Prior to launching his rap career, J-Hope was a member of the underground dance team Neuron,[2][3] and was subsequently well-known as a competitive street dancer.

[4] This eventually led him to audition as a k-pop idol trainee, where he was discovered by Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk.

[9] J-Hope later cited this interest in his solo work, as well as general praise for music he produced, as a major motivation for the creation of Hope World, labeling it "stimulating".

And for the longest time, I worked on it and invested in that dream, and I studied a lot and wrote songs, researched to make it happen so I could figure out a way that many fans and the public who don't know about J-Hope can all enjoy my music.

[12] Later, on February 28, J-Hope posted various clips of him working on the mixtape to the BTS Twitter page with the text "Hope World".

[15] On March 2, 2018, Hope World was released for digital purchase and streaming and for free via links on BTS' Twitter in conjunction with a music video for "Daydream".

[5] For Hope World's three-year anniversary, J-Hope released a full, three-minute long version of its closing track "Blue Side (Outro)" on March 1, 2021—it was uploaded to the BTS Soundcloud page for free.

[18] Inspired by Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas which captivated J-Hope as a child,[5] the groovy track "Hope World" opened the mixtape with the sound of someone submerging,[16][19] serving as "an introduction to people who are brand new to [him] with [him] as Captain Nemo showing [listeners] around just as the submarine in the book cruised around the world's oceans.

"[5] Flexing over scratch sounds in the trap "Base Line",[16] J-Hope revealed how he started in music and his gratitude for his life and work,[5] leading into the track "Hangsang" where he playfully flaunted his success and his camaraderie with his bandmates.

[20] Ru Bhat of Rolling Stone India wrote that the mixtape "brings healing from within and helps us have faith in our own decisions about our future.

"Daydream" made J-Hope one of only ten Korean groups, including his band BTS, to reach number one on the World Digital Songs Chart.