It looks like “ARMY” won’t be seeing their favorites for a while, as the remaining BTS members are leaving for mandatory military service in South Korea.
The four K-pop stars have now joined three more of their colleagues, who have been gone for months in their military service, leaving behind many fans and memories.
BTS Updates The Public On Their Latest Moves
V, one of the K-pop stars, broke the news to their many fans on Tuesday in an emotional letter along with photos and selfies. A post uploaded on Korean social media app Weverse reads:
“I will miss you so much. To be honest, I regret not being able to make good memories with ARMY for now. If it wasn’t for that, everything would be fine, but that’s the hardest part. After these long 18 months I will be back to health, so please take care of your health ARMY and find happiness in the day to day. And ‘tada! I’m back’ — I’m coming back.”
V, who was enlisted alongside Jimin, Jungkook, and RM, will now serve with older BTS members Jin, j-hope, and Suga who were enlisted late last year and early this year, respectively. BTS’ latest move is in accordance with South Korean law, which requires every male from the age of 18-28 to join the military for 18-21 months.
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Although some celebrities and athletes, such as soccer star Heung-min Son, have been exempted from service in the past, BTS members will complete their service. The group had previously been granted a two-year extension in mandated service which meant they had enough time to prepare for the trip.
NBC News shared that the seven boys will be back together in 2025 after finishing their service as V encouraged their fans to be patient in the final part of his post.
Nearly 20,000 men have been imprisoned over the past 70 years for refusing to do mandatory service on religious or moral grounds, with the majority being Jehovah’s Witnesses.
However, new alternatives have been provided for borrowers per Al Jazeerawhich allows them to apply to work as janitors, cooks or civil administrators in prisons instead of serving a term.
BTS’s Absence Causes K-Pop’s Popularity to Decline
It’s a challenging time for K-Pop fans as all seven stars have now temporarily left the scene, thus confirming their biggest fear. Earlier that year, The Blast reported a significant drop in K-Pop’s worldwide popularity when the first group of BTS members left for their services.
The impact of their departure was immediate as sales plummeted worldwide, slowing the exponential growth of the South Korean genre, which BTS has been spearheading for several years now.
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The all-boy group regularly sells out stadiums around the world, tops the charts, and rakes in billions of dollars for their country’s economy, achieving the status of a cultural phenomenon. BTS producer and HYBE label president Bang Si-Hyuk also testified about the crisis, saying:
“Their absence is the first reason. I think it’s clear that BTS’s inactivity as a group played a major role in this change in trend.”
The group’s hiatus was a bitter pill for their many fans, who initially tried to get them exempted, but the Korean defense minister insisted. According to the defense minister, the uproar from fans led to an unhealthy discourse along the lines of equity and inequality as he reiterated that only dancers, musicians and athletes were allowed to stop serving.
He added that “DNA” singers are not included in the category of “musicians”, as they are considered artists from pop culture, hence the need for them to fulfill their duties.
Fortunately, the boys previously expressed their willingness to obey the clarion call when the time comes and were fully supported by their record label when they announced it on their official account.
The decision was met with unwavering support from their initially disappointed fans, who now understood nothing could change their minds. However, the group was granted permission to perform at national events while in the service, so their fans will be able to see them perform their songs at state functions.
This clause makes the 18-month waiting period more manageable for fans of the South Korean sensation.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
