[J-HOPE] Impressions of seeing my bias in person for the first time [Kyocera Day 1]

[Update: 2025/7/17] The EPISODE has arrived, so I've added links and images

A sudden encounter with the real-life BTS

My history as a BTS fan started after they had already begun their military service.
I had always wanted to see BTS in person, but I had never seen the seven of them together in real life, and since I have children, I thought it would be impossible to travel abroad for a while.

Participating in a BTS concert was still just a vague image in my mind. What shattered that was Hobi's solo tour.
BTS's J-HOPE, who looked so cool in "Le Gala" and brought Paris to its knees, is coming to Osaka? (I'm in a state of confusion)

Anyway, I applied for tickets without thinking.
As a K-pop novice, I was completely lost in a "LOVE MAZE" and accidentally turned into Takao Osawa wondering why there were so many application rounds, upgrades, and sound checks, but that's not the point. Anyway, I'll join the mobile membership too!!

Luckily, I was invited by an ARMY friend to join them, and before I knew it, I had secured tickets.

• 05/31 Kyocera VIP (Concert + Sound Check)

• 06/01 Kyocera Reserved Seat (Concert) *Asia Tour Finale

Thank you, God...!

With that flow, I went to Kyocera yesterday and hung out until the last train. I'm going again today. Before that, I want to write down my impressions of the first day! So, this is just a rough draft.
By the way, my brain was filled with "Hobi is cool," so I don't remember much, and the content might be chaotic. Sorry.

The first time I saw Hobi in person, he was shining

Sound Check

"Osaka?"
"Osaka?"
"Vroom vroom vroom!"
That's how Hobi appeared.

High-pitched screams and cheers erupted from all around, and I heard people saying, "He's so cool...!" I felt so moved, thinking, "Wow, I'm among Hoseok's women now...! (Well, actually, I'm one of them too)."
Hobi in a T-shirt with silky hair. I hear the Hobi voice I always hear in videos coming from him moving right in front of me. Wow, it's reality!!

Bathed in a spotlight in his white shirt, Hobi looked incredibly vivid. He was so clear that I felt it was a waste to look through binoculars, so I decided to go with my naked eyes today.

He sang "BASE LINE" and "항상 / HANGSANG," then ran down the flower path giving high-fives, and performed "Outro : Ego" on the center stage.

I was between the main stage and the center stage, and I could see his teeth when he smiled, which made me so excited, thinking, "He's so close!!"

Thanks to him moving around, I think everyone watching the sound check felt like "Hobi came right in front of me." It was super exciting, and we all sang Ego together.
It was interesting how the singing voices turned into screams as Hobi moved, like a wave.

After finishing the song, Hobi ran back while high-fiving people on the other side, and while catching his breath a little, he made a finger heart and said, 'I'll continue later,' before leaving. The brilliance of his control, leaving us wanting just one more bite.
I was left with nothing but the feeling of 'Hobi is so cool...!', and I felt such a sense of accomplishment that it felt like the concert was already over!

'Hope on the Stage' Kyocera Day 1

I thought I had soaked up enough of the live Hobi during the soundcheck, but the actual performance was even more incredible. I witnessed the true potential of an artist who had polished their visuals and steeled their resolve for the main show!

I watched the online stream of the Seoul concert, but seeing him in person is truly something else. The performance of the naked eye, which allows you to focus wherever you like, is amazing.
Plus, there's no drop in bitrate caused by the background visuals (you know, when it zooms in but for some reason the screen gets all jagged and you can't see well).

It's obvious since I'm using my own eyes, but having only watched online until now, that's the kind of impression I get.
It's abnormally clear. It's like the feeling of someone who didn't realize they had bad eyesight finally putting on glasses and seeing the world.

Hobi's Japanese

Except for his final comments, Hobi spoke almost entirely in Japanese. He had a rich vocabulary for egging on the ARMY's cheers, saying things like 'Is that all?' and 'Your voices are too quiet' (*ﾉωﾉ)
The thing he repeated the most was, 'Are you ready to have fun today?'. I clenched my fist and thought, 'Understood, I will!'

Also, Hobi in Japanese is a bit like a 'gyaru'. He used phrases like 'Azassu' (thanks), 'Osaka is crazy!', 'So crazy!', and 'Seriously' with ease. I wondered if he learned them from young dancers or if it was vocabulary from his days working in Japan lol
He gave a thumbs up and said, 'Everyone, your tension went up, right? Thanks to you all, my thumb went up too!', and I really wonder who prepared that Japanese joke for him lol. Thank you!

He seemed to forget to say 'Scream' halfway through, so he tried it again.
Whether it's 'Sori Jilleo' or 'Make Some Noise!', I'll hear it with my heart, so any words are fine! But the fact that he tried so hard to do it in Japanese was so precious and cute that I was swooning.

He brought in an interpreter for his final long comment, but the flow of 'Can I speak in Korean?', 'Ne!', 'Saranghaeyo (I love you)' was just unfair lol
He said, 'The photos for the new song were released, did you see them? I worked out so much! I'm happy to show you the results,' while looking a bit shy. I have to send a fan letter via Weverse later saying his abs are the best...!

The 'JUST DANCE' of happiness

What Hobi praised us for the most was 'JUST DANCE'. When you get praised by Hobi himself, saying 'Good job!' and 'You're the best!', you can't help but feel proud and walk with your head held high ( *´艸｀)
I shouted the 'J-Hope' call with all my might, to the point where I reflected on my life and wondered if I had ever raised my voice to make someone else happy like this outside of raising my own children.

Because Hobi had such a happy look on his face, closing his eyes and listening to our voices as if to soak them all in. It's rare to have an experience where you can give happiness to someone else so directly.

Hobi was there, much more vivid than looking through a monitor, and we were sharing the sound and temperature in the same space. The feeling that he was calling out to me (us) was extremely strong, and the reverse was also true.
I believe the emotion created by the fact that we were influencing each other and changing each other's feelings is an intense emotion you don't encounter in ordinary life.

I feel that this is the 'sense of unity' that occurs at a concert venue, and the reason why BTS misses performing.
I remembered BTS saying many times that they want to see ARMY and that there are things you can't get from online concerts.

How does ARMY's voice sound to Hobi?

The space inside the dome is very large, and sound delay occurs. Even though the ARMY bombs moving to the J-Hope call were in rhythm, the voices sounded slightly delayed (artists wear in-ear monitors to correct this), which made me realize the size of the dome. It really makes you realize that sound is a wave.

When we called by area, I was in the center of the arena, so the arena sounded unified, but the voices from the lower level of the first-floor seats echoed as if they were surrounding me from a distance. The voices from the upper level of the first-floor seats sounded like they were bouncing off the ceiling and falling down.

All of those things become one, calling out Hobi's name.
I think that Hobi, receiving the voices of 40,000 people all at once on stage, must feel a pressure so intense it could physically crush him. He must be incredibly happy to feel the love of ARMY in real time.

Humans absorb sound, and the acoustics of a dome don't compare to a concert hall. Yet, the fact that the cheers resonated like a tsunami gave me a sense of the scale, and it was a wonderful experience.
I watched D-DAY and the Busan concert in movie theaters, and I thought that listening to BTS in a place with good acoustics was the best, but the live experience at a concert venue was something else entirely!

The versatility of Hobi's singing voice

Just like the cheers of ARMY, Hobi's voice can also be heard clearly. "CD-quality live vocals" is a phrase often used for Jungkook, but I think it applies to him as well.

What impressed me when hearing him live this time was the versatility of Hobi's vocal tone.
Hobi's vocal range is close to V's, and he can hit everything from low to high notes. Moreover, he skillfully uses his unique raspy voice and noisy textures.

This is a different way of using and projecting his voice compared to when he sings normally, and I think it's brilliant how he manages the flow of the concert while performing, appealing to the audience, and switching his voice for each song. He's just too multi-talented!
And without any breathlessness or wavering, he has that accuracy that even ARMY, who listen to his songs endlessly through streaming and music videos, call CD-quality (*´艸｀)

Jin-kun previously talked about lung capacity training on Suchwita, and I wonder if Hobi also retrained himself for his solo concert.

I became part of the ocean of ARMY bombs

What I had always longed for was the ARMY bomb.
When watching BTS movies and concert footage, the light of the ARMY bombs is so beautiful that I've always admired it. I had hoped that one day I could become a part of that, and that wish came true this time...!

When the concert started, the ARMY bombs synced up and lit up all at once, and at that moment, a murmur of "Wow..." arose from the ARMY throughout the venue.
The light from the ARMY bombs illuminated the smiles of everyone looking around, and I thought, 'Ah, we have now become the ocean welcoming BTS.' It was a scene that will stay with me forever.

I was in the arena, so I was basically only looking at Hobi and the main stage and couldn't see much of my surroundings, but when Hobi moved to the center stage, I was able to see him dancing with the ARMY bombs behind him.
Standing amidst the dense light of the ARMY bombs, Hobi looked like he was about to melt into it; it was incredibly beautiful.

Moreover, since they performed "MIC Drop" and "Baepsae / Silver Spoon" on the center stage this time, the waves of ARMY bombs surged along with everyone's favorite member chants and the "Sorry, Mom!" part, and the voices of ARMY roared. It was moving...!

I want to support Hobi as he continues to fly

In his comments with the interpreter, Hobi told us, "Kyocera was so big that I was a little intimidated today."
"But everyone, you didn't notice, did you? Did I do well? Thanks to your cheers, I was able to pull it off," Hobi said with a smile, and he was so cool.

The spotlight for the center is extremely strong, so when you are bathed in it, you actually feel the heat and pressure. Even for me, seeing Hobi as the size of a little finger, the heat of the fire pillars felt like a wall of heat. As I wrote earlier, voices are also sound waves, so they have pressure.
Hobi stands in the middle of that, taking on the heat, pressure, cheers, love, and responsibility all by himself. I cannot help but be moved by his bravery and his lonely battle.

Hobi often takes the lead. He takes flight even while trembling.
Just like how he pushed off with his own feet, kept his eyes on his goal, and leaped onto the Lollapalooza stage from inside the box.
No one would be anything but intimidated in front of a massive venue like Kyocera. He trembles precisely because he has the sensitivity to correctly recognize his responsibility.
Yet, the strength of his will to spread his wings and see it through because he decided to fly is what makes him shine. The way he overcomes his weaknesses is what gives us courage.

To him, who whispered that he should bear his failures alone, I wonder if the feelings of ARMY, who say we won't let that happen, reached him. I wonder if the lights and voices at Kyocera were able to become wings that didn't crush him, but instead wrapped around him and aimed for the heavens together.

Hobi at the concert was truly cool.
J-hope, you are the bias we are so proud of.

Well then, I'm off to Kyocera Day 2!

I wrote this in a rush, so I didn't have time to edit it. Sorry for the scattered thoughts!
I hope I managed to convey even a little of the emotion of seeing Hobi in person for the first time.
Watching 'Hope on the Stage' means not only seeing Hobi, but also the SUGA band—no, the Hobi band members—and the dancers, including Neil, so I was just so excited in so many ways...!

🐿️ "I'm your HOPE, You're my HOPE, I am J-"
🔎 "HOPE!!!"
Being able to do that exchange was so heart-warming.
Maybe my brain was awakened by the excitement, but I was able to call out the members' names without mistakes. I was also able to understand most of what Hobi said, and I think there might be some kind of magic at concert venues that temporarily accelerates the brain.
If I can do it again today, I think it will stick. There is no practice better than real-world experience!

The ARMY friend I went with today muttered during a break in the concert, 'I thought I'd skip the Jack In The Box tour, but now I want to go...!' lol
I totally get it. The gravitational pull of BTS in person is insane, and live performances are intense experiences with that kind of appeal. Thank you for the best experience, Hobi.
I hope I can make it to the Jack In The Box tour @ Kyocera too!

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