In the K-pop industry, there are many different ways to scout trainees for idol groups. BTS is no exception. Bang Si-hyuk and the staff of BigHit Music used a variety of мєтнods to discover and recruit the seven members who now make up BTS in the years leading up to their debut.

For example, RM was introduced to Bang PD through rapper Sleepy, who was impressed by RM’s songwriting and rapping talent within the underground hip-hop community. Meanwhile, j-hope and SUGA both participated in Big Hit’s auditions. Thanks to their high rankings, they secured trainee spots for the BTS project.

These scouting мєтнods are common and routine in the idol industry. However, what makes things interesting is that quite a few idols — including some BTS members — were discovered directly on the street or through a quick, υиєχρє¢тє∂ opportunity. For instance, Jin was approached by Big Hit staff while walking down the street during his freshman year as an acting major in college. Similar to Jin’s case, it was recently revealed that V was recruited simply because of a photo.

Specifically, the news began circulating on March 6 when Oricon News published an interview with Kim Mijeong, a producer and former talent scout affiliated with BigHit Music. During the interview, she recalled the moment she discovered Kim Taehyung — one of the most successful scouting stories of her career.

When she had just started working as a talent scout, Kim once went on a tiring business trip to Daegu under scorching heat. For nearly a week, she had been exhausted after visiting numerous academies but still failed to find any promising faces. While resting by the roadside, she happened to notice a small, old academy nearby. Although she did not have high expectations, her professional instinct pushed her to try her luck one last time, so she contacted them and asked to come inside.

The staff there apologetically explained that most of their students were older and that they did not have any young candidates who fit what she was looking for. Refusing to give up, Kim asked to look through photos from a recent event held by the academy. Among the many pictures, one suddenly made her stop. It was not a flashy performance or dance moment — it was simply a photo capturing the bright smile of a teenage boy named Kim Taehyung.

She recalled that moment: “While I was looking through them, there was a photo that really caught my eye. That was V. It was not a picture of him dancing. It was just a shot of him with a big, radiant smile. When he actually walked into the room, the moment I saw him I thought, ‘Oh, he is the one.’ When I called to tell him he had pαѕѕed, he said ‘Are you sure this is not a scam?’”

Even now, whenever she remembers that innocent reaction, she cannot help but laugh at the amusing beginning of a future global star!

Meanwhile, V himself once spoke about his own doubts when he was recruited by BigHit Music in such an “unusual” way: “As a boy from the countryside I wondered what a company from Seoul was like and went to watch the agency's auditions out of curiosity. When I was about to go home in the middle of their auditions, someone from the agency stopped me and said, ‘If it's soмєтнing that you want to do, then do your best,’ so I became a trainee. But at first, I was pretty doubtful and suspicious of why I was chosen. I didn't quite trust them completely. But I decided to take a leap of faith and made an effort in the dance lessons.”

In the end, both V and Kim Mijeong’s faith proved to be right and well-placed, as he and BTS went on to achieve unprecedented global success. Fans cannot help but remark that V truly seems born to be a star — as if the universe had already written his destiny:

- Taehyung was born to be a star. Ofc, no one can resist that boxy smile

- Another favourite story of Taehyung!! He was meant to be on stage

- taehyung aura is really soмєтнing even before he became an idol, he just had that “it” factor

- Haha the last one cracks me up! Taehyung is born to be the brightest star indeed

- Tae alluring aura and attracting ppl right frm his teenage

- Awww. I literally have tears in my eyes. Taetae my precious baby he was destined for greatness. So proud to be his fan

- So now we have the pov of person who discovered Taehyung. All i knew is how he auditioned coz he just accompanied his friend but Tae was the one who pαѕѕed.

- Taehyung really was destined to be world’s brightest star

- Aww.... He was attracting ppl since very young age

- I love reading this stuff. When people from their early days share their impressions of our darling Taehyungie