BTS’ Jungkook turns 29: ‘Magical’ potatoes to calling Suga a steamed bun, 29 viral moments

In 2022, the ARMY world was in tears. During Festa 2022, BTS's RM had said the band was going on a break, which was interpreted as...it's over, BTS is over, they're never coming back. As emotional letters were written in every nook and cranny of social media, BTS RM' and V tried to douse the anguish, along with Jungkook. However, our Golden Maknae came on Weverse Live that time to say something more important: He didn't have 30 mattresses, a joke that was repeated several times during the emotional Festa live.

His words were essentially: Yes, yes, BTS is forever, but I do not have 30 mattresses.

In the midst of all the chaos, panic and tearful anxiety, this did bring about much cheer. A click, a screw and the ARMY universe was in motion again.

That's just Jungkook. If he isn't going viral for riding a motorbike at midnight, he might just be on your social media feeds at 2 am, lecturing you about the Korean post.

So, on his birthday, here's looking back at 29 most Jungkooked moments.

1) 1. The 21-minute sleeping livestream (2023). During a Weverse broadcast, Jungkook told fans he was too anxious to sleep, then dozed off on camera. Around 6.7 million people tuned in to watch him nap, and his name topped Twitter trends for hours.

2) 'Jungshook' is born. His exaggerated shocked expressions became so widely memed that "Jungshook" is now shorthand fandom vocabulary for his reaction face. Watch any Run BTS episode, which is filled with betrayals, and you will see what we're talking about.

3) The 'magical' potatoes. In Run BTS Episode 20 ("Taste of Korea," 2017), Jungkook's glazed sweet potatoes stuck so completely to the plate that no amount of swirling or turning it over would budge them. He kept spinning the plate to show it off anyway, sending Jin into hysterics for the rest of the episode.

4) Apologising while cooking fish.

It's Jungkook, of course. And this time, he once apologised to a fish before cooking it. "I’m sorry and I’m very grateful," he says.

5) The ARMY's love answer. During a Vanity Fair episode of how well they knew each other, the other band members had to guess Jungkook's favourite food. Eager Jin kept pressing, "It's ARMY's love, isn't it?" Jungkook hadn't written it, and he looked positively flustered, hastily scratching out his original answer and wrote ARMY's love instead.

6) Impressing Jin with his cooking (a hard task). One of the most memorable Run BTS! episodes saw Jungkook and V take on the challenge of cooking a dish under Jin’s watchful guidance — and, unsurprisingly, chaos soon followed. Although their kitchen adventure was nowhere near as chaotic as RM and Jimin’s infamous attempt under Suga’s guidance, Jin still found himself riding an emotional rollercoaster with the younger duo.

Despite the near-disasters, Jungkook and V managed to pull off their dish far more successfully than RM and Jimin, who had previously accidentally added extra salt to their kimchi pancake. Thankfully, V and Jungkook narrowly avoided making the same mistake.

Jin’s patience was tested throughout the cooking session, with the BTS star at one point declaring that he was done with the pair. But by the end, even he was impressed with what they had created. The duo also earned points for their exquisite plating, proving that presentation was very much part of their game.

J-Hope, who served as the judge, sampled their creation and gave the duo a thumbs-up, appreciating their cooking skills and the final result.

7) The military-leave livestream that broke Weverse's record (December 2024). All was silent for a while, till a year into his mandatory service, Jungkook surprised fans with an unannounced nearly three-hour livestream, drawing 20.2 million real-time viewers, more than that year's Grammy Awards broadcast.

8) Addressing stalkers. Jungkook doesn't mince his words about stalkers. Several times, he has firmly asked people not to show up at his new home, crowd him at stores, or send him packages he legally couldn't accept at his military base.

9) The 'possessive maknae' clips. It's an inside joke, and continues to be. For years, fan-cut compilations of Jungkook's protective, close body language around his bandmates (cough, cough RM), sitting near them, subtly steering people away, resting a hand on a chair, have repeatedly gone viral and been endlessly dissected online.

10) The 4 AM perilla oil noodles (makguksu) livestream. Mid-livestream, he suddenly started cooking his favourite noodle dish live on Weverse, walked fans through the recipe, and later shared it as one of his go-to comfort meals.

11) The KCON France Arirang moment (2016). His solo lower-register vocal run on the folk-song rework didn't go viral until years later, when clips resurfaced and reintroduced a whole new wave of fans to his range.

12) Dreamers at the FIFA World Cup 2022 opening ceremony. Performing in Qatar's Al Bayt Stadium, he became the first Korean artist to headline a World Cup opening ceremony, singing alongside Qatari artist Fahad Al Kubaisi.

13) Seven breaks the Spotify record. His debut solo single hit 1 billion Spotify streams in just 108 days, at the time, the fastest song ever to do so, edging out Miley Cyrus's Flowers.However, the story behind Seven was far more fascinating: He almost had everyone fooled that it could be a song about the love for his hyungs. For days, ARMY waxed eloquent about his love for the band. While he does love his brothers, the song was a little more about romance. Whoops, on our part.

14) The Standing Next to You music video (2023). The Michael Jackson-referencing visuals for his Golden title track racked up 1.5 million views within an hour of release and later crossed 200 million on YouTube.

15) Riding a motorbike through Seoul streets. In April this year, the BTS vocalist joined the viral Hooligan trend, but instead of a typical transition video like he normally would do, he showed himself riding a motorcycle.

While many users, including his own fellow bandmate V, have used the 'Hooligan' audio for quick edits and transformations, Jungkook decided to throw caution to the winds. The track, part of BTS’s recent comeback album Arirang, has quickly become a popular choice online, and well, the laugh at the beginning just adds to the ring.

In his video, Jungkook was seen riding through the streets in full protective gear, including a helmet and gloves. The short montage shows him navigating smoothly, even briefly taking his hands off the handlebars.

16. Sold Out King, forever. Last year, Jungkook appeared on Weverse Live for his broadcast ‘Badada,’ rocking a black LU’U DAN Washed Zip Hoodie layered over a gray sleeveless tee. It was also during the OT7 reunion live on the beach, much celebration as Jin had finally joined them after touring through Europe. Fans barely had time to fangirl before the hoodie completely sold out on the brand’s official store. The World Music Awards tweeted, “During BTS’s Weverse Live, the LU’U DAN Washed Zip Hoodie Jungkook wore on the beach has already sold out in all sizes.”

17. Flying Yoga attempts. Run BTS! took a decidedly chaotic turn in the episode ‘Fly BTS Fly’, when the septet decided to take a lesson in aerial yoga.

The workout uses a silk hammock suspended from the ceiling, allowing participants to lift, stretch and twist their bodies into various poses. Often described as a blend of yoga, Pilates and dance, aerial yoga looked considerably less graceful when BTS got involved.

For roughly 35 minutes, the members attempted to master increasingly complicated positions, with plenty of wobbling, struggling and laughter along the way. Jungkook, in particular, became a highlight of the episode as his antics with the silk hammock had fans in stitches.

18. Hitting back at users for mocking his anime knowledge. BTS's Jungkook has been called many things, but he won't tolerate anime slander.

The maknae, as he is always referred to, has dealt with more than his fair share of criticism, backlash and scrutiny over the past 13 years, along with his band. While he might have shown his displeasure subtly on occasion, or told a fan off during a Weverse Live, he hasn’t been publicly too riled up.

Unless, of course, someone brings up his anime knowledge. A user had tweeted, “Jungkook was so busy working when he was younger that he didn’t seriously watch any anime at all. What an amateur.”

Jungkook, who seems to be chronically online like the rest of us, took a screenshot and posted it on his Instagram account. “Who are you to say that?”

19. Rrrraaap Monsta! An old man has never known peace ever since he referred to RM as Rap Monster jovially. Jungkook chooses to bring it up every chance he gets.

20. The obsession with That That. In 2022, Suga released That That with PSY, and goodness, Jungkook never let him forget it. He danced to the song every time he saw Suga, and once even took over the rapper's variety show, Suchwita.

21. 'I’m not your oppa': Jungkook had questions. Jungkook may have millions of fans happily calling him “oppa”, but there was a time when the BTS star wasn’t exactly convinced they had earned the right.

The singer once questioned whether the fans calling him “oppa” were actually younger than him, because apparently, Jungkook was going to need some proof before accepting the title.

22. When he actually sabotaged himself. Anonymous letters sound simple enough, unless you’re Jungkook. For BTS’s 2016 Festa, the members were tasked with writing letters without revealing who they were. Jungkook lasted approximately no time at all before giving himself away. At the time, Jungkook was the only BTS member who had one, making the anonymous letter about as anonymous as wearing a name tag.

He realised his blunder almost immediately, but, unfortunately, Jungkook wasn’t done. He also referred to V as “V-hyung” in the letter. And there was the second giveaway. Since Jungkook is younger than V, he was the only member who would naturally call him “V-hyung”. In trying to stay anonymous, Jungkook had essentially left the members a trail of breadcrumbs straight to himself.

23. 'I like countryside!' When he is loud, he is loud. Jungkook might be quiet in interviews, but give him a question he feels strongly about and suddenly, there’s no holding him back. During BTS’s The Noisey Questionnaire of Life, the members were asked to pick between the city, the beach and the countryside. Jungkook didn’t hesitate for even a second.

His answer? “Countryside!” — delivered with enough enthusiasm to make fans laugh.

24. Avoiding the mic like the plague. During their earlier days, Jungkook would refuse to be anywhere the mic, to the point there is an actual compilation on YouTube, where RM is trying to hunt him down. Of course this later changed, when Jungkook couldn't part from the mic.

25. Rainism" cover (2016). His cover of Rain's sultry classic, choreography and all, is still cited by fans as an early sign of his stage-commanding potential.

26. Falling off the bed on Run BTS. In one episode, a napping Jungkook tumbled off a bed mid-challenge and, unbothered, simply went right back to sleep.

27. Imitating his hyungs: One thing fans never seem to tire of is Jungkook’s talent for playfully trolling his older BTS members. He has perfected the art of the mischievous younger brother, whether he’s mimicking Suga’s rap poses or hilariously copying Jimin’s dramatic hair flips.

It’s all harmless fun, but Jungkook’s deadpan commitment to imitating his hyungs makes these moments even funnier, and they remain a fan-favourite glimpse of his cheeky side.

28. When Jungkook refused to let Jimin have a high-five. Jimin learned the hard way that asking Jungkook for a high-five can come with conditions. During a performance of Anpanman, Jungkook held his hand up for Jimin to reach. But just as Jimin ran over, Jungkook went up on his tiptoes and raised his hand even higher, leaving Jimin hilariously unable to reach it. The two ended up laughing at the prank.

29. When Jungkook called Suga a steamed bun. Jungkook has never been particularly precious about roasting his hyungs. While watching an old clip of Suga, the rapper mentioned that he had gained some weight at the time, and Jungkook promptly compared him to a “steamed bun.”