agency "Big Pop Music" stated that its K-pop boy group BTS ( BTS) will perform their compulsory military service in accordance with South Korean laws. The news ended years of controversy over whether K-pop stars could be exempted from military service. In South Korea, all healthy men aged 18 to 28 must serve for about two years. Previously, seven members of BTS were allowed to postpone their military service until they were 30 years old.
2025 team regroups
BTS's agency "Hot Music" said that the oldest member of the team, Kim So-jin , will turn 30 by the end of this year, so he will cancel his request to postpone his service at the end of this month and prepare for the service starting next month. The other six members also plan to fulfill their compulsory military service and “look forward to reuniting as a group again around 2025 after serving in the military service.”
statement does not specify the service time of each member. Last weekend, the team members performed on the same stage to support Busan in the bid for the World Expo. It is understood that this will be their last concert before serving in the military service. Hybe, a parent company of "Big Hot Music", said in an email to . The Associated Press that before entering the service, each member of the group will focus on their own personal activities.
The reason why South Korea retains the compulsory military service system is mainly because it is technically still in a state of war with its neighboring North Korea. The service time of BTS members has been postponed once before. In 2020, South Korea's parliament passed a bill that allows artists who meet the conditions to postpone their service until they are 30 years old.
Many Koreans view BTS as a national treasure, and some lawmakers have suggested giving the group immunity so they can continue to perform. Olympic medalists and other outstanding sports stars, classical musicians and dancers have all received this exemption. However, BTS's brokerage firm said in a statement Monday that group members were very satisfied with being able to perform their duties.
▲Jin Shuozhen.
BTS Sensitivity to enlistment
BTS was established in 2013 and consists of seven members. The official fan name is "A.R.M.Y". It comes from the abbreviation of "Adorable Representative M.C for Youth" in English, meaning "a youth representative worthy of people's admiration". In addition, "army" also means military in English.
After becoming famous in Asia, BTS expanded its popularity in the West with its 2020 masterpiece "Dynamite", which made them the first K-pop performers to make the Billboard's Hot 100. BTS' performances around the world are full of performances, and they are even invited to attend United Nations events as world youth representatives in 2021.
Taking into account the fairness, balance and national interests of military service, evading military service or establishing exemptions has always been a highly sensitive issue in South Korea. Earlier this month, South Korea's Minister of Military Affairs Lee Ki-sik told lawmakers that it is "preferable" to make BTS serve in the military. He said that the resources of military service personnel are decreasing year by year, and fairness and justice should be achieved when fulfilling military service obligations.
According to military officials, after enlisting, Kim Seo-jin and other BTS members will undergo five weeks of combat training before being assigned to the corresponding departments and positions. The entire military service will last between 18 and 21 months, and they stressed that these singers will go through the same procedures as other military service members.
Although the Korean army has been allocating artists to work related to film and television production and publicity for many years, such an "entertainment soldier" system was abolished in 2013 due to doubts about fairness. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-seok said in August this year that if BTS enlisted, they can consider arranging practice time for them and allowing them to perform overseas. The huge economic influence of
BTS
BTS enlistment is not only a loss for fans, but also a loss for the Korean economy.
In 2018, the Hyundai Research Institute said that BTS contributed more than US$3.6 billion to the South Korean economy every year, which is comparable to 26 medium-sized companies.In addition, in 2017, 1 out of every 13 tourists visiting South Korea came specifically for BTS, and they brought about $1.1 billion in revenue each year to export consumer goods such as cosmetics. Analysts estimate that BTS will contribute $29.1 trillion to the South Korean economy between 2014 and 2023. The success of the team also made each member’s pockets bulge. According to " Forbes ", by 2020, BTS' collective net worth reached $50 million. After the announcement of the news of
enlistment, the share price of parent company Hybe fell 2.5% on the 17th. Hybe has lost about half of its market value since BTS announced the cessation of group activities in June and members made their debut solo.
In a letter to shareholders, Hybe CEO Park Jiwon downplayed all the possible financial crisis caused by BTS' shutdown, saying the company had a strong enough lineup of artists, such as popular K-pop groups like Le Sserafim and NewJeans, and big-name stars like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
"We have always been aware of the possibility of compulsory military service, and we have been prepared for this moment," Park Ji-won wrote in the letter. "In the short term, the personal activities of several members will continue until the first half of 2023. We have prepared the content in advance to ensure that BTS continues to maintain contact with fans in the foreseeable future."
News source: New York Times, AP, CNN, BBC, Fortune, some pictures are from the Internet
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