BTS Members: Names, Ages, and Who They Are

It doesn’t matter if you’re a baby ARMY just now discovering the BTS universe, or if you’ve been in the fandom for a while: there’s always more to learn about the 7 BTS members who show up in our lives at just the right moment, making everything a little more purple — and a lot happier.

This article gives you a full overview of each member’s profile and is also perfect to share with that friend who’s just getting started.

Let’s get to know our boys a little better? Ok, they’re not really boys anymore, but… you know what I mean, right? 😉

Let’s start with the basics: BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan, which can be translated as Bulletproof Boy Scouts) is a K-pop group formed in 2013 by BigHit Music — now part of the HYBE conglomerate — in Seoul, South Korea. In just over a decade, they went from a relatively unknown hip-hop group to one of the most important musical phenomena in history.

If K-pop is a genre known worldwide, with countless groups finding success, it’s because BTS paved the way (hence the iconic phrase). They are the most-streamed on platforms, the biggest album sellers, the ones filling stadiums around the world, appearing on the covers of the biggest magazines on the planet, breaking records left and right, and filling the walls of HYBE with award after award.

They lead the biggest fandom in the music industry: ARMY.

Who Are the BTS Members?

BTS has seven members, and getting to know each one of them is part of the experience of joining this fandom — and honestly, one of the most fun parts.

Don’t be fooled! No matter how long you’ve been in the fandom, there’s always something new to discover about each of our boys — partly because there’s so much content out there, and partly because these are 7 completely different people. To the point where you wonder: how did seven people this different, artists with such complex and unique styles, manage to work so perfectly together as a group?

That’s exactly it. It’s the differences that make it richer. Each member has a distinct personality, specific talents, and a defined role within the group. It’s this dynamic between seven people who are so different yet so complementary that makes BTS what it is.

The BTS members are: RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. Let’s introduce each one properly.

Before we dive in, let’s clear up one of the most common points of confusion: the members’ ages. It’s one of the first things that trips everyone up when entering the K-pop world! The logic is very different from what most people are used to — but it makes sense once you understand where it comes from.

How Does the Korean Age System Work?

In the Western age system, the math is simple: you’re born at 0 and turn 1 on your first birthday. Your age reflects exactly how long you’ve been alive. But in the traditional Korean system, things work differently in two key ways:

First, you’re already 1 year old at birth. The idea behind this is that the time spent in the womb counts — pregnancy is considered part of your existence, so by the time you’re born, you’ve already accumulated “one year of life.”

Second, everyone ages together on January 1st, not on their individual birthdays. So if you were born in December, you gain another year in January — regardless of having been alive for only a few weeks outside the womb.

In practice, this means a baby born in December could technically be 2 years old by the Korean system with just a few days of life. It might seem strange, but it’s a cultural thing that deserves to be understood and respected. The result is that Koreans tend to be 1 or 2 years older in the Korean count than in the international one, depending on when they were born and the time of year the question is asked.

For BTS, this created constant confusion for international fans: the ages shown in official Korean profiles were always higher than those circulating in international profiles.

It’s worth noting that this is already changing: in June 2023, South Korea officially adopted the international system for legal and administrative purposes. The traditional system still exists culturally — especially in social contexts and age-based hierarchy, which is very important in Korean culture — but legally, everyone now uses the Western count. That’s why Bangtan Now uses international ages in all member profiles.

With that cleared up, let’s move on!

What Are the BTS Members’ Names?

One of the most common questions from newcomers is understanding the names — after all, each member has a stage name (often very short and catchy) and a real name. Let’s talk about each of them:

RM

Real name: Kim Namjoon

Age: 31 years old (born September 12, 1994)

Role in the group: Leader, main rapper

RM — beyond being a rapper and the group’s leader — is also BTS’s main spokesperson in international interviews, thanks to his near-perfect English, which he taught himself almost entirely by watching the TV show Friends. He also communicates easily in Japanese and is widely considered the genius of the group. Rumor has it his IQ is 148, well above average.

He’s the member with the strongest presence in the art world, an active collector and frequent visitor of museums and galleries around the globe — a habit the ARMY lovingly nicknamed “namjooning,” meaning wandering through art and nature, his other great passion. Literature is another strong hobby, and books he recommends consistently shoot to the top of bestseller lists worldwide.

RM has been BTS’s leader since the group’s formation and is one of the main creative forces behind their music. A prolific composer and intellectual with a gift for connecting ideas that goes far beyond rap — he was the first member to be signed by BigHit. His solo career includes the albums .mono (2018), Indigo (2022), and Right Place, Wrong Person (2024), the latter named the best K-pop album of 2024 by Billboard in their annual editorial picks, and the album that earned RM the Favorite K-Pop Artist award at the 2025 American Music Awards.

In the fashion world, he stands out as a global ambassador for Bottega Veneta. And he doesn’t stop there. RM has spoken at the United Nations, at the White House, and most recently, in October 2025, became the first K-pop idol to speak at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju — one of those moments that make it clear he’s far bigger than any label.

Namjoon also announced the curation of the RM x SFMOMA exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, scheduled to run from October 2026 to February 2027.

Jin

Real name: Kim Seokjin

Age: 33 years old (born December 4, 1992)

Role in the group: Main vocalist, oldest member

Jin is the king of dad jokes and has that iconic, contagious laugh that sounds like a windshield wiper — and we absolutely love it. He’s also a huge gaming enthusiast and a seriously talented cook who makes a point of cooking for the other members, a habit that may have been born out of necessity in the early days but became both a hobby and a way of showing love and care.

If you dig up old BTS videos from the debut and pre-debut era, you’ll find plenty of Jin cooking for the members in a tiny kitchen with mismatched pots and barely any ingredients. All very simple, but made with so much love — he even borrowed his mom’s pots to feed everyone in their small, cramped shared dorm.

Jin is the oldest BTS member — the hyung of all hyungs — and carries that title with a blend of elegance and humor that’s entirely his own. Globally known by the nickname Worldwide Handsome, he’s also responsible for some of the group’s funniest and most heartwarming moments.

His second solo album, ECHO, released in May 2025, was a global hit — reaching number 1 on iTunes in 63 regions. The title track Don’t Say You Love Me became the most-streamed K-pop song on Spotify in 2025. Jin also completed his first solo tour, the RunSeokjin Ep. Tour, covering North America, Europe, and Asia — and later released a tour documentary in cinemas and on DVD.

A global ambassador for Gucci, he made waves at Milan Fashion Week and drew serious attention from critics. Beyond fashion, Jin is also a successful entrepreneur — he’s a co-owner of i-Gin, a beverage company — and regularly appears on TV and YouTube shows. We joke that he’s the hardest-working man in K-pop, and honestly, the numbers back it up.

SUGA

Real name: Min Yoongi

Age: 33 years old (born March 9, 1993)

Role in the group: Main rapper, music producer

He’s the BTS member known both by his stage name SUGA and by Agust D, his alter ego for his solo career.

For years, ARMY believed the name SUGA came from a basketball position — shooting guard — his favorite sport. That was always his explanation, and it’s not entirely wrong. But in the WIRED Autocomplete Interview on YouTube in April 2026, Yoongi finally admitted that the basketball story was essentially a “cover,” because the real explanation was too much of a hassle to get into every time — so he just stopped trying.

The real origin? He revealed that the name was suggested by Bang Si-hyuk, founder of HYBE, inspired by legendary American boxer Sugar Ray Leonard — and explained that in combat sports, fighters known for brilliant striking skills are often called “Suga,” a nickname also used by UFC stars like Sean O’Malley.

So for over a decade, even the other BTS members were repeating the basketball version without knowing it was a simplification. Min Yoongi, in the most Min Yoongi way possible — which basically means constantly surprising ARMY — kept the secret without batting an eye. Absolutely on brand. 😄

SUGA (always written in caps) is one of the greatest music producers in K-pop and has one of the most dense and daring solo careers in the group, under his Agust D alter ego — a name that comes from the reversed anagram of “DT Suga,” where DT stands for Daegu Town, the city where he was born and raised.

If you want to meet the rawest, most honest, and most intense side of Min Yoongi, that’s where you’ll find him. The Agust D trilogy — Agust D (2016), D-2 (2020), and D-DAY (2023) — is one of the most courageous bodies of work ever produced within K-pop, speaking openly about mental health, identity, and social criticism without holding back.

Always full of surprises, despite being the most introverted of the group, he also made a name for himself as an interviewer on the series Suchwita, where he sat down with other idols, athletes, actors, and TV hosts alike — basically pulling off an almost-Jimmy-Fallon moment, Korean style. You can watch the full series on ARMY TV+.

Shortly after being discharged from military service in June 2025, SUGA moved fans and the general public alike by announcing a historic donation of 5 billion won (approximately 3.5 million USD) for the creation of the Min Yoongi Treatment Center at Severance Hospital in Seoul, dedicated to children and teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). And a detail that says a lot about who he is: during his military service, he worked as a social worker and volunteer music teacher for autistic children. ARMY lovingly started calling him Professor Min. We truly don’t deserve this man…

j-hope

Real name: Jung Hoseok

Age: 32 years old (born February 18, 1994)

Role in the group: Main dancer, rapper, vocalist

j-hope (always written in lowercase, that’s just how it is) is officially BTS’s mood maker — the one who sets the tone for the entire group’s vibe. He has this way of walking into a room and literally changing the atmosphere.

In many ways, he shares the group’s leadership with RM when it comes to performance. You’ll find plenty of videos online showing how he guides the group’s stage presence as a whole, keeping a sharp eye on every single movement.

j-hope is often called BTS’s dance machine — and if you’ve seen any BTS performance, you already know exactly why.

Beyond that, Hobi — as he’s also known in the fandom — is one of the most recognized fashion icons in K-pop and founded his own fashion label, Human Hope, in collaboration with designer NIGO. He’s also been a global ambassador for Louis Vuitton since 2023.

His solo career, which had already built up an impressive catalogue with the mixtape Hope World (2018), the studio album Jack in the Box (2022), and the special album Hope on the Street Vol. 1 (2024), shone even brighter in 2025. That year, he released the singles trilogy Sweet Dreams, Mona Lisa, and Killin’ It Girl, brought together under the Charm of HOPE project, and completed his first worldwide solo tour, the Hope on The Stage Tour — with sold-out shows and packed stadiums from start to finish.

Another major milestone came in July 2025: j-hope headlined Lollapalooza Berlin at the Olympic Stadium, becoming the first Korean artist to take the festival’s main stage. The show was broadcast live to the entire world. Our sunshine lit up Berlin.

Jimin

Real name: Park Jimin

Age: 30 years old (born October 13, 1995)

Role in the group: Main vocalist, main dancer

Jimin is known for a generosity that goes far beyond the stage. His father and brother joined him in becoming the first family trio to be inducted into the Green Noble Club, an organization that recognizes South Korea’s top individual donors in support of children’s causes and social welfare. For the Parks, philanthropy is clearly a family value.

Jimin is the shortest in the lineup — if you can even call 5’8″ short… But on stage, he’s an unstoppable force of energy. As a main vocalist and dancer, his stage presence is hypnotic.

His solo career took off with the album Face (2023) and solidified with Muse (2024), which broke extraordinary records: the track Who spent 33 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, one of the longest runs for a K-pop solo single in the history of the American chart.

In 2026, Jimin has accumulated over 8 billion streams on Spotify — yes, billion — making him one of the most-streamed K-pop solo artists in history. He’s a global ambassador for Dior, and every time he shows up on a runway or magazine cover, the internet loses its mind.

V

Real name: Kim Taehyung

Age: 30 years old (born December 30, 1995)

Role in the group: Main vocalist

V has a very particular artistic sensibility: he loves photography (and shares his shots under the pseudonym Vante), old black-and-white films, jazz, and classical music. He’s the kind of person who seems to have arrived from another era. A true original.

Also affectionately known as Tete or Tae, he has one of the most recognizable voices in K-pop — that deep, warm baritone that stays with you long after you’ve heard it. His solo album, Layover (2023), is the musical equivalent of a warm hug — trust me on this one.

His solo career runs parallel to a growing presence in the worlds of fashion and art, and honestly, that universe seems tailor-made for him.

He’s been a global ambassador for Celine since March 2023 — and was the first K-pop idol to be chosen by the French maison, which had never worked with artists from the genre before.

The so-called “V effect” in fashion is very real: when he shows up at an event, the world stops. In October 2025, he attended Vogue Hollywood, personally invited by Anna Wintour. In November, he became the first global ambassador for TIRTIR, a Korean cosmetics brand. He also represents Cartier, the Compose Cafe coffee chain, and Coca-Cola Zero, sharing with Jin the title of the busiest commercial-working idols in the world.

Jung Kook

Real name: Jeon Jung Kook

Age: 28 years old (born September 1, 1997)

Role in the group: Main vocalist, dancer, rapper — the Golden Maknae

Jung Kook was barely more than a kid when he joined BigHit after being noticed at an audition, and he literally grew up inside BTS. The entire group watched him go from a teenager to one of the biggest artists in the world, often compared to stars like Michael Jackson.

He’s athletically gifted — he trains in weightlifting, martial arts, running, and boxing — and still finds time to draw, cook, and edit stunning videos (look up GCF, or Golden Closet Films, on YouTube). He’s the kind of person who makes everyone feel slightly inadequate, but in the most lovable way possible 😅

Jung Kook is the maknae — the term for the youngest member of a K-pop group — and is called the Golden Maknae precisely because he excels at everything he does. Whether it’s performing for a crowd in Times Square or making ramen, he always stands out.

Those who’ve been in the fandom for a while have watched every phase of his growth with a fondness that’s hard to put into words for anyone on the outside.

His first solo album, Golden (2023), was a phenomenon. The song Seven became one of the biggest K-pop hits outside of Korea.

He also starred alongside Jimin in two seasons of the reality show Are You Sure?! (Disney+). Be prepared to laugh — a lot.

He’s a global ambassador for Calvin Klein (since 2023), Chanel Beauty (since 2025), and Hublot (since 2026). Every brand he touches becomes an instant obsession — the “Jung Kook effect” is very, very real.

How Old Are the BTS Members?

To make it easy, since this is always one of the most common questions, here are the BTS members’ ages in 2026, from oldest to youngest — using the international age system:

• Jin (Kim Seokjin): 33 years old — born December 4, 1992
• SUGA (Min Yoongi): 33 years old — born March 9, 1993
• j-hope (Jung Hoseok): 32 years old — born February 18, 1994
• RM (Kim Namjoon): 31 years old — born September 12, 1994
• Jimin (Park Jimin): 30 years old — born October 13, 1995
• V (Kim Taehyung): 30 years old — born December 30, 1995
• Jung Kook (Jeon Jung Kook): 28 years old — born September 1, 1997

When Did the BTS Members Return from the Military?

Mandatory military service was a tough time for ARMY, who missed their boys terribly — but it’s over!!!!

In South Korea, military service is mandatory for all able-bodied men, lasting between 18 and 21 months. BTS announced in 2022 that all members would complete their service — and that’s exactly what happened, in a staggered timeline:

• Jin: enlisted December 13, 2022, and was discharged June 12, 2024 — the first to return, and he was already back to work the very next day!
• j-hope: enlisted April 18, 2023, and was discharged October 17, 2024. Alongside Jin, he took on the enormous task of keeping the world’s biggest fandom entertained. Brave souls!
• RM and V: enlisted December 11, 2023, and were discharged June 10, 2025.
• Jimin and Jung Kook: enlisted December 12, 2023, and were discharged June 11, 2025.
• SUGA: enlisted September 22, 2023 as a social service worker (an alternative form of service) and was discharged June 21, 2025 — the last to complete his service. His alternative military service (which is longer for that reason) was due to an old shoulder injury that made him unfit for active duty, which is standard procedure in South Korea.

With everyone back, BTS resumed their collective activities in 2025. Finally!

No BTS Member Has Died

If you came here looking for that information: you can relax. No BTS member has died. This rumor may have started from the fact that before their debut, BTS had several trainees competing for spots in the group — none of them died, they just didn’t make the final cut after the intense BigHit training process 😅

All seven members — RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook — are alive, well, and active.

This type of search usually comes from rumors spreading on social media, misinformation, or confusion with other artists and groups. Unfortunately, celebrity death hoaxes are common online and spread fast — but in this case, there’s absolutely no truth to them.

If you come across anything worrying about the BTS members, always verify through official sources: the BigHit Music website, Weverse, or the members’ verified social media accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions About the BTS Members

Here are the most common questions we see on Google about the boys.

Who are the BTS members?

The seven BTS members are RM (leader and main rapper), Jin (main vocalist), SUGA (main rapper and producer), j-hope (main dancer and rapper), Jimin (main vocalist and dancer), V (main vocalist), and Jung Kook (main vocalist, dancer, and rapper — the Golden Maknae). The group was formed in 2013 by BigHit Music in Seoul, South Korea.

What are the BTS members’ names?

Each member has a stage name and a real name. RM is Kim Namjoon; Jin is Kim Seokjin; SUGA is Min Yoongi (also known as Agust D); j-hope is Jung Hoseok; Jimin is Park Jimin; V is Kim Taehyung; and Jung Kook is Jeon Jung Kook.

How old are the BTS members?

In 2026, using the international age system: Jin is 33 (born 1992); SUGA is 33 (born 1993); j-hope is 32 (born 1994); RM is 31 (born 1994); Jimin and V are both 30 (born 1995); and Jung Kook is 28 (born 1997).

When did the BTS members return from the military?

They’re all back! Jin was discharged June 12, 2024; j-hope on October 17, 2024. RM and V were discharged June 10, 2025; Jimin and Jung Kook on June 11, 2025; and SUGA was the last, on June 21, 2025. Since then, all members have been active — whether with solo projects or as a group.

Where to Start With BTS?

Now that you know who the BTS members are, their real names, ages, and what each of them does, the next step is diving in for real. And that’s where the real challenge begins: where do you even start with a discography this extensive?

If you want a structured starting point, Bangtan Now has everything you need: full member profiles, detailed discography, group timeline, and much more. Explore at your own pace — and if you have questions, ARMY is one of the most welcoming communities on the internet. Come on in, the door’s always open. 💜