The year he turned 18, BTS’s debut single 2 Cool 4 Skool came out, and a debut showcase was held at Ilji Art Hall in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul. In August 2014, one year and two months after debut, BTS released its first full-length album, Dark & Wild.
In 2015, he performed the unit stage “24/7 Heaven” with Jimin, Suga and Jungkook at BTS’s first headlining concert, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life on Stage. In October 2016, BTS’s second full-length album, Wings, carried “Stigma,” a solo song he wrote and composed. That December, he made his acting debut as Han-sung in KBS2’s Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth. In June 2017, for the group’s fourth debut anniversary, he gave fans “4 O’Clock,” a song he made with RM.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 23, in May, he appeared as the lead in the comeback trailer for the third full-length album Love Yourself: Tear, and the solo song “Singularity” was praised by major overseas outlets. That December, The New York Times named the song among its best songs of the year.
In January 2019, he released the self-composed song “Scenery” on SoundCloud for free, and it reached 100 million streams in 15 days, the shortest time in SoundCloud history. In August, he released “Winter Bear,” his first English-language song, with English lyrics written together with RM.
In March 2020, he released the self-composed song “Sweet Night” for the JTBC drama Itaewon Class soundtrack, and it reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart in 117 of 120 countries. On Dec. 25, he released the self-composed song “Snow Flower.” In December 2021, he entered Guinness World Records for reaching 1 million and 10 million Instagram followers in the shortest time after opening an account.
In 2022, the HYBE original travel series In the Soop: Friendcation, made with Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-shik, Park Hyung-sik and Peakboy, was released. In September 2023, he released his first solo album, Layover, which sold about 2.1 million copies in its first week, the most for a K-pop solo album, and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, tying the highest K-pop solo ranking with Jimin and Suga. In December, he enlisted in the Army together with RM.
In January 2024, he appeared with IU in her “Love wins all” music video, filmed before his enlistment. In March, during his military service, he released the digital single “FRI(END)S” with no physical album, and it debuted at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. In June 2025, he was discharged together with RM.
In 2026, “Love Me Again,” from Layover, passed 1 billion cumulative Spotify streams. In March, BTS’s fifth full-length album Arirang came out, and a comeback performance was held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.
V (born Dec 30, 1995) debuted with BTS on Jun 12, 2013, the year he turned 18, and became known on May 7, 2018, the year he turned 23, with the comeback trailer “Singularity.” He released his first solo album, Layover, in 2023, the year he turned 28.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
BTS held a showcase at Ilji Art Hall in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, for the debut single and performed the title song “No More Dream” for the first time.
Source 01 · Star News (Korean) · Debut showcase · opens in a new tabBTS released its first full-length album one year and two months after debut. The title song was “Danger.”
Source 02 · Star News (Korean) · First full-length album Dark & Wild · opens in a new tabBTS held its first headlining concert since debut at the Olympic Park Handball Stadium in Seoul for about 4,500 fans. Performed the unit stage “24/7 Heaven” with Jimin, Suga and Jungkook.
Source 03 · Sports Donga (Korean) · The Most Beautiful Moment in Life on Stage review · opens in a new tabWrote and composed “Stigma,” a solo song on the second full-length album. He said the lyrics drew on a difficult period in his past.
Source 04 · Joynews24 (Korean) · Wings release press conference · opens in a new tabSource 30 · TenAsia (Korean) · V’s self-composed song “Stigma” · opens in a new tabAfter a press conference on Dec. 16 in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the youth historical drama premiered on Dec. 19. He played Han-sung, the youngest of the Hwarang, in his first acting role.
Source 06 · Bridge Economy (Korean) · Hwarang press conference · opens in a new tabSource 05 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · Hwarang first-broadcast preview · opens in a new tabSource 07 · News1 (Korean) · Hwarang, V as the actor Kim Tae-hyung · opens in a new tabGave fans a song he made with RM for BTS’s fourth debut anniversary.
Source 08 · The Herald Business (Korean) · “4 O’Clock” 14.2 million streams · opens in a new tabSource 28 · Wikipedia (Korean) · V · opens in a new tab Release date (June 8) is from Wikipedia and was not confirmed in news reports. That it came out on the fourth anniversary (June) was confirmed in a news article.Appeared as the lead in the comeback trailer for the third full-length album Love Yourself: Tear. The solo song “Singularity,” used as its background music, was praised by major overseas outlets although it was not the title track.
“Singularity” appeared on The New York Times list alongside BTS’s title track “Fake Love.”
Source 11 · Money Today (Korean) · New York Times songs of the year · opens in a new tabReleased the self-composed song “Scenery” on SoundCloud as a free track. It reached 100 million streams in 15 days, the shortest time in SoundCloud history.
Source 12 · Seoul Economic Daily (Korean) · “Scenery” on the radio · opens in a new tabSource 13 · The Herald Business (Korean) · “Scenery” 200 million streams · opens in a new tabHis first English-language self-composed song, written with Big Hit producers, with English lyrics written together with RM.
Source 09 · Kukmin Ilbo (Korean) · “Winter Bear” release · opens in a new tabA self-composed song he took part in producing. By August it had reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart in 117 of the 120 countries where iTunes operates.
Source 15 · The Herald Business (Korean) · “Sweet Night” No. 1 in 117 countries · opens in a new tabSource 14 · Bridge Economy (Korean) · “Sweet Night” to be released on the 13th · opens in a new tabReleased a self-composed song on YouTube and SoundCloud, expressing thanks to fans and medical workers. Peakboy was featured.
Source 16 · Star News (Korean) · “Snow Flower” released Dec. 25 · opens in a new tabListed in Guinness World Records for reaching 1 million and 10 million followers in the shortest time after opening an account.
Source 17 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Instagram Guinness World Records · opens in a new tabThe final episode of the HYBE original travel series, made with the actors Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-shik and Park Hyung-sik and the singer Peakboy, was released.
Source 18 · Celuvmedia (Korean) · In the Soop: Friendcation final episode · opens in a new tabSold 1,672,138 copies on release day by Hanteo Chart, a record for a K-pop solo album’s release day, and 2,101,974 copies in the first week, the most for a K-pop solo album. Reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, tying Jimin and Suga for the highest K-pop solo ranking.
Source 20 · Nocut News (Korean) · Layover 1.67 million on release day · opens in a new tabSource 19 · Hankyoreh (Korean) · Layover 2.1 million first-week copies · opens in a new tabSource 21 · Segye Ilbo (Korean) · Layover No. 2 on the Billboard 200 · opens in a new tabEntered the Army training center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, together with RM.
Source 22 · Newsis (Korean) · RM and V enlist · opens in a new tabAppeared in the music video with IU. Um Tae-hwa directed it.
Source 24 · The Fact (Korean) · IU and V in the “Love wins all” music video · opens in a new tabA song recorded before his enlistment. During his military service, with no promotion or physical album, it debuted at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and entered the UK Official Singles Chart at No. 13.
Source 25 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · “FRI(END)S,” best result during military service · opens in a new tabSource 26 · Sports Donga (Korean) · “Love Me Again” 1 billion streams · opens in a new tabSource 28 · Wikipedia (Korean) · V · opens in a new tab Release date (Mar. 15) is from Wikipedia.Discharged together with RM. He served in the Special Duty Team of the military police at the 2nd Corps.
Source 23 · Yonhap News Agency (Korean) · RM and V discharged · opens in a new tab“Love Me Again,” from Layover, became the first V solo song to pass 1 billion cumulative Spotify streams.
Source 26 · Sports Donga (Korean) · “Love Me Again” 1 billion streams · opens in a new tab The date of passing 1 billion was not confirmed in news reports. It is based on a Jan. 28, 2026 article reporting 1.106 billion cumulative streams.Released the fifth full-length album and held the performance BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, the next day. It was streamed on Netflix to about 190 regions and countries, and 18.4 million viewers were counted on the day.
Source 27 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Arirang and the Gwanghwamun performance · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2013–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Music · South Korea
Dec 30, 1995 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1995: the year of the event minus 1995, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.28 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.