During a recent Weverse Live, BTS‘s V shared a surprising story from his military service days that involved the Catholic Church — and a little bribery.
During basic training, V said that some soldiers attend religious services on the weekends. He told his members that he wanted to try attending all the religious services, such as Catholic mass and services at a Buddhist temple. According to V, attendees are given a baptismal name the first time they attend Catholic mass in Korea. The concept of receiving a separate baptismal name different from one’s original name doesn’t exist in many parts of the world, such as Europe or the United States, but it isn’t unusual for Korean Catholics or Korean Christians to be given a baptismal name that is usually taken from the Bible or a saint.
V explained that he wanted to receive a baptismal name, but since he didn’t know much about it, he did some research about it. He then asked some of his military friends if they wanted to attend mass with him. They asked what they would get if they went with him, and V won them over by telling them they would receive bread at the service. In the end, he brought eight friends with him, and they all wanted a baptismal name….such as Mordekaiser (a League of Legends game character). Naturally, V told his friends that they can’t choose those names; that’s not how it works!
Taehyung sharing how he visited the Catholic Church in Military to get baptized
🐯: In boot camp you can try out all religious services; Church, Catholic Church and Buddhist temple
🐯: I wanted to try them all
🐯: In boot camp the Catholic Church gives you your baptismal name… pic.twitter.com/xRLyoJk0Yl
— TG (@taeguide) May 20, 2026
It’s unclear if V actually did get baptized in the Church, but some netizens believe they may have discovered his baptismal name: Dionysius (the saint, not the BTS song).
