South Korean singer Jin of K-pop boy band BTS said he was honoured to take part in the Olympic torch relay on July 14.
The 31-year-old was one of the torchbearers of the relay ahead of the Paris Summer Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to Aug 11. The torch arrived in Paris on July 14, which is also Bastille Day, France’s national day. It will make the rounds of some of the city’s most famous landmarks.
Jin, who led the Louvre Museum section of the relay, was greeted by cheers from waiting fans when he emerged from the torch relay centre at the museum at around 8pm, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The singer, whose real name is Kim Seok-jin, waved to his fans, known as Army, as they chanted his name.
He was escorted by the police as he moved to a nearby street and was handed the torch. He ran for about 200m before returning to the torch relay centre at the museum, according to Yonhap.
“I feel extremely honoured to have been able to participate in today’s torch relay,” Jin said in a statement released by Hybe, the parent company of his agency, BigHit Music, Yonhap reported. “I sincerely thank Army and all the fans who made it possible for me to carry the torch.”
Jin, the oldest member of BTS and the first from the seven-member group to enlist, completed his mandatory military service on June 12. He is scheduled to release his first solo album later in 2024, and will appear in a new South Korean variety show, The Half-Star Hotel In Lost Island. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
