‘I became scared and couldn’t carry on’: BTS Jin reveals why he stopped the high-five tradition with fans

BTS member Jin has opened up about his decision to stop high-fiving tradition with fans during his solo tour, citing safety concerns following multiple incidents where fans gripped his hand too tightly.

During a livestream on Weverse after his sold-out show at London’s O2 Arena on August 5, the ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’ singer candidly explained why he halted the tradition of touching fans' hands, something he had joyfully done in earlier shows of his 'Run Seokjin Ep Tour'. According to Jin, while he originally enjoyed walking along the stage and greeting fans with a quick high-five, the moment became risky when some fans began pulling on his hand instead of just brushing it.

“After being pulled several times, I became scared and couldn’t carry on with the hand-touching. I just thought, if something were to go wrong because of me, I’d feel absolutely awful. Even though the fans genuinely wanted that moment of contact, I feel truly, truly sorry,” he said.

Jin revealed that despite repeatedly requesting fans to be gentle, some continued to hold on tightly, putting both him and audience members at risk. As a result, he decided to stop all physical contact and shift the focus to safer, fan-inclusive segments like the Moon sing-along introduction.

This is not the first time fan behaviour has raised concern for the BTS star. At an earlier fan event, a woman in her 50s from Japan was accused of kissing Jin on the cheek without consent, prompting legal action. Following that, Jin had gently reminded fans to avoid grabbing his hand and to touch it softly instead, saying, “it hurts.”

The issue resurfaced again during his UK concert where he addressed the matter publicly after receiving an overwhelming response from fans at the 20,000-capacity venue. The London show marked a historic moment for Jin, who became the first and only Asian solo artist to sell out a solo concert at the O2 Arena. He is set to perform another sold-out show at the same venue before wrapping up the UK leg of his tour.

During the concert, Jin also shared a light-hearted moment with the audience when he noticed that many fans were reacting to his Korean remarks even before the interpreter translated them.

“Does anyone speak Korean here?” he asked the crowd. When the fans confirmed, he added, “Earlier when I was talking and singing, it seemed about 10 per cent of you understood me. Did you start learning Korean because of us?” After the crowd responded with a resounding 'yes', Jin expressed his gratitude.

Jin will conclude his solo tour on August 10 before reuniting with his fellow BTS members to prepare for their next group comeback.