BTS Are Beginning Their Mandatory Military Service In South Korea
Back in June, fans of BTS got some rough news: the K-pop supergroup was taking a lil’ break to focus on “solo projects.” Yesterday, the situation worsened. The band’s record label, BIGHIT MUSIC, announced they will be on hiatus until 2025. It’s not so Jin can leave the others in the dust and become the next Harry Styles/Justin Timberlake/Beyoncé; it’s so each member can complete their mandatory military service in South Korea. That’s right, all able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the army for 18 months by the time they are 28 years old. In 2020, parliament passed a bill allowing pop stars to defer until they turn 30. Welp, Jin turns 30 in December, so he’s up first. Somebody get that boy a Phantom of the Opera mask STAT; he can’t risk scarring that beautiful face!
The record label says that they’re “proud” to announce the group’s plan to serve, via CNN:
The record label said it has been looking at the timing of the band’s military service, “to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men,” and it said the time was “now.”
“Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government,” the label said, adding: “Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”
Here’s the full statement:
So BTS enlisting for military service first one is Jin and then other members will follows according to their schedule, and BTS will be back as a group in 2025
In BTS WE TRUST WE WILL WAIT FOR YOU BTS BANGTAN IN 2025
I'M NOT GOING ANYWHWRE 😭😭
I'M SO PROUD OF MY BOYS pic.twitter.com/jmdoDjsODU— BTS Galaxy ⁷ (@Jiyaa98) October 17, 2022
BTS fans call themselves the Army. It technically stands for “Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth”, but is anyone else getting military propaganda vibes? A la that one episode of The Simpsons where Bart joins a boy band to spread subliminal messages about joining the Navy?:
What if all the BTS fans join the military to emulate their heroes, and then a war breaks out? Is BTS this generation’s Vietnam? Only time will tell.
Pic: ROGER WONG/INSTARimages.com