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YEONCHEON — The oldest member of K-pop band BTS, Jin, began his 18 months of mandatory military duty at a frontline South Korean boot camp on Tuesday.
Fans gathered near the base to say goodbye to their star, reported AP.
The world’s biggest supergroup may just take break, likely for a few years as six other younger members will soon join the military in coming years. Their enlistments have prompted a fierce domestic debate over whether it’s time to revise the country’s conscription system.
Lawmakers are seeking to expand exemptions to include prominent entertainers like BTS, or not to provide such benefits to anyone.
Surveys are showing sharply split public opinions over offering exemptions to BTS members. Their management agency said in October that BTS would perform their compulsory military service.
Big Hit Music said that both the company and the members of BTS “are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.”
Jin – whose real name is Kim Seok-jin – entered the boot camp at Yeoncheon, a town near the tense border with North Korea. He will be there for five weeks of basic military training together with other new conscript soldiers, the Defense Ministry said.
After the training involving rifle-shooting, grenade-throwing and marching practices, he and other conscripts would be assigned to army units across the country.
As Jin's vehicle carries him straight into the entrance, about 20-30 fans and dozens of journalists gathered near the camp.
“I want to wait (for) Jin and see him go into the military and wish him all the best,” Mandy Lee from Hong Kong said.
“Actually it’s complicated. I wanna be sad. I wanna be happy for him,” said Angelina from Indonesia. “Mixed feelings. He has to serve (for) his country.”
Jin and his management agency had earlier asked fans not to visit the site to prevent any issue caused by crowding.
But authorities still mobilised 300 police officers, soldiers, emergency workers to guard against any accidents, according to the army.
Hours before entering the camp, Jin, who turned 30 earlier this month, wrote on the online fan platform Weverse that “It’s time for a curtain call.” He posted a photo of himself on Sunday with a military buzzcut and a message saying, “Ha ha ha. It’s cuter than I had expected.”
By law, all able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the military for 18-21 months. The conscription system is established to deal with threats from North Korea.
But the law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers. More so if they have won top prizes in competitions and enhance national prestige.
But K-pop stars and other entertainers don't enjoy such benefits even if they gain global fame and win international awards.
“Though BTS members have opted to go to the military, there are still some sort of regrets,” said Jung Duk-hyun, a pop culture commentator.
“Those in the pop culture sector experience little bit of disadvantages and unfairness, compared with those in the pure art sector or athletes. This will likely continue to be an issue of controversy so I wonder if it must be discussed continuously.”
Exemptions are a highly sensitive issue in South Korea, where the draft forces young men to suspend their studies or professional careers. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and Lee Ki Sik, head of South Korea’s enlistment office, previously said it would be “desirable” for BTS members to fulfill their military duties to ensure fairness.
Chun In-bum, a retired lieutenant general who commanded South Korea’s special forces, said the government must move to repeal any exemptions as the military’s shrinking recruitment pool is “a very serious” problem amid the country’s declining fertility rate.
He called a debate over BTS’s military service “unnecessary” as it wasn’t raised by BTS members, who have shown willingness in carrying out their duties.
BTS was created in 2013 and has a legion of global supporters who call themselves the “Army.” Its other members are RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, who is the youngest at 25.
The group expanded its popularity in the West with its 2020 megahit ‘Dynamite’, the band’s first all-English song that made BTS the first K-pop act to top Billboard’s Hot 100. The band has performed in sold-out arenas around the world and was even invited to speak at United Nations meetings. – Agencies, December 13, 2022
