When a caterpillar is finished growing, and has shed its last skin, it forms a chrysalis—a hard, protective outer layer—around itself in preparation for its transformation into a butterfly. In a metaphorical, or psychological sense, the “chrysalis stage” is when we realize our life is shifting… we’re growing, and maybe the old way of doing things isn’t working for us anymore. When BTS debuted, Jung Kook was 15. As the first few years of their career passed, he shed his skin over and over again, just like a caterpillar. And though Jung Kook had come of age at 19, when he hit his 20th birthday in 2017, he finally became a fully-fledged adult in South Korea. Over the next few years, Jung Kook would emerge more and more from his very own chrysalis. There were obvious physical changes—JK seemed intent upon experimenting and expressing himself through his appearance, in an almost devil-may-care manner. It felt like rebellion, but the most polite kind possible. Aside from his appearance, Jung Kook was growing inside as well. Though he claims to not be very introspective, JK can be very sentimental. When his pen hit paper, it was most often the fans he wrote about, like 2020’s “Still With You”, but sometimes he would reflect on his journey, who he was becoming, and who he had left behind. The baby of BTS wasn’t a baby any longer…

Jeon Jung Kook was born September 1, 1997 in Busan, South Korea where he lived with his parents and elder brother. During elementary and early middle school, Jung Kook began discovering he had natural talent in… well, pretty much anything he tried doing. He wasn’t particularly interested in music as a kid, but realized that he could, without any formal training, actually sing and dance fairly well. So in 2011, when he learned they would be holding auditions in Daegu, Jung Kook decided to try out for the talent show Superstar K. Though he wasn’t selected to be on the show, he did immediately receive casting offers from seven (how auspicious) different companies, including one of the “Big Three”—JYP Entertainment. However, Jung Kook saw RM (Rap Monster at the time) perform and that was it for him. He thought the older rapper was “so cool” and immediately decided he needed to join Big Hit so he could train with him. And so, BTS got their maknae (youngest) and their main vocalist all in one fell swoop. Years later, Jung Kook would admit that the responsibility placed on him at that age terrified him. He threw himself into training even more. Eventually, his hero RM gave him the nickname “Golden Maknae" because he was so good at everything. They didn’t know it at the time but this affectionate nickname would not only stick around for years, but also eventually define the standard Jung Kook would set for his entire career.

I’m writing this blog post while feeling deprived of quality time with the one and only Jeon Jung Kook. I got so used to spending time with him on his live streams, but now that he is away, a happy part of my life seems to be missing. Luckily, we can go back and watch his recordings anytime we want until Jung Kook returns to us in June of 2025.