BTS has agreed to mandatory military service in South Korea. Here’s what it means for the international superstars. 

The K-pop group’s label BigHit Music announced all seven members will fulfill their home country’s requirement. The eldest member, 29-year-old Jin, is expected to be the first to serve. In 2020, Jin postponed the draft for two years due to a new law that allowed some pop artists to delay enlistment until the age of 30. 

“Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government,” BigHit stated. “Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”

The boy band is expected to go on hiatus until around 2025, after all of the members have completed their military service. In South Korea, all able-bodied men, from ages 18 to 28, must serve 18 to 21 months in the military due to North Korea’s threat of nuclear attacks. 

While exemptions can be made for award-winning athletes and classical musicians, South Korea’s military believes it’s a matter of fairness; other men must put their lives on hold to serve, and the military does not see BTS as any different. The issue has been controversial in South Korea. 

According to ABC News, the National Assembly’s Defense Committee would “conduct a survey on how South Korean people feel about conscripting BTS. A majority of 60.9% said they [were] in favor of exempting the group members from military service while 34.3% opposed the idea.” 

Fans are pretty devastated by the news that their favorite band won’t be active for a while. 

“The Korean national football team avoided military service because they won the Asian Cup and are considered national heroes but BTS who are infinitely more successful in their work don’t,” @supersaadx3 wrote on Twitter. 

“BTS military service hiatus has me down atrociously today,” @InvLum lamented in a caption. 

“2 years with no BTS? what am I gonna do now?!?!. I wish them the best of luck with their military duties. Until they return,” @thiswastarget said in a tweet. 

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