BTS’s Jin Collects Actor Friends Like Awards — Here Are The Stories Behind 5 Of His Friendships

He’s known some of them longer than BTS.

BTS‘s social butterfly Jin makes friends wherever he goes. Some of his longest celebrity friendships began years before BTS’s debut. Here are the stories behind five of them!

Jin

1. Lee Sang Yeob

This veteran actor has appeared in a number of K-Dramas, movies, and web series, including The Innocent Man (2012), A Little Love Never Hurts (2013), and Once Again (2020). It’s unclear when he and Jin became friends, but the two recently spent time together golfing.

Lee Sang Yeob posted the above photo on his Instagram account, and Jin posted this golfing video not long after.

2. Lee Won Geun

Lee Won Geun made his acting debut in the 2012 K-Drama Moon Embracing the Sun. Since then, he has appeared in over a dozen movies and television series, including Cheer Up! (2015) and One the Woman (2021). His friendship with Jin began before BTS’s 2013 debut.

Lee Won Geun 

The two attended the same college and, according to Lee Won Geun, they share a passion for food.

| @bts_twt/Twitter

When Jin tweeted this photo of himself with Lee Won Geun in 2014, some people mistook the actor for Jungkook!

| @bts_twt/Twitter

3. Yoo Seung Ho

Yoo Seung Ho began his career as a child actor in The Way Home (2002). Some of his most memorable roles were in I’m Not a Robot (2017), and My Strange Hero (2018). In 2020, Jin sent a coffee truck to the set of the Memorist as a gift for his friend.

Lee Seung Ho | @dandyoo93_official/Instagram

World Star Jin. I drank the coffee well. From Seung Ho.

— Yoo Seung Ho

At the time, many fans were unaware that the two celebs has struck up a friendship.

| @dandyoo93_official/Instagram

To big actor Yoo Seung Ho World Star BTS’s Jin dedicates.

— Jin’s banner text

4. Lee Yi Kyung

Lee Yi Kyung debuted in the K-Drama Heartstrings (2011) and went on to act in My Love from the Star (2013), Descendants of the Sun (2016), and many more. His friendship with Jin goes back ever farther than Lee Won Geun’s.

I’m sure Seokjin’s fans know this already. But there was this acting school in a brick building in front of my house. It’s gone now, but anyway.

— Lee Yi Kyung

The two met when Jin was still in high school, at acting classes. At the time, Lee Yi Kyung was 23 years old and had just been discharged from the military.

I believe Jin was 18 or 19 at the time. He came to take acting classes too, in his school uniform and all. That’s how I met him. We grew closer while attending that place together.

— Lee Yi Kyung

The two attended different colleges–Jin went to Konkuk University while Lee Yi Kyung attended the Seoul Institute of the Arts–but they reunited at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

Watching you run backstage to see me after the ceremony, I realized how you haven’t changed at all and that moved me. Thanks for the good energy. Let’s hang out soon!

— Lee Yi Kyung

5. Park Bo Gum

This talented singer-actor is known for his versatility. In K-Dramas, he has played everything from a psychopath in Hello Monster (2015) to a heartthrob in Encounter (2018). In 2018, he became the unofficial 8th member of BTS when he teamed up with the group for a Coca-Cola campaign.

While on set, Jin took this selfie with the actor. He later released it on Weverse with the caption, “Wow, I also have this which I took with a handsome friend on the set of an advertisement.”

Park Bo Gum and Jin | Weverse

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