Big Hit Music announced the mandatory military enlistment of all the members of the famous K-pop band, BTS, today.
The service is mandatory for all South Korean men from the ages 18 to 30, and BTS’s eldest member, Kim Seokjin (Jin), who is going to be 30 in December, will be the first one to be drafted after his solo album release at the end of October.
He is expected to enlist as an active-duty soldier as soon as a notice of enlistment is issued. The other members will follow according to their individual plans.
Prior to this, Jin had been permitted by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to postpone his enlistment in accordance with the Military Service Act amended in 2020, and his enlistment had been postponed until the end of this year.
Here is the full statement by the company:
BTS has greatly achieved world recognition through its hit music and welfare activities which are extraordinary in the world of entertainment, specifically in South Korea. Regardless, the members’ mandatory military enlistment has been an ongoing debate for a very long time.
In the past few months, this topic was highly emphasized by different lawmakers and governments but no final decision was made because of the wide-ranging disagreements between lawmakers.
BTS Festa 2022
During its FESTA in June, BTS announced an indefinite hiatus from recording and performing to allow the members to focus on solo projects. The band made the shocking announcement just days after releasing its first anthology album, Proof. This also raised many questions about their military enlistments but nothing was certain until now.
Yet to Come in Busan Concert 2022
Over the weekend, the Bangtan boys had the most awaited concert of their entire career in the city of Busan, which was their second free concert. The first one was when they debuted as a band in 2013 and the second one happened the last weekend which was on the largest scale ever and was attended by international Armies (fans) as well.
Soon after the concert, the band made an announcement about its military enlistment, which left Armies shocked and wondering if this was the last BTS concert.
South Korean Military Enlistment
All able-bodied men in South Korea between the ages of 18 and 30 must serve in the military for 18 to 21 months as part of the efforts to defend the country against nuclear-armed North Korea. Military service is so significant in South Korea that its constitution mentions it as one of the five primary duties of a citizen.
However, all South Korean men can avoid conscription until they turn 28. Once this age is reached, they must serve in the armed forces, as per the law.
Some categories, however, have won exemptions, or served shorter terms, including Olympics and Asian Games medal winners and classical musicians and dancers who win top prizes at certain competitions. Some lawmakers had called for BTS to be exempted but the call seems to have been disregarded at long last.
