(Photo Credit: AJEONG_JM)
BTS required to register in South Korean armed forces
All able-bodied South Korean males ages 18-35 are required to register and spend about two years in the armed forces, as part of the country’s crucial conscription system in defense against North Korea. Everyone from the simple civilian to the highest-ranking K-pop superstar must serve their country, even BTS.
The seven members of the K-pop group are the first to top the Billboard charts and take the West by storm with their sharp choreography, eclectic music videos, meaningful songs, and amazingly good looks. But despite their global fame and the billions of dollars the group brings in for their country, BTS will not receive any special treatment when it comes to fulfilling their military duties.
According to local South Korean news outlets, government officials confirmed that the group, in addition to other K-pop stars, will not be exempt from South Korea’s mandatory military draft.
Culture Minister Park Yang-woo told Korean reporters: “In the case of BTS, I personally wish I could allow exemptions for them under certain standards, but the Military Manpower Administration and the Ministry of National Defense (in charge of conscription) are inclined to downsize the overall scope (of exemption).”
While some fans are understanding of the conscription system – which was established due to the constant threat posed by neighboring North Korea since the two countries are still technically at war – other fans are not, calling for the group to receive a military service waiver. Such waivers have been granted in the past to winning athletes and classical musicians who represented Korea on a national scale.
However, the culture minister stressed that the luxury of a waiver is not extended to pop stars. His reason is that popular culture and art fields are “difficult to institutionalize” due to the difficulty of fixing the “criteria,” unlike classical arts or sports.
Of the seven members – RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook and Jin – Jin is expected to be the first to enlist in the armed forces because he is the oldest member.
By: Maytinee Kramer
