Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

While BTS’ Jungkook is the member most known for his love for tattoos, his fellow vocal line member Jimin is not far behind. The ‘Like Crazy’ singer has six prominent tattoos all over his body, each with a significant meaning behind it.

Many K-pop idols hesitate to get tattoos in places that are visible because of the stigma associated with them and stringent broadcasting rules. However, some choose to display their tattoos publicly as a form of self-expression.

BTS is one of the most successful and popular bands from South Korea and has been responsible for a significant boost in the country’s economy and prestige across the world. Each member has been awarded the highest cultural merit in the country as well. This is why the fact that BTS chooses to break stereotypes like tattoos being associated with deviancy, is especially important.

Jimin Tattoos

Speaking of BTS’ tattoos, Jimin recently showed off his famous moon phases tattoo on a shoot for his album Face. But did you know what the tattoo really means? Here are Jimin’s 6 tattoos and the significance behind each of them…

Nevermind

A couple of years after their debut, fans spotted the words ‘Nevermind’ scrawled across Jimin’s ribs during a performance. It was suspected that the tattoo was temporary and just added because of the performance. But when it made a reappearance in 2018 and then again in 2019, during the boys’ Love Yourself tour, it became clear that it’s permanent.

The tattoo is inspired by Suga’s song ‘Intro: Nevermind’, where the rapper talks about the challenges of people belittling him and damaging his self-worth. Jimin has spoken about how much the song means to him and confirmed that the title is the reason behind the tattoo.

13

Jimin has the number ‘13’ tattooed on his wrist. The mini tattoo made its first appearance during the V-Live session after the release of Map of the Soul: 7. The number has a special meaning for the singer as he was born on October 13 and the band made its debut on June 13, 2013. Jimin spoke about the tattoo during his presentation in the Artist Made Collection video series.

Young Forever

When Jimin showed up for the taping of the band’s M Countdown performance in 2020 with bandages above his elbows, fans speculated that the singer has gotten a new tattoo. It turned out to be right when it was revealed that he now had the words ‘young’ and ‘forever’ tattooed above each of his elbows. It has been inspired by BTS’ song ‘Young Forever’ which holds a special place in the hearts of ARMYs and the members too. The song talks about wanting to be stuck in a moment forever and BTS’ desire to never stop making music for their fans.

Youth

Many BTS songs and albums revolve around the concept of ‘youth’, be it coming of age themes or the slow decay of economic and societal facilities for youth in the world. This is why it wasn’t surprising that one of Jimin’s tattoos says ‘Youth’. Placed behind his ear, fans spotted the tattoo during the band’s Permission to Dance in Seoul concert. The singer hasn’t addressed the meaning behind the tattoo yet.

7

Following the news of their temporary hiatus from group activities, each member of BTS got a ‘7’ tattooed in different places on their bodies. Jimin’s ‘7’ is placed on his finger. The singer showed it off during the M Countdown performance of ‘Yet To Come’ and ‘For Youth’ for the fans.

Phases of the moon

If you’ve spent even a minute on Tumblr or the fan side of Twitter, you would know that fan art is very common across fandoms. One fan artist’s incredible rendition of Jimin with the phases of the moon tattooed on his back became so popular that it even got noticed by the artist himself. Jimin revealed the same tattoo on his back and confirmed that it was inspired by the fan art which was shown to him by fellow group member V.