K-pop giants BTS are one step closer to reuniting.
Jin, 31, the first member of the boy band to enlist in the military, retired Wednesday morning, BTS’s company said. Over the next year or so, his bandmates are expected to complete their military service, which nearly all South Korean men are required to complete.
In June 2022, BTS shocked their own military – the seven-member group’s fervent followers collectively known as “BTS” – by saying they would suspend military service. The group’s oldest member, Kim Seok-jin, began an 18-month military service in December of that year. His enlistment follows widespread public debate over whether BTS should receive a draft exemption like Olympic medalists and some classical musicians.
Still, the group was given some leeway. Most men in South Korea must enlist in the military before the age of 28. Researchers say BTS’s global success has contributed billions of dollars to South Korea’s economy.
The band’s music also appears to have become a military asset. Earlier this week, South Korea lashed out at North Korea over K-pop music, reportedly including BTS’ hits “Dynamite” and “Butter,” in retaliation for Pyongyang sending hundreds of garbage balloons south.
In recent days, the band’s record label has begged fans not to flock to the military base outside Seoul where Kim Jong Un will be discharged from the army. Fans aren’t the only ones waiting for this day: Jin posted a “D-100” countdown on social media in March.
Below is information about BTS and the Korean talent show.
The draft period is getting shorter and shorter.
For decades, conscripts usually had to serve three years. By the early 2000s, this time had shortened to 24 months. In 2021, the minimum enlistment time will be shortened to 18 months.
The length of service varies: 18 months in the Army or Marine Corps, 20 months in the Navy, and 21 months in the Air Force. With the exception of Yoshihide Suga, who is working as a substitute for social work, all members of BTS have signed up to join the military.
The band members continue to release music.
The last batch of BTS members to enlist – RM, V, Jung Kook and Jimin – began serving in December.
The band members remain commercially active, releasing music and videos they made before enlisting. Last month, band leader RM released an album, “Right Place, Wrong Person,” accompanied by a series of music videos. Jungkook, whose English-language album “Golden” topped the Billboard album sales chart last year, released a new single on Friday.
A reunion is not imminent.
In 2022, the BTS label stated that the members would reunite “around 2025.” A spokesman for Hybe, the brand’s parent company, said that remains the plan. Given the band’s draft dates, fans will likely have to wait until at least mid-2025 to see all seven members perform together on stage.
But fans were ecstatic on Wednesday. “I can’t believe this day has come,” one netizen posted on X. “I have tears streaming down my face.”
Kim is scheduled to make a public appearance in Seoul on Thursday. He promised to hug exactly 1,000 fans.
