Golden Hickeys

20 March 2026 !!

A New Year gift from our boys for Army.

Full English translation of the boys messages:

But we also got some unintentional Jikook cuteness gifts to end 2025 or start 2026 as well.

Whatever situation you put them in, no matter the context, they will find their way into their own little world.

And then we have JK holding on to JM for dear life.

Literally living up to his own song.

Never Let Go... of JM that is!!

And with that I will bid you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR from the end of the world (or the beginning of it, seeing that we are pretty much where the new year starts, right after New Zealand).

There are so many things I wish for this coming year. Peace and calm and love, not hate. And for us in particular, for Army and for our boys, I know this will be a HUGE year. Filled with awesome new music and amazing concerts and shows and pure BTS and Jikook joy.

I see that you prefer context being provided so here it is just in case! The two play a game where they have to figure out what the meaning of some phrases are when they're put into shorthand and reduced to just their first syllables, the funny thing Jikook had been doing nonstop. For 안남미, the director gives the hint "둘의 얘기예요. 둘의, 팬분들이 봤을 때 두 분의 얘기" which was translated to us as, "It's about the two of you. The fans' idea of you two." Jungkook then answers "안그래도 남사스러운데 미치겠네."

Thank you so much, and I'm so sorry this ask got so long!!!

Hi there,

Thanks for your kind message and thanks for being patient as I am working on multiple answers at the same time🙏

This moment in particular is very quick but offers an interesting peak into Jungkook's perception of how he thinks the fans percieve him with Jimin. It is also a very tounge-in-cheek comment that is meaningful for a lot of K-army.

Disclaimer: In my translations I tend to stay closer to Korean phrasing to bring the reader closer to how Korean sentences are structured, therefore my translations may vary from others and may not feel as natural in English. Assumed pronouns not included in the original Korean sentence are in brackets.

During the word game, 안남미 (an-nam-mi) comes up and as you wrote, the hint from the PD is: "(It's about) you two. The two of you, as seen by the fans/from the fans' perspective. " (my ver. of translation)

Jungkook answers from their fans' perspective:

안 그래도 | Already as (it is) / Even as (it is)

남사스러운데 | (Although it's) embarrassing/cringe-inducing

미치겠네 | (I'm) going crazy/ (It's) driving (me) crazy

When put together, the expression could be translated as:

Though (it's) embarrassing/cringe-inducing already as (it is) , (I'm) going crazy.

Or more loose translation with more English nuance and added interpretation:

I'm going crazy already cringing over these two.

(alt.: I'm going crazy from the second-hand embarrassment already because of these two.)

Now to explain the use of 남사스럽다 and why Korean fans relate to this comment. Even though the translation variations of this word include embarrassing, shameful, cringe-inducing, etc., it should be understood here in this particular context as second-hand embarrassment and in a lighthearted manner.

It is to be noted that K-fans often feel "embarrassed" when their faves get too affectionate, act too close or overly comfortable on camera. (i. e. they are projecting second-hand embarrassment onto them.) Therefore, Jungkook here is very cleverly showing that he is aware of how affectionate he acts with Jimin and he is also aware of how fans are cringing/getting embarrassed over their cute moments. He is basically conveying: "I know we are embarrassing, deal with it 🤪"

(This is all obviously to be understood in a light, joking tone. It could be imagined as someone watching AYS and covering their eyes and squeeling from the cuteness and closeness shown between Jimin and Jungkook. It is not meant to invoke any internal negative feelings connected to personal shame.)

The tone is further supported by the use of 미치겠네 as an expression of exasperation that K-fans also often use.

The reactions I saw from Koreans were: "He knows us well" or "He knows, so funnyyy" "Wow amazing, he knows us"

TLDR: Jungkook very cheekily expressed how he imagines fans react to their closeness on camera and demonstrated that he is very well self-aware (and also kinda unapologetic about it).

https://youtu.be/IibXfT7_r8s?si=aETJCNfbsvXW6fet

That I've basically said very similar things over and over again on here just without a specific word to try and define it. 🤷‍♀️ That I agree with what is said and also think they might have something romantic going on as well. Those things don't have to be mutually exclusive and that's not me seeing it through a western lens.

Cultural differences are absolutely real, and they matter a lot.

In my culture, we are actually very similar to many Asian societies more than we are to Western ones. We also have a kind of hierarchical structure, we prioritize the group and the family over the individual, and we put others before ourselves. It’s deeply rooted in us, even if it’s not as strict as it is in Korea.

So when I talk about my culture, it’s because I see a strong similarity in how relationships and emotional bonds are formed and understood.

After watching the video, I want to say this:

We have something very close to what Koreans call jeong, and even if different societies experience it differently, jeong still has clear boundaries, and anyone who grew up with this kind of cultural background understands those boundaries easily.

That’s why I brought up my culture in the first place.

Because when I see JK and Jimin, and I compare their bond to what we culturally recognize and understand, I don’t see just “any normal jeong.” And I also don’t think that sharing jeong with someone requires identical life experiences, or being from the same hometown, or even having similar personalities.

You can share jeong with someone you've only known for a year, and not share it with someone you've known for twenty. It’s something deeper and more natural than just time or familiarity.

And I want to be clear: I’m not talking about romantic love here.

I’m specifically talking about jeong as explained in the video.

This is exactly why many of JK & Jimin’s interactions don’t strike me as “huge” the way Western bloggers see them, because culturally, I know what is normal and what is not.

But at the same time, there are moments and consistencies between them that cannot be dismissed or explained away.

They go beyond any single label.

And their bond stands out clearly, obviously from every other pair in BTS.

They have the same group, the same struggles, the same achievements…So why is their jeong so different?

Is it because they’re from the same city? Please… no one falls in love or forms a life-defining bond just because someone is from the same hometown.

Is it because their personalities are similar, as the video suggested?With all respect how are JK and Jimin similar? Their personalities are almost opposites, yet they fit each other naturally in a complementary way.

Is it family closeness? No one ever said that. And even if their families get along, that still wouldn’t explain why their jeong is completely different from any other members’ jeong with each other. All the members’ families are kind and supportive. So why is it only Jikook whose bond stands out this strongly?

Is jeong different from person to person? No jeong has a clear nature, even if the West doesn’t have a name for it (and honestly, we also don’t have a specific word for it in my culture, we just understand it). It’s a recognizable emotional relationship with recognizable boundaries. So I genuinely want to understand why Jikook are so clearly different from every other BTS pair.😶‍🌫️

Why do they stand out? Even people with no cultural background in jeong can see that there is something different about them.

Why do people feel the need to justify their actions and desperately try to classify their relationship, when they could just admit that they’re different from everyone else? It doesn’t have to be for a big reason. Jungkook doesn’t need a reason for acting the way he does maybe they’re just two people who love each other. It’s simple, not complicated, for anyone willing to see…

My conclusion is simple:

Anyone in the world can see that JK and Jimin are different.

You don’t need a specific culture to understand it Jikook stand out.

You cannot categorize Jikook under the same label you use for all BTS pairs.

And you absolutely cannot tell me that the members’ or ARMY’s love is the same as the love between Jikook that is honestly the most unrealistic thing anyone could say🙃

BTW Jikook can have brotherly love, platonic love, friendship, romance, and jeong all at the same time. One type of love does not cancel out the others

She had asked the question if Hybe and Disney were shipping Jikook. She talked to some Korean friends of hers and they explained the concept of Jeong. Again, nonissue, but the way she presented the subject along with the images she used came across as gaslighting people to stop being shipping or supporters of them. I get the concept and we have a similar concept in the west without using a direct word for word translation. With that being said, she is discounting the fact these two 28/30 year old men do a lot publicly and on camera that suggests sus behavior and queer actions. I don’t care what culture one is a part of, all cultures have queer individuals. Because a conservative culture does not readily accept queer people does not mean it does not exist. Whether they are queer or allies of the LGBTQ+ community, she completely dismissed that notion. She is trying to grow her channel as a full time job and has become very safe in her presentations. I am not queer, but I felt like she dismissed queer people with her presentation. I will say I was highly disappointed.

CJ Moon shared this quote in her follow-up video, which I’ve included below, regarding the concept of Jeong. Many of you have already seen the video from Asian Entertainment and Culture (AEC) that explores Jeong and how she applies it to Jimin and Jungkook’s relationship. I shared a long comment from another blogger (Stormblessed95) about this topic yesterday. I really enjoy AEC’s channel because she’s usually well-researched and thoughtful in her videos and opinions. I often recommend her channel here. Like everyone, we can sometimes miss the mark. I think she missed the mark with her interpretation of Jeong when she applied it to Jimin and Jungkook, especially to “debunk” their shipping as it relates to AYS2.

Give CJ’s video a listen and see what you think. CJ also released a podcast yesterday that dives deep into the definition of Jeong (deep affection/bond) which wasn’t mentioned in any of the press releases. She also talked about the two Korean words used in both the Hybe and/or Disney+ press releases: u-jeong (Friendship) and Nangman (Romanticism/Charm).

This whole situation is a reminder of the importance of cultural sensitivity and not dismissing or ignoring groups of people based on who they are, who they might be, or what others might think or believe. If she had addressed the word in relation to "shipping culture" without specifically mentioning Jimin and Jungkook as a ship, I would have been okay with how she presented it. But she didn’t mention other ships, including the biggest one in K-pop, Taekook. 

cr: @CJ Moon | JiKook stories and videos