K-pop boy band BTS member Jin to carry torch for Paris Olympics
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K-pop boy band BTS member Jin salutes after being discharged from his mandatory military service in front of a military base in Yeoncheon on June 12.
PHOTO: AFP
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SEOUL – K-pop sensation BTS’ member Jin will carry the torch at the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a report by South Korea’s Yonhap News on July 2.
The 31-year-old South Korean singer, whose real name is Kim Seok-jin, will head to France soon to carry the Olympic flame, but details about the torch relay location and schedule have not been disclosed.
Jin recently completed his mandatory military service and was discharged in June, the first member of BTS to do so.
The star’s involvement in the torch relay is believed to be due to BTS’ popularity worldwide and the septet’s consistent and positive message of “love yourself”, which they have imbued in their music since debuting in 2013.
Jin’s agency, BigHit Music, said it will confirm the news as soon as it is ready.
The Paris Olympic flame was lit in Greece in April and arrived in France in May. It will travel through more than 400 locations in France, covering a distance of approximately 12,000km, before reaching the opening ceremony venue of Jardins du Trocadero in Paris on July 26.
About 11,000 people are expected to participate in the Olympic torch relay.
Alongside Jin, notable figures include former Ivorian soccer player Didier Drogba, former French-American basketball star Tony Parker, a Holocaust survivor, relatives of the 2016 Nice terror attack victims, astronauts and sanitation workers.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to Aug 11, with more than 10,500 athletes from 206 territories competing in 329 events across 32 sports. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
