Members of K-pop band BTS are to fulfil their requirement to do military service in South Korea, their representatives say.
All able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 in South Korea must perform between 18 and 21 months of military service.
However, exemptions are made for athletes, classical and traditional musicians and dancers who have won top prizes in competitions which boost the prestige of the country.
In 2020, South Korea’s parliament passed a bill which allowed K-pop stars such as BTS to delay the upper age bracket for national service to 30.
The oldest member of the group, Jin, aged 29, will be the first to do military service.
“All other members will also serve mandatory military duty according to their plans,” their management group HYBE
said.
The announcement comes after the band reunited at the weekend for a performance in the South Korean city of Busan to support its bid for World Expo 2030.
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In June, members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook announced they were taking a break to pursue solo projects.
BTS, an acronym of Bangtan Sonyeondan – or Beyond The Scene – are a Grammy-nominated boyband formed in 2010.
Following the release of their debut single in 2013 they have become the biggest-selling music act in South Korean history, with millions of fans around the world.
In May, they met US President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss Asian inclusion and representation and to address hate crime against Asian people.
They have also won a host of awards and been nominated at ceremonies including the Brit Awards in the UK and the Grammys in the US, and in 2021 were named global recording artist of the year by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – becoming the first act to win the award for two consecutive years.
In 2019, they made history as the first Korean group to play Wembley Stadium, with their first night selling out in 90 minutes.
