How Jungkook Became BTS’ Golden Maknae? K-Pop Icon’s Casting Story Revealed!

ARMY story time! In a rather strange twist of fate, BTS’s Jungkook was selected by BigHit Music’s casting director without an audition, a choice that in itself made K-pop history. Noh Min-mi was captivated by his aura when she first saw him on Superstar K3, she didn’t bother to go through the usual processes to enlist this young talent. Here’s how a chance event and Jungkook’s magnetic appeal made him BTS’s Golden Maknae.

Jungkook’s Star-Spotted Moment at Superstar K3

Back in 2011, a teenager named Jungkook auditioned for Superstar K3 without knowing that his life was about to change. He was just another face in the crowd until casting director Noh Min-mi, then at BigHit Music, spotted him. “One boy caught my eye. His eyes were bright, he looked adorable, and it felt like he was glowing. I was drawn to him as if by fate,” she shared.

This was how she described it during her August 22, 2025 on an interview on the Kajufriends YouTube channel. It was a feeling in which you could call “destiny”. Jungkook was quite simply so compelling a presence that all audition processes would be bypassed for his sake for fear of being snatched up by rival agencies, some still hanging out at Seoul Station.

A Bold Move by BigHit Music

Noh Min-mi’s decision was to cast Jungkook right there, and then it became a gamble, one that did pay off. She reached out to his dad, leaning toward a direct contract with BigHit after some persuasive talks on how promising the child would turn out.

Noh said, “It was like being under a spell. I couldn’t let him go.” Such a risk move would hardly be an act with the entire K-pop world, and that brought Noh’s trainee count to one, as she would alone handpick the person who would hike BTS to unthinkable heights. Fans will one day remember it as destiny, such as one X post, which reads, “My man was born a superstar & destined to be BTS.”

The Legacy of Jungkook’s Fated Casting

A test on instinct and timing, indeed, Jungkook: from Superstar K3 to being BTS’s Golden Maknae. Noh’s faith in potential, paired with family trust in BigHit, created a perfect storm in succession.

By 2025, Jungkook has proved himself  as a global phenomenon, either with or without BTS, in light of a new album which is about to be released in 2026. Fans on X call him “destined to be a legend,” a reality that Noh would vouch for in immense pride of BTS’s tireless dedication.

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