ＢＴＳファンイベントに長蛇の列 前日除隊のジンさんのハグ会も

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国の首都ソウルで１３日、Ｋ－ＰＯＰグループ「ＢＴＳ（防弾少年団）」のファン数万人が、年次ファンイベントのために長蛇の列を作った。今年のイベントでは、前日に兵役を終えて除隊したばかりの最年長メンバー、ジン（ＪＩＮ）さんによるハグ会の開催も伝えられている。（写真は、ソウルで開催されたＢＴＳのファンイベント「ＢＴＳ ２０２４」に参加したファン）
　ＢＴＳのファンイベント「ＦＥＳＴＡ」は、所属事務所ＨＹＢＥが主催。昨年のイベントには４０万人のファンが集まった。
　今年は、ジンさんによるハグ会も予定されていることから、参加人数は昨年を上回ると予想されている。ジンさんは抽選で選ばれた１０００人とハグをすることになっている。
　前日の除隊後、ジンさんはファンのためのＳＮＳサービス「Ｗｅｖｅｒｓｅ」にハグ会について投稿。ハグ会は自らのアイデアで、当初は３０００人を対象にしたかったが、安全を考慮して縮小に応じざるを得なかったことを明らかにした。
　米オハイオ州からイベントのためにソウルに来たと話すリサさん（４８）は、「やるべきことをやった」ジンさんを心から誇りに思うと話した。イベントには、米国のＢＴＳコンサートで知り合った友人と一緒に来たという。
　また、グループのファンだという娘を連れてメキシコから来たエクトルさん（４０）は「娘の誕生日祝い」と話し、「早朝５時に韓国に到着し、そのまま会場に来た」と説明した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/13-21:42）

For BTS ARMY members, as the K-pop phenomenon's fan base is known, the timing of Jin's discharge from South Korean military service couldn't have been more fortuitous.
Just 24 hours after the oldest member of the world's biggest boyband was discharged from duty, the South Korean capital was overtaken by BTS fans, with tens of thousands of people lining up Thursday to join the group's annual party.
Organised by HYBE, the band's agency, the BTS FESTA last year saw 400,000 fans attend.
This year's event, held at a sprawling sports complex in southern Seoul, is expected to exceed the record, with Jin giving out free hugs at a nearby location to a select group of 1,000 lucky raffle winners in a huggathon.
With lines stretching up to three kilometres around the FESTA venue, fans showed up from as early as 7:00 am to make sure they could get their hands on the band's coveted merchandise and free photo cards of their idols.
BTS has been on a self-described hiatus since 2022, with all seven members conscripted successively for military service.
Due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North, South Korea requires all men under 30 to sign up for service.
After his discharge on Wednesday, Jin said on South Korean app Weverse that the huggathon was his idea, and that he had initially wanted to hug 3,000 fans but that he had to agree to a smaller number due to safety concerns.
- 'I wanted to hug him' -
As she waited for the annual party to kick off, BTS fan Lisa Pavelchack said she was really proud of Jin for doing what he needed to do in life.
The 48-year-old from Ohio said she had flown to Seoul especially for the FESTA, which she was attending with friends she had met at a BTS concert in the United States.
Ann Suwanan, a 19-year-old from Thailand, was sad that she, like Pavelchack, was not going to get the chance to hug Jin.
I wanted to hug him so much, she told AFP.
Wearing a purple tulle dress and a big purple bow in her hair, she said she cried a bit with joy when Jin was discharged.
Hector Sosa, a 40-year-old father, said he had flown from Mexico to Seoul to accompany his adoring ARMY member daughter.
My daughter is a fan of theirs and we came for her birthday as a present, he said.
We landed at 5:00 am today in South Korea and came straight here.