Photo Credits: Rolling Stone UK. BigHit Music

Jungkook of BTS is set to front the December 2025 issue of Rolling Stone UK in a high-impact global exclusive, with a teaser cover already sending ARMY into a preorder frenzy. The shoot aligns with BTS’s anticipated 2026 group comeback, positioning Jungkook as both a solo powerhouse and the face of the group’s next chapter.​

Cover concept and visuals

The December 2025 Rolling Stone UK cover is part of a tri-country visual project, with variant covers planned for the UK, Japan, and Korea, previewed through a bold teaser image. Jungkook’s styling leans into his duality: sleek, contemporary menswear with subtle rock-inflected details that echo his evolution from K‑pop maknae to global pop frontman.​

Photographers and stylists draw on the language of classic rock covers while keeping the framing minimal and intimate, often centering tight portraits that highlight Jungkook’s gaze, tattoos, and jewelry as key storytelling elements. The colour palette and lighting are expected to balance moody shadows with clean editorial polish, underscoring the “global icon in transition” narrative of the feature.​

Global project and creative team

Rolling Stone has framed this as a rare joint initiative across its international editions, with the UK cover sitting alongside coordinated issues in Japan and Korea and a wider roll-out in markets like India, France, Brazil, the Philippines, and China. While full crew credits for the UK shoot have not yet been publicly listed, the project is described as a large-scale collaboration between Rolling Stone’s in‑house editorial leads and regional creative teams, including photographers, fashion stylists, hair and makeup artists, and set designers experienced in high-fashion celebrity portraiture.​

Given Jungkook’s previous magazine work, the shoot likely involved a fashion director overseeing wardrobe curation, with Seoul- and London-based glam squads handling hair, makeup, and grooming to match the concept of a “21st‑century pop icon.” The editorial team behind the feature also coordinates the long-form interview and 20+ page photo spread that will run across select editions, making this one of Jungkook’s most expansive international print spotlights to date.​

Context in Jungkook’s career

This Rolling Stone UK cover caps a record-breaking solo run, following the streaming dominance of his single “Seven,” which surpassed 2.5 billion streams on Spotify and became the first K‑pop track to hit that milestone. The feature positions Jungkook as a bridge between BTS’s past and future: a soloist who has proved his global draw while helping set the stage for the group’s upcoming reunion album after their national service period.​

For fans, the December 2025 issue is more than a magazine; it is a visual prologue to BTS’s next era, distilled into a set of collectible covers that spotlight Jungkook as the face of that long-awaited return.

Photographer: Tayo Kuku Jr. @tayojr ⁠
Make-Up: KIM DAREUM @da_a_reum ⁠
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Hair: PARK NAEJOO @bit.boot_naejoo ⁠
Stylist: KIM YOUNGJIN @kimvency ⁠

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