Google has probably entered a dangerous game this week, after K-pop fans noticed that the picture of BTS singer Kim Seok-jin, simply known by his stage name Jin, has disappeared from the band’s page on the search engine. Many also spotted that Google now showed that there were “at least 6 members” in BTS, instead of seven.
Fans started to speculate that their misfortunes resulted from a deliberate campaign against BTS by its haters, or “antis”. BTS's stans, also known as the BTS Army, then rushed to act. Google was soon bombarded by complaints from the group’s fans, who requested to put the man’s pic back “as soon as possible”, claiming that he did not deserve such disrespect.
Following the collective attack, Jin’s identity and status in the band were soon recovered. However, when the one decides to search for BTS participants now, Google page will show that there are “at least 8 members” in the band, with one of them being faceless “South Korean actor” Kim Seok-jin. For this mysterious man, the picture is still missing.
Jin is the oldest member of the group and many speculated that he would be the first one to temporary leave the band in order to perform military service, which is mandatory for all males in the country aged between 18 and 28. However, the 27-year-old vocalist has never officially announced his departure from the band. Does it mean that his devoted followers were right in suspecting evil intent in what has just happened?