BTS has been paving the way for the next generation of Korean entertainers in more ways than one. The youngest member of BTS, Jeon Jungkook has been changing perceptions about body art and challenging the social stigma around tattoos and piercings, especially in South Korea. His ears however, have been pierced since before the group's debut

Jungkook has a stunning full-arm sleeve of tattoos - and many of them have special meanings and origin stories. The artist was definitely flaunting them during his photoshoot with Calvin Klein. They look so good in monochrome!

Jungkook has dedicated a few to his bandmates and fans. He has ARMY on the knuckles and ‘+’ symbols, along with J on one of the fingers – the letters translate to the members’ initials; RM aka Namjoon, J for J-hope, Jimin and Jin. The A turned upside down for V aka Kim Taehyung and the Y for Yoongi aka Suga. How coincidental is it that the letters in ARMY also overlap with the names of the BTS members? Proof that the BTS-ARMY bond was meant to be

He also has the ARMY’s logo on the side of his hand which is a reverse of the 'doors' logo of Bangtan. He also has a heart close to the thumb along with an emoji face and crown on his fingers

On Jungkook's right arm, one can spot three-striped lines, which fans have connected to what may seem like the Korean flag. Also, Jungkook had a golden-coloured eye tattoo which right below his elbow. He reportedly later replaced it with 'BULLETPROOF' lettering

The tattoos starts right from his right shoulder snaking down all the way to his fingers (quite literally! Jungkook also has a snake tattoo on his right arm). He also had the quote 'Winners Never Quit' as well as a microphone. We know Jungkook's pain tolerance is high but this is a whole new level! 

Jungkook also has a time clock tattooed on his arm. It ostensibly pays homage to 'My Time,' Jungkook's solo track on “Map of the Soul: 7” album by BTS

One of his sleeve tattoos is also a tiger lily, which is Jungkook's birth flower (as he shared on one of the Run! BTS episodes). Jungkook also covered up a few of his tattoos and either changed them or replaced them with new ink. Apart from the eye, which was replaced, the microphone, skeleton rock hand and quotes like ‘WINNERS NEVER QUIT’ were colored and enhanced. Even after getting some of his tattoos changed, Jungkook honoured his tattoo artist 'POLYC' by getting his name inked

The BTS members have all gotten the number '7' tattooed on different parts of their body as a tribute to their personal and professional bond. For many of them, it's their only tattoo (that we know of!) For instance, Namjoon got it inked on his ankle, while Jin went the risque route and posted photos of his tattoo on his lower back

Jungkook posted a cute photo of his '7' tattoo behind his ear

Apart from his extensive tattoos, Jungkook also has several piercings on his face

He was first spotted with an eyebrow piercing during the music video for BTS's 2021 summer hit 'Butter.' Several ARMYs believed that Jungkook was sporting merely a fake piercing to align with his 'criminal' look. However, when he later appeared on several performances and broadcasts with the piercing intact, fans realized that it wasn't just a ruse! 

Since then, Jungkook has gotten several more piercings on his lip, eyebrows and ears. During a recent livestream, Jungkook surprised fans once again when he showed off a brand new lip piercing

Jungkook hasn't openly shared the meanings behind all his tattoos nor revealed whether his piercings mark any special occasion in the artist's life. However, in his recent live, he shared how he had gotten his piercings mainly because his face looked too round and chubby

The K-world is not particularly open to the idea of body art, where it is often associated with delinquence or rebellion. Jungkook stated that he knows how some fans don't like his piercings but reaffirmed that the choice and decision was his to make

In an earlier livestream, fans asked Jungkook why he had changed the piercings in his ears. Jungkook had stated that he hadn't changed them on purpose - they sometimes fall off during performances. With all the bouncing around and high-energy Muscle Bunny activities that Jungkook does, we definitely are not surprised

Jungkook had stated that he hadn't changed them on purpose - they sometimes fall off during performances. With all the bouncing around and high-energy Muscle Bunny activities that Jungkook does, we definitely are not surprised

Jungkook has been showing off his piercings during his live performances for 'Seven' - his recent debut solo digital single

We think that Jungkook's body art and piercings definitely add to his unique character and charm

However, when ARMYs recently asked Jungkook about whether he planned to get any more piercings anytime soon, he said he didn't want to - not because of any negative public reaction but because it was too much of a hassle to wash his face