As for any younger member of any group, be it siblings or a musical band, the youngest tends to be the most rebellious and BTS’ Jungkook is definitely no exception. This rebellious nature can be conveyed in various ways, but the singer chooses to express himself through body modification, a practice generally associated with a defiant and free spirit.
The 24-year-old has collected several tattoos and piercings over the course of his 8-year-long career, which are definitely a bold move given the strict k-pop standards regarding body image. Despite this fact, these adornments are much respected and adored by fans throughout the globe. On that note, here is a list that includes all of Jungkook’s body piercings throughout the years.
Ear piercings
During BTS’ debut in 2013, Jungkook displayed only one earlobe piercing in each ear. The then-15-year-old exhibited an affection for piercings — alongside his BTS peers — all of whom (for the exception of J-Hope) have had piercings since the group’s beginning.
About a year after, in 2014, the youngest member seemed to have plugs until the “Dope” era. Not particularly wide, the plugs were about five mm wide, thus avoiding any enlargement of the earlobe during that time.
In the course of 3 years and throughout the Wings and Youth eras, Jungkook showcased several other piercings. Now counting three earlobe piercings, as well as two helix piercings, the lead dancer has taken on the role of the bad boy of BTS. Both helix piercings had closed by the time the Love Yourself era came about and haven’t yet made a comeback, much to the fans’ discontentment.
During the pandemic, Jungkook seemed to have focused most of his body alterations on his sleeve tattoo, but never neglected piercings. From 2021 until now Jungkook wears a total of 6 lower ear piercings in his right ear and around 3 or 4 lobe piercings in his right ear.
Facial piercings
It wasn’t until 2021 that Jungkook displayed his boldest piercing modification till then: an eyebrow piercing. During the “Butter” promotion events, the vocalist appeared to have an eyebrow piercing, creating many speculations on whether it was just a sticker. These speculations proved to be true when, in May 2021, Jungkook took off his eyebrow sticker and even glued it on BTS’ V’s face on the Butter Livestream in the Vlive app.
After some time Jungkook admitted to actually piercing his eyebrow during his Vlive solo Livestream in his studio. Earlier this year, however, Jungkook took out his eyebrow piercing, causing the fans to mourn the much-adored adornment.
Not long after, in October 2021, the “Dynamite” singer also caused quite an uproar online, appearing with a lip piercing during the group’s appearance on The Fact Music Awards. During the “Boy With Luv” performance, the BTS vocalist showed to have a side labret lip piercing, only a stud at the time. Facing the biggest challenge to South Korea’s norms by the group, Jungkook’s piercing has now taken the form of a lip ring on the 24-year-old’s face.
Speculation Piercings
Since showing his bolder facial piercing collection, there has been a number of speculation on which other piercings the Grammy-nominee might have
Tongue Piercing
During Muster 2021, a two-day festival in which BTS and ARMY celebrate the group’s anniversary, Jungkook appeared to have a shiny speck on the inside of his mouth, resulting in many fans arguing whether it was a piercing or just saliva. Shortly after, the singer yet again seemed to have a piercing on his tongue during a Livestream to celebrate his birthday.
Nipple Piercing
During an episode of In the Soop, one of the reality TV shows created by HYBE, Jungkook’s thin and see-through attire shows a shiny speckle underneath the green shirt. Many fans have since questioned if the youngest member has gotten a nipple piercing or not. Yet, during the 2022 Permission To Dance: On Stage concerts in Las Vegas, Jungkook wore a rather revealing outfit during the group’s “Fake Love” performance at times showing his chest, which did not seem to have any piercings on it.
In total, the vocalist of BTS has 10 piercings on his body, most of them being concentrated on his ears, and recently expanding to his facial features.
In spite of all the speculations and uproars caused by the youngest BTS member, if there is one thing that can be expected from Jungkook’s body modifications, ARMY will always support the main singer and lead dancer of BTS.
If you’re a member of the BTS ARMY or are just curious about their music, you can check out their new album, Proof, which is set to be released on June 10th, and available for pre-ordering right now on most platforms.