J-Hope's Hobbies Outside Of BTS Reveal How Deep His Love For Music Runs

J-Hope was a dancer long before his BTS days. According to Koreaboo, he attended Joy Dance Academy from the age of 10 to 16. He reportedly rode the bus for an hour each day to take classes there, and never missed a lesson, showing how dedicated he was to succeed. In middle school, he apparently became the youngest person to join a Gwangju dance team called NEURON. J-Hope actually referenced his time with the team in his 2019 cover of “Chicken Noodle Soup.”

“Joined NEURON, bounce with my team, ayy/ Went head over heels for dancing, workaholic, every day,” he raps. After getting his name out there, J-Hope became a background dancer for artists like GLAM and Jo Kwon.

Even though he trains long hours as a member of BTS, J-Hope still dances in his free time because he loves the hobby so much. For example, he sometimes films “J-Hope on the Street” videos during which he freestyles to his favorite songs. In January 2019, the star also took some time to mentor a group of trainees on the survival show UNDER NINETEEN.

J-Hope is heavily involved in the creation of BTS’ music. He’s produced a number of songs for the group like “Life Goes On” and “Fly To My Room,” as well as his solo songs like “Base Line” and “Airplane.” After dropping his debut mixtape, Hope World, in March 2018, J-Hope revealed he only worked on his album during free time outside of BTS.

“The team always comes first, so I focused on our projects as BTS and tried to make time in the hotel room, on the airplane, and whenever I could find a few minutes [for my mixtape],” he told TIME in March 2018. Since anything J-Hope touches is always amazing, fans hope he drops a second mixtape one day.

According to the Korea Music Copyright Association, as of March 2021, J-Hope has helped write 112 songs. The achievement made him not only one of the most credited BTS members but one of the most credited K-pop idols overall.

During a November 2020 interview with WSJ, J-Hope explained his songwriting process is “research-heavy” because he spends a lot of time thinking about his subject matter and figuring out what mood he wants to set through his music. “I first study the topic and think about what story I need to tell and what kind of content it should encompass. Sometimes the type of stories I’m dealing with are light, but sometimes they aren’t, so it’s important that I’m knowledgeable about what I’m working on,” he said.

School is important to all seven members of BTS. In July 2020, Big Hit revealed J-Hope, along with RM, Suga, Jimin, and V, graduated from Global Cyber University as a Broadcasting and Entertainment major. Despite already having a degree and being part of the biggest group in the world, the guys applied for graduate school to continue their studies.

In March 2019, J-Hope, Suga, and RM began attending Hanyang Cyber University to study Advertising and Media together. It’s unknown whether J-Hope is still a student at Hanyang in 2021, but during an Aug. 4 interview with WIRED, RM said J-Hope was taking English-language lessons. Although J-Hope’s English was already amazing, fans noticed he’s gotten more fluent lately, which shows how much he’s always improving.

Besides RM and Jin, J-Hope is another member of BTS who enjoys collecting. Whenever he posts pictures of his studio, fans always see more KAWS figures, plushies, and hats in the background. In March 2019, J-Hope appeared to get an inflatable KAWs figure from the company itself. Later that month, he and RM met the man behind the brand, Brian Donnelly, revealing just how much they love his work.