On January 6, 'W KOREA' announced that Jimin would be the cover star of the 2nd volume of the magazine's 2023 cover, in which there would be 6 different cover versions to be published! Fans were ecstatic about this news as they have all been highly anticipating Jimin's solo activities since BTS announced the group's hiatus last year, in favor of the members pursuing their solo careers.

Aside from Jimin's breathtaking visuals that caused quite a stir on the internet as always and sent fans into a frenzy, fans were also enthusiastic about the description of their idol in the magazine, which placed emphasis on his 'gorgeous dance' and 'attractive voice,' and called him an 'accomplished artist.' It brought a sense of pride for fans seeing how their artist was being praised, and his impact in the industry acknowledged.

What was more exciting is that Jimin's influence and power was not just being acknowledged by words alone. The fact that this particular issue was set to have six different cover versions was in itself a big testament to Jimin's highly revered status and influence on the K-pop scene. Of note is that this move by the magazine meant that Jimin was now the FIRST and ONLY individual to get 6 different covers of a single issue of 'W KOREA.'

In addition, the magazine had never set up international shops for its previous issues, just as has been the case for other big magazines like ELLE, GQ, and VOGUE. However, this time there was an official shop link set up on Amazon and eBay for international fans. Again, this meant that Jimin was the FIRST and ONLY individual to get international preorders for this magazine.

It is evident that the magazine is well aware of Jimin's influence and power, not just within his home country but internationally as well, and therefore made sure to reflect this both in the publication and distribution aspects.

Consequently, Jimin took over Twitter trends with numerous entries into the worldwide trends list and other trending topics. Fans had much to discuss, from gushing over his heavenly visuals to expressing their pride in his power and influence and much more.

Additionally, the announcement tweet by 'W KOREA' became the most liked tweet on the account since its inception, having surpassed 102k likes, while the teaser clip posted on Instagram also became the most watched teaser on the account. One of his covers also surpassed 1 million likes becoming the most-liked cover post on the account as well!

On the 'W KOREA' website, two articles about Jimin's solo covers and his solo songs compilation in anticipation of his upcoming solo album took up the top 2 spots among the most popular articles on the website.

The excitement about this cover and the warm reception to it was undeniable.

As guessed from the excitement seen, everyone was in a rush to grab a copy of Jimin's cover. In under an hour from when the preorders started, all 6 of the covers were already occupying the top 6 positions of the best-seller ranking on Aladin, one of South Korea's largest online bookstores.

In no time, the covers were dominating the real-time, daily, weekly and monthly best-seller lists on Aladin, Yes24 and Kyobo bookstores, all of which make up the three biggest online bookstores in South Korea. For three consecutive days since preorders started, the ranking on all three platforms had not changed and Jimin was still occupying the top best-seller positions in different categories, showing the high demand for him in his country.

His popularity was no less on the international scene. He also topped the best-seller list on GMarket under Books/Music category and was the overall best-seller both on Rakuten and Qoo10 platforms for Japanese buyers.

Additionally, in less than 10 hours since the preorder links were posted, all 6 of the magazine covers had gone out of stock on eBay, and he ranked first among the best-sellers on the ktown4u platform.

Demand was hot everywhere!

Here are some reactions to the covers from fans and non-fans, some being magazine editors and writers, super models, fashion experts, actors and actresses and many other celebrities and prominent personalities.

Something else that caught the eye of fans is that 'W KOREA tagged 'DIOR' luxury fashion house both on the announcement tweet for the cover and on the Instagram teaser, and the brand's Fashion PR coordinator shared the teaser and an image with all six covers on Instagram stories. 'W KOREA' had also tagged the brand's Men Artistic Director, and Jimin was, in fact, wearing DIOR's Spring 2023 menswear collection. Thus, fans couldn't help but wonder if there was something more to this collaboration.

Meanwhile, Jimin's cover is set to have its official publication for physical copies on January 18.

Fans are excited to see more from Jimin in this new year, starting with his next track release dropping on January 13 (2 PM KST), 'VIBE' by Taeyang (ft JIMIN), where he is also credited as a composer.