j-hope 5/20 Live Highlights
DONGAPS dinner- the 94s and 95s debrief after
호지남태 HoJiNamTae (the first syllables of all their names)
Ho (Hoseok, j-hope) | Ji (Jimin) | Nam (Namjoon, RM) | Tae (Taehyung, V)
My commentary in green.
Whenever they do a live where they're unpacking something serious, talking deeply about a new project, uncovering something really important/controversial/etc. - I'll translate that live or portion of the live in transcript-style, as in word-for-word!
BUT - when they're just lightly unwinding after their concerts, doing mukbbang/random nonsense type lives - I used to give highlights on threads in real time (until the ARIRANG tour, it was only Jin/j-hope individually touching base after their solo concerts), I'll be going back to that format so that it can be more up-to-speed!
But rest assured, if there's ever anything that's really critical, I'll do a more thorough translation!
Thanks for being here!
RM points out it's a continuation of the '맛집 탐방' crew (matjib tambang) = foodie review crew from their previous live together with RM, Jin, and V. In that live, they'd also mentioned that j-hope was part of their little foodie crew here and there. The main distinction from the rest of the members being that this little crew seem to try to intentionally seek out new places to try - especially, not exclusively, driven by V's initiative. During the RM/Jin/V live, they discuss j-hope's rock honey in depth and also mention that he's on/off as part of that crew as well depending on vibes.
At the mention of this 'matjib' crew, j-hope doesn't recognize it..
j-hope: what is that?
RM: a crew that sought out new foodie spots
j-hope: oh really?
V: ..hobi hyung was part of it too
RM: hobi kinda joins on/off per his vibe/condition that day
j-hope: true.. but you should go without me
RM: especially in Korea, you don't really come with [to j-hope]
Jimin makes 2 ARIH Ramens, tries some of the K-Super Spicy Seaweed, and realizes that V can't/shouldn't eat that one because it's likely too spicy so gets back up to make 2 more (a literal angel) - and j-hope comments that he'd left out 4 for them when he pulled them out. RM realizes that they turned on the live and basically are just chatting amongst themselves and V confirms that's how he always conducts lives. Just turn it on and do whatever.
j-hope says that this flavor (the K-Super Spicy Seaweed) is for people who really enjoy spicy food. Jimin and RM seem to enjoy it.
I didn't get any of the instant versions, only the stovetop kind. And I didn't get this flavor because I feel like it'll taste ocean-y and I don't eat seafood, but for anyone else that has tried any of the seaweed flavors, did it taste very oceany? My fave so far is the truffle bulgogi and butter soy sauce - but tbh, since the noodles (stovetop) are so good, I mix it with actual soy sauce and actual butter and it is GLORIOUS. I stopped using the flavor packets for the soy sauce butter after the first one. 1000/10 recommend, use the noodles & real soy sauce & real butter for a great time + a tiny smidgelet of sesame oil
RM: Jimin has gone for the Legolas look recently - every time I look at him I feel like should join the Fellowship of the Ring
Jimin: gamsahamnida
RM to V: the BGM is nicee ...
V: of course it is 😏
RM: how sensible of you
V: hehehe 😏😜
RM: what time do you get up?
Jimin: he (V) wakes up, eats, and then goes back to sleep
RM: oh that's right .. you wake up and then go back to sleep later right??
V in tiny: yea
it's SOOOO endearing that Jimin answers for V because the 95s are twins and Jimin is the best ajkdfl;gja;ldfjga;lfd Jimin is seriously SO. SWEET. i die every time.
Eating Stanford pizza from a spot V has brought to their attention. They're all very happy with this pizza and hyping up how good it is
j-hope: I've already eaten at this [pizza] spot twice before and it's SO good
with food still in his mouth, V taps j-hope and points to himself because he wants to mention that he was also there!
jg;afdj;klajd;lgja;k sleepy V is very cute and... this is neither here nor there but RM is SO FCKNG HOT ON THIS LIVE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MEajdfkg;af k!llmeeee
j-hope to RM: did you try traditional foods ..like in Italy?
RM: of course I have
j-hope: is it good? how was it?
RM: honestly though I do like Korean style pizza.. like the kind of pizza that Koreans tweaked based off of American pizza
V: isn't this kinda like that??
j-hope: don't you think this is kinda like K-style
RM: it is kinda like K-style - and it might be that I just haven't yet had "good" pizza in Italy but I thought it was a bit too salty
I'm sure you're all aware but same foods can taste COMPLETELY different in different parts of the world? And what is regarded as "good" changes DRASTICALLY based on the local palate
EVEN things like branded, processed foods and beverages can tweak their recipes to best fit the preferences of the market they're selling to! Honduran Pepsi tastes almost UNRECOGNIZABLY different from American Pepsi! I'm sure this is true else where
all this to say- if you feel the need to say something like Korea must have shitty pizza if they think this is good - or BTS must have weird palates (because yes, these are things i've seen written after this live) - consider this: hey, stob it.
as one born and raised in NY, I can say that in America, NY pizza is unparalelled 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 - WITHOUT shitting on ANYONEEEE else's preferences or suggesting that anyone else's tastes are inferior to mine #NYPIZZARULES
RM saying this is with FULL acknowledgment that the version of pizza he most prefers IS the Korean-ified version of an American-ified version of pizza wherever that leaves pizzas..
And for what it's worth, as a Korean-American, I've noticed that over the last decade or so, Korean food in/from Korea has gotten SO MUCH SWEETER. I do not like this. No one in my family enjoys this update loll
RM: let's check it out when we go this time! ...are we going?
no one seems to know for sure at this point in the live but it is confirmed a bit later that Rome, unfortunately, is not a tour destination at this time (Jimin confirms off camera with staff and then shouts it back to the guys)
Jimin: what do you wanna try [if we do go]?
RM: like Italian pizza?
Jimin: as in any Italian food
RM: carbonara
j-hope to RM: what's the actual pronunciation of carbonara??
::blank stares all around::
RM to ARMY: you're all doing well right? ::chuckles to himself as he realizes this is one of the few times he's addressed the camera/viewers directly::
j-hope: we are doing sooo so well
RM to j-hope: the people were really curious about your rock honey [see previous live here, extensive discussion over this honey]
j-hope: my rock honey?
j-hope goes on to explain that during enlistment sometimes he'd be given like those honey sticks (image below) and that if he'd eat that bit of honey when he was feeling kinda drained, it was a good quick boost of calories/sugar and upon having this realization, he started having a spoonful while he was on his solo tour before performances.
RM goes into what exactly rock honey is, and that seokchung (석청-wild rock honey) is one of the most expensive honeys. It comes from bees that build hives on rocks and so it has more minerals and are found in mountains - given the rarity of these types of hives and the difficulty of retrieval, this makes a lot of sense. They talk about how j-hope's honey helps them feel some type of 'preparedness' (imagined or otherwise) before going on stage so much so that now ALL of them feel incomplete without having a bit of j-hope's honey. j-hope mentions that so mid-way, he ran out. RM adds "it's because we keep scarfing it down - we're all sorry about this." j-hope laughs and says so his parents sent him an emergency supply but that this new supply has a different feel/texture to it and it doesn't hit the same
-silence cuz everyone is busy eating-
j-hope: everyone's so quiet cuz we're so focused on eating
Jimin: i was so hungry though
j-hope: no no eat first for sure
RM: we can eat and then communicate/chat [w ARMY]
They talk about the fact they only have Vegas left before heading back to Korea and then to Busan
RM: i haven't been back to Busan in such a long time.. i think this will be the first time since my military discharge
j-hope: me too
RM: you haven't had to go back huh
j-hope: what reason would I have to go to Busan?
RM: ...to see the seagulls?
j-hope: ...what?
RM::laughing to himself in tiny:: to see the seagulls?
j-hope: not even a little bit
Jimin: ..what??
j-hope: Jimin, have you been back?
RM: Jimin, have you been back to Busan? It's your hometown
Jimin: o_o I haven't been back since we did that concert..
Jimin explains that even if they have a holiday, the time it takes to travel there and then have to travel back the next day for work, it often doesn't make sense to trek out to Busan so he hasn't been able to go back in a longgg time even if it is his hometown
Jimin hasn't been back to his HOMETOWN since the free 'Yet to Come' concert in Busan in October of 2022. For all BABY ARMY, the significance of this concert was (1) to promote South Korea's bid for the 2030 World Expo [Busan lost, Riyadh was chosen] and (2) although they weren't yet able to announce it - this was the last concert they'd have before the members would start the enlistment process.
The official announcement would be made 2 days later via Weverse - the announcement that devasted a global fandom.
RUN BTS choreography performed FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER at the YTC Concert in Busan, 2022
On the topic of Busan, j-hope asks Jimin how his father is doing - and then about all the other members' fathers as well
Jimin's dad is doing better - exercising more and losing weight; RM's dad has gotten into skiing lately; V's dad (who RM says is a fashionista along with j-hope's dad) has become a bit of a homebody in the recent past and finds going out annoying and prefers to be home or just to step out very locally for drinks
RM: I REALLY love going out
j-hope: you love going out?
RM: yea
j-hope: actually yea.. since getting here - haven't you been out every single day without fail?
RM: ..yea.. you really can't catch me staying inside ever..
j-hope: it is incredible forreal [RM's inclination/ability to go out all the time]
RM: what have you guys been up to then? games?
j-hope: we do.. like pickleball ..work out.. then games once in a while - I borrowed Jimin's game console to play on the tv a few times
RM: playstation?
j-hope: nintendo nintendo
RM: I see.. I was curious what you guys had been up to
V: you should've gotten in touch - I wasn't doing anything
Jimin to V: know why? [RM] hyung has to go out so he doesn't wanna hang out with us
V: hyung
RM: nooo not true
V: hyung
RM: i wanted to be included so ..with the food and the
V: hyung
RM: and the pickleball
V: when I get up, I always ask where is Namjoon hyung and they're like "oh Namjoonsshi is ..."
j-hope: I also alwaysss ask where Namjoon is
V: right?
Jimin: I ask too!
j-hope: I begin each day/all my workdays with the question "what is Namjoon up to today?"
RM: thanks guys
j-hope: I think the only members that don't really go out are.. well I guess Jin hyung doesn't really go out and actually this time around, Jung Kook really hasn't been going anywhere.. right?
RM: to be honest, i thought no one was really going out other than myself..??
V/j-hope: no not trueee
V: whenever I ask about yoongi hyung, they're like "oh he has dining plans with an acquaintance of his"
RM: yoongi hyung knows so many people
V: and then "Namjoon is out visiting a gallery and then eating out nearby"
Jimin: and then I'm in my room
V: hehe you and I are in our rooms and hobi hyung..
j-hope: this tour, I've been going to a lot of places with this one [points to V] and so I wind up inadvertently matching my schedule to his
RM: well cuz Taehyung's kinda the type to be like "imma go out somewhere with hoseok hyung later" without actually having consulted you - kinda like that
j-hope: that's true also.. then I'll adjust to go out [with him]
RM: exactly
j-hope mentions that his perception of the tour is that it's longgg and RM agrees that it's because they have so many more days off [compared to other tours] and mentions how they all (all the members) had a lot of discussions about how to plan this tour so they could sustainably, comfortably go for as long as possible [without burning out/getting exhausted/etc.] because in the past, their tight/packed schedule would leave them worn
V: I had a really hard time on the last tour
RM: I did too. Probably you and me the most right?
V: mm [yea] ..
RM: [re: previous tours] I reallllyy enjoy the concerts themselves but the days outside of the concerts - so I'd actually like the concert days more because ..how should I put it.. I guess I really am Korean because I feel [on the concert days] that I'm doing something and there's a point to my existence [on those days]...like 'ah, I've done something today'
j-hope nods in agreement
V: cuz back in the day we had to be so careful about everything like "oh Taehyungsshi, right now there are too many fans crowding the entrance, so you shouldn't leave" - and I'd be like sigh okay..and stuck in the hotel all day - but now it's like - "oh Taehyungsshi, the fans are crowding the entrance" and I'm like "that's fine. I'll be leaving" and I make a run for it
j-hope: hahaha
V: and then go to pickleball and then okay.. pics are posted? vids are posted? then I'll never go back to that location again
j-hope has taken a liking to pickleball
Jimin is happy that there are more opportunities where the members can go out to eat together
most people know my "bias" is OT7 > RM | SUGA | JK but I swear Jimin is so so so so so sweet and the fact that he naturally has the personality/character that disarms people is so endearing... but I also love all of the rest of them so much.. truly SO differently critical to the team dynamic that it's incomparable
RM: Jimin's the type to really struggle through fine dining and stuff like that
V: oh like waiting for the food to come out?
RM: like he never eats dessert, cuz he's such a 상남자
V: he's a total 테토남 for sure
*상남자 (sang namja) = kinda like manly man, no frills, tough, very 'sturdy'
*테토남 (taeto nam) = recent internet slang short for "testosterone man" - which is kinda like the previous word but more 'aggressive, dominant, highly competitive, etc.'
the difference could kinda be seen like a 'sang namja' is "manly" versus a "taetoname" is "lots of testosterone" so there is overlap for sure but a slight difference in nuance - and these words could ABSOLUTELY be compliments, neutral observations, or insults (hinting at obnoxious/toxic masculinity) depending on context - here, mostly a neutral observation leaning slightly complimentary - there's no hint of toxic masculinity given here
in the past - members have often spoken about Jimin's preferences re: his palate as more 'basic/child-like' (katsu, kimchi jjigae, kimbap, etc. - simple options that are normally served to children "kids menu stuff")
RM: Jimin's the kind to just be satisfied with like rice + kimchi and call it a day
and I gotta say, while I don't mind fine dining of course and have been fortunate enough to have some really cool dining experiences - on any given day, I'd prefer a heaping portion of comfort food > beautifully crafted tiny wisps of food with like sauce painted on the plate with gold and a flower. different standards for different scenarios of course - but ON AVERAGE~ i'm team Jimin on this lol
RM: but now he's trying desserts.. he's trying wines..
V: Jimin.. if the appetizer comes out ...and like 10 minutes later the first course comes out ..he's like ::visibly stressed sigh::
Jimin::laughs::
RM: like he knows..
j-hope: there were a few restaurants that were hard for Jimin
V: all like "imma dieeee imma dieeee" (quoting Jimin)
Jimin: I mean it's good [fine dining] - but because I'm just used to food coming out quickly (re: Korean restaurants that he most prefers that serve the go-to's, like meat or rice + banchans + soups, etc.) [just watch this] so it'll come out but it's like this big 🤏🏻 ..when i'm so hungry.. so I'll eat it [one bite] and then ::starts convulsing::
::the members burst out laughing::
RM (clarifying further to mitigate misunderstanding): because Korean places that serve gukbap (rice with usually a classic Korean soup they specialize in - e.g., oxtail bone broth, soondae) will serve you nearly on the spot - so being used to that sorta thing - fine dining can be a little bit challenging [for him]
Jimin: I think it's cuz I've tried both extremes - like in Korea - I eat quickly.. but then I've been to a place where the meal was had over 3 hours
RM: sure that's not easy
Jimin: 3 and a half hoursss
RM: like michelin 3 stars?
Jimin: yea.. I mean I was curious for sure
RM: right cuz Culinary Class Wars is fun [to watch]
Jimin: but woww.. I really wanted to go home
he's so friggng cute jakl;djfglajdfg no one hurt Jimin
