V

V was born Kim Tae-hyung on December 30, 1995, in the Seo District of Daegu, and grew up in Geochang County. He is the eldest of three children, with a loving and humble family environment, spending part of his childhood under the care of his grandparents. He first aspired to be a professional singer in elementary school. With his father’s support, he began taking saxophone lessons in early middle school to pursue music. He eventually became a trainee for Big Hit Entertainment after passing an audition in Daegu.

Pre-debut, V was the “secret member” of BTS — fans were unaware of his existence as his agency wished to keep him a surprise, which he later said made him feel lonely and uneasy at the time. On June 13, 2013, he made his debut as a member of BTS on Mnet’s M Countdown with the track “No More Dream”.

V was first credited for music composition on The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1 (2015), co-writing and producing “Hold Me Tight,” and contributing lyrics to “Fun Boyz.” His melody was used for “Run” on Pt. 2. He co-wrote and composed his first solo track “Stigma” for the 2016 album Wings. In May 2018, his second solo song “Singularity” was released as a trailer for Love Yourself: Tear, earning major international critical praise. In October 2018, V became one of the youngest recipients of the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit medal, awarded by President Moon Jae-in.

He made his acting debut in 2016 in the historical drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth. In 2019, he released his self-composed independent song “Scenery”. In 2021, V was appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture alongside his bandmates.

In 2023, V made his official solo debut with the singles “Love Me Again” and “Rainy Days,” followed by his debut EP Layover on September 8, 2023. In late 2023, BigHit Music announced V had begun mandatory military enlistment, officially enlisting on December 11, 2023, and was assigned to the elite Military Police Corps’ Special Task Force within the “Ssangyong Unit”. He was discharged in June 2025.

After his discharge, V resumed both group and brand activities. He became Celine’s global brand ambassador, representing the brand at Paris Fashion Week for its Spring/Summer 2026 show in October 2025, and expanded into beauty and lifestyle endorsements, including TIRTIR (Korean beauty) and Yunth (Japanese skincare). In 2026, V released a 278-page photobook titled “TYPE 非,” featuring different personas in intimate portraits.

BTS reunited as a full group in 2026, releasing their fifth studio album. Arirang was released on March 20, 2026, by Big Hit Music — the group’s first release after their hiatus for military service, and their first studio album in nearly six years. It debuted at number one in over 25 countries and became BTS’s seventh album to top the Billboard 200. The group then launched the Arirang World Tour, spanning 85 dates across 34 cities from April 2026 to March 2027.