After the BTS singer appealed with the group’s devoted fans to avoid his South Korean army training camp, a source with intimate knowledge of the issue announced Friday that K-pop superstar Jin will start his required military duty next month.
According to the source, the 29-year-old star, who is the oldest member of BTS, would report for duty at Yeoncheon army base in the northern Gyeonggi province on December 13.
In South Korea, nearly all able-bodied men are required to complete 18 months of military duty by the time they turn 28 years old.
2020 saw the passage of a law by South Korea’s parliament permitting pop stars—specifically, those who “excel in popular culture and art”—to postpone military service until the age of 30.
According to regular procedure, Jin’s service will start with a five-week basic training course before being assigned to a unit.
The decision had been highly predicted.
Last month, BTS’ record label said that all seven of the group’s members intended to serve in the military, with Jin—who will be 30 on December 4—becoming the first to enrol.
In response to rumours that he was about to join, Jin asked supporters not to go to the military training facility in a message he posted on the fan community app Weverse on Thursday. The reports in the post were not refuted by him.
He tweeted, “Reports have come out against my will, but our ARMYs (BTS fans), should not come to the training center.” It could be dangerous because the place will be crowded with many people besides me who are coming. ARMY, I love you.
BTS has been compared to The Beatles a lot, even breaking one of their records by having three Billboard No. 1 albums in the same calendar year.
When the band was excluded from the 2019 Grammy nominations, their devoted fan following, known as the “BTS Army,” promoted their music and defended them on social media. They have received three Grammy Award nominations for 2023.
BTS declared in June that it would postpone pursuing individual projects because of their impending military duty. The band’s record label predicts that they will reunite in 2025.
