trainees Usually Make Tteokguk.” Apparently, the driving force behind this post was his goal to fix a proper meal for his members.
Jin recalls how his co-trainees’ chaotic lifestyle shocked him so much that he took up these initiatives voluntarily. One such shocking element was Suga‘s eating habits. During those years, Suga, who was juggling training and several part-time jobs to make ends meet, would “basically just ‘eat to live.’”
He mainly survived on chicken breasts, but even eating that was a “hassle” for the rapper. Jin shared that one of Suga’s regular meals was chicken breasts blended with grape juice and a banana. He would gulp it down straight from the blender.
He ate chicken breasts for protein but even eating them was too much of a hassle for him so he would blend it with some grape juice and a banana and gulp that down straight from the blender.
—Jin via Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS
When Jin tasted this concoction, he realized it was not a healthy substitute for a meal and cooked up some things with pre-made packaged sauces.
I had a taste of it and thought, ‘Nope, this isn’t it,’ and cooked up some things that I sprinkled with hot sauce or steak sauce.
—Jin via Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS
BTS later had staff members to help with cooking and cleaning. But before that, Jin had managed to carry that responsibility with the help of other members. The book mentioned that he would divide chores and coordinate with the members to take turns. This routine, according to the memoir, helped the members retain at least some semblance of a normal life, though only for a short while.
Jin managed to coordinate the other members into taking turns with chores. As with many other people, cooking and cleaning were key activities for Jin in maintaining a semblance of a normal life.
——Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS
After this excerpt reached ARMYs, they couldn’t be prouder and more grateful for Jin’s role in helping BTS get through those tough times, despite being very young himself.
I have always said – one of the biggest reasons that BTS became how they are now is because Kim Seokjin is their eldest hyung. https://t.co/U4Pv04edKZ
— star_tin •ᴗ•
Military Wife/Gamer Girlfriend (@star_tin) July 9, 2023
he did all of this while only being 18
im almost 20 and can’t imagine having so much responsibility over the life of 6 other people plus being a student plus being a trainee omg https://t.co/fT1ajEveaf
—
아포방포 (@rorotoing) July 10, 2023
Oh I’m so proud of the 18 yrs old Kim Seokjin!
— Sumu⁷/
SEVEN IS COMING! 7⃣아포방포
⍤⃝
Despite being the youngest in his family, Jin stepped up to the role of the oldest brother like nobody else could. It is no surprise that all his members look up to him even after all these years.
