Review of j-hope IN THE BOX (2023) by Fdiamond — 24 Feb 2023

One of the best parts of being a fan of an artist is when he allows you to see the process of creating the content that you consume but also getting to know how he felt about it. Even if that is a door that BTS - South Korean group Bangtan Sonyeondan - always kept open to Army - their beloved fandom - it's exciting to see J-Hope's door open a little bit more!

This is Jung Hoseok's way of work.

Through this documentary he made sure that we're able to see him on his daily environment. Picking up the concept of Pandora's Box, first mentioned in 2013/2014, that was later developed into Hope World, his first mixtape and the first part of the story, we see him going from creating the tracks for Jack in The Box, the debut album, to the build up of a full set live performance.

While the group is defining Chapter 2 as a window for solo projects, J-Hope accepted the challenge of making his debut has a solo artist and perform in one of the US major festivals, Lollapalooza 2022. He shared struggles of the process and how his professional side aligns with his vision, personal opinions and expectations.

This was his journey until the day of the performance and he shared his thoughts at the same time that he became the first South Korean artist ever to headline the main stage while hitting audience records for the festival by performing for around 100 000k people. On a Sunday.

The narrative of the documentary is the perspective of an artist involved in his work, making decisions and showing different responsabilities that comes along with the job.