[SUPER] Why BTS's eldest member Jin's tuna can commercial is causing a stir among ARMY [TUNA]

[Update: 2025/7/30] Added a link to the BUMZU hyung interview article in the 'Abyss' section, added Weverse Magazine to related articles, and added information about the dance challenge.

First, I want to organize the information.

Congratulations, ARMY! In celebration of Jin's commercial, let's look back at the tuna!

...However, before that, while I assume 90% of the people reading this are BTS fans, especially Jin stans (fans of Jin), I would like to explain the background information for those who are not.
For the pros who don't need that, please feel free to jump ahead using the table of contents.

What is the situation?

Jin, the eldest member of global stars BTS, has become the advertising model for 'Dongwon Tuna,' a nationally popular brand of canned tuna.
Jin has a solo song called 'SUPER TUNA' (슈퍼참치), which is also used in the commercial due to the tuna connection.

By the way, a 'JIN EDITION' version with special packaging featuring illustrations by Jin will also be released!

What kind of commercial is it?

It is made in a way that you won't forget once you see it, making full use of Jin's 'SUPER TUNA' and his good looks.
I'll post the official playlist here with the hope that more will be added in the future.

Alright, explanation over! With that said, let's move on to the main part!!

Let's look back at the masterpiece 'SUPER TUNA'

ARMY loves 'SUPER TUNA'!
I said it definitively, but no, I don't think I'm that far off. That's because this song is packed with elements that hit the spot for ARMY.

The older brother of 'SUPER TUNA' is 'Abyss'

In my mind, 'Abyss' and 'SUPER TUNA' are siblings born a year apart.

The reason is that they share the same parent. To summarize the song information briefly, it is as follows.

• "Abyss"

  • Lyrics and Composition: BUMZU, RM, JIN, Pdogg

  • A song where Jin sings about his feelings during his burnout period

  • Bang PD promised to find someone who would be a good fit for Jin and introduced him to BUMZU, the main producer for SEVENTEEN

• "SUPER TUNA"

  • Lyrics and Composition: BUMZU, JIN

  • A song where Jin sings about his love for fishing and tuna (chamchi)

  • Jin wanted to go fishing with BUMZU and used it as an excuse to create the song almost entirely on the spot

The stories behind these two songs are famous, but for the baby ARMYs who have just discovered Jin, I will post them again as a review.

So, as an efficiency-obsessed person, I think it's better to understand 'SUPER TUNA' by first looking at 'Abyss'.

I think everyone feels that 'SUPER TUNA' is an unconventional song, but personally, I have the impression that it is a song where Jin's individuality blossomed through a collaboration with BUMZU, who doesn't have the 'BTS song' conventions.

Listening to the various excuses (lol) Jin made when he announced it, I feel like I can sense where his standard for 'high quality' lies.
Perhaps 'conveying a meaningful message' was included in that.

BTS has Namjoon and Suga, who are pros at storytelling and have been doing music for a long time, and since they are a hip-hop group with a strong direction of 'telling their own stories,' it's natural to have that image.

But I think there is also a genre in music that is 'meaningless but fun.' I am fantasizing that if Jin opened a new door from a casual conversation with BUMZU, thinking 'maybe that's okay too,' and this song was born, that would be very interesting.

Jin, who was incredibly embarrassed

The announcement of 'SUPER TUNA' was on December 4, 2021, during Jin's birthday live stream.
Since the sadness bomb called 'Abyss' exploded the previous year, I think many ARMYs were nervous when Jin stood up and said, 'I have prepared one more thing.'

However, what exploded was his love for tuna.

It is said that people at the company who heard this were puzzled, asking, 'Jin, really this... the person who made 'Abyss' made this too?' and that is understandable. The gap is so huge that I feel like my neck might snap from looking back in surprise lol

Even though he was all excited to make the song saying 'I want to go with B-grade!', he spent quite a while being embarrassed until he had the courage to show it to ARMY (he talked for about 8 minutes before actually playing the song), and the way he kept glancing at the chat reactions after playing the song and then looking away in agony is just too funny, so everyone please watch this stream.

I know it's in poor taste, but I love watching people struggle and fail to suppress their embarrassment (which is why I also love shy Namjoon's aegyo), so this Jin, suffering more than I've ever seen before, was absolutely wonderful! Oh my.
Man, for an idol with over 8 years of experience (at the time) who is known for his stage presence and facial expression management to struggle this much, tuna is not to be underestimated lol

Putting the eldest's agony aside, the staff team seemed to really like this song, showing an eager attitude by saying, "We need a showcase, right!?" "Let's do this too, let's do that too!" We get along well!

Naturally, ARMY liked it too, and the "SUPER TUNA dance challenge" immediately became popular. Ignoring a bewildered Jin, even the mascot of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, a government agency, started dancing.

The dance was created by Mr. Son Sung-deuk

The dance choreography is by Mr. Son Sung-deuk, who has been familiar with BTS songs since their debut.

There is footage of him practicing this choreography while practicing for the AMA (2021/11/21) in the United States.

Mr. Son Sung-deuk himself said that when Jin asked him, "Teacher, is this okay?", he gave an honest answer: "Honestly, I don't know if you guys who have become superstars should be doing something like this (summary)."
Jin, who got through it by saying, "Well, it's fine if it's released. Being embarrassed is my role," and the teacher who was honestly bewildered are both lovely lol

It seems the MV was filmed on the day they went to the amusement park after the AMA and the concert (testimony from a live stream), so maybe 2021/11/29? Wow, a rush job ( ;∀;)
But it makes sense. I was wondering why only Jin was going out with the staff. It must have been on the way back from filming!

According to Jin,
"The quality isn't very good, but the dance team's dancers made it well, and the video team performed CPR on it."
That may be true, but honestly, Jin's bare inner upper arms were so dazzling that I think the hearts of the ARMY who watched it were in danger.

By the way, here is the recent tour footage of the sibling song "Abyss." Seriously, the gap is enough to break my neck.

The eldest's "Super Tuna" seems to be well-received by his younger brothers as well, as seen in "Are You Sure?!" That's the best! lol

Come to think of it, the shocking information that "SUPER TUNA" is Jin's only performance song came out during the 2025 BTS FESTA Hoseok-Jin radio show, and I was surprised even now. Huh? (; ･`д･´)

Is that why there's such a strong tuna image associated with Jin's dance breaks!?
No, maybe he just likes it...?

After his discharge, a second verse was created.

After that, Jin went to military service, and the day after he returned, he suddenly handled a hug event with 1,000 fans and a concert, stunning the world. I was so shocked, thinking, 'He doesn't need a break or an adjustment period!?' ( ;∀;) Amazing.

The full version of "SUPER TUNA" was unveiled at that concert!

It was already heart-wrenching enough to see Jin with his very short hair singing and dancing with the dancers, but then all ARMYs, whether online or offline, stood up in shock, thinking, 'Wait, there's a part I've never heard before attached to my beloved tuna!?' I thought the Eurasian Plate was going to split.

By the way, even though it became a full version, the copyright registration information was not updated, so the copyright ID is the same for both the short and full versions. I wonder if they decided it wasn't worth re-registering as a separate version.

A few months later, the full version's audio and MV were officially released!

There is a scene in this MV where Jin is proposing to a tuna, and
'Jin is moving his mouth, speaking Tuna language,' 'This tuna called him "Hyung," so it's a boy,' and the more I watched it, the more a new world opened up, so I kept it on repeat. I mean, you have to, right? Of course, I also enjoyed the 2024 version of his bare inner arms!

By the way, among the BTS members, Jin is especially close with Coldplay.
At the time, they were also releasing a new album, and there were interactions like joint streaming parties, but I was a little worried, thinking, 'Wouldn't it be better to have some baby food in between "The Astronaut" and Tuna?' lol

What happened to Jin's embarrassment?

Before his military service, Jin still carried a sense of embarrassment.

In Episode 13 of Lee Young-ji's "No Prepare (Nothing Much Prepared)," he was suddenly made to play "SUPER TUNA" and his appearance dancing while feeling embarrassed was too cute lol.

However, after returning from military service, both the song and his confidence have been upgraded!

In "Leemujin Service (EP.141)," he not only talked about the secret story behind the composition but also gave Mujin-san some pointers, already showing the dignity of a man of the sea. He said the trick is to sing it not emotionally, but in a gritty and powerful way, and also to go fishing!

Compared to Mujin-san's soft and lyrical singing style, it's surprising how you think, "Jin's vocal pressure is amazing...!" Even in the "Ha!", "Chamchi!", and "Palta Palta!", there is a solid thickness that feels like being physically hit by sound waves.
As expected of someone who used to shout "ARMY!" without a microphone in stadium-sized venues. It feels like he could shoot beams from his mouth.

The reverberation of tuna

And so, the ARMY community has become a group that loves tuna too much due to Jin's careful preparation.

The curse of the tuna really lingers, and later when the new song "Don't Say You Love Me" was released, it was a huge deal because Jin abandoned the tuna and was called out for being with a human girl!
Well, it's not like it would turn into a "I'm the tuna you saved back then" situation, after all.

I thought it was just an X-only festival, but it was actually quite a hot topic on Weverse too... don't go attacking him directly lol

I honestly laughed at the many situations that occurred, such as Jin being told "Just hold a tuna's hand!" when taking a poster photo with a girl and replying "I don't have hands! 😭", or Hobi being confused when told that the eldest brother betrayed his love for tuna, and not knowing how to explain it to fans of other groups www

Conclusion: Impossible not to be stirredConclusion: Impossible not to be stirred

When I started looking back on it lightly, there were so many Jin tuna episodes that my memories wouldn't stop, and I was reminded once again of how much he is loved.

"SUPER TUNA" has a background that can be traced back to "Abyss," a song where he peered into his own inner abyss, and it gave an unforgettable impact to all ARMY when he performed the dramatic full version on the day after his discharge as the only BTS member to return to the world.

In Jin's current solo tour "#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR," it has become a song that takes up one segment (the costume worn during the performance changes based on the results of a participatory quiz with the audience).
I get the impression that this unique song, which he brought out while agonizing over it at first, has now grown into a track that can be called a part of Jin's identity.

It can be said that "SUPER TUNA" symbolizes not only Jin's humor and ability to be loved, but also his evolution. Just as ARMY loves this song, I feel that Jin is also accepting himself through this song.

The fact that this song was chosen for a tuna can commercial because that very personality was loved is in itself wonderful and something to be proud of, and for us ARMY, it feels like Jin himself is being loved, which brings us heartfelt joy. It's impossible not to be stirred, isn't it!!

Tuna forever

In 2025, Jin is on a solo tour with "SUPER TUNA," and he is "Palta Palta-ing" on stages around the world.
Thinking about ARMY of various races shouting "Chamchi!" together with Jin is truly heart-warming. I have a feeling that tuna is rapidly rising in the global Korean language recognition ranking!

By the way, here is a recent video. It's the Coast Guard Jin version from the "#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR" Anaheim performance, which is my personal favorite (*´艸｀)

As a Japanese ARMY, I want to cherish the memories of the Makuhari performance, where I witnessed the miracle of "SUPER TUNA" being sung three times in a row! Though I only heard about it lol

I wanted to know the situation so badly that I grilled a follower I met at Kyocera about it.
Apparently, it was a total of three times: once during the charades game, once during the karaoke from the roulette, and once more as a bonus. Since it's short, maybe one time isn't enough for a costume change (*´艸｀)

Even after "#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR," the journey of Jin and "SUPER TUNA" will continue. ARMY everyone, let's keep chasing Jin along with the tuna in the future. I hope you can buy some tuna cans!!

Official playlist '💽 'Super Tuna''

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