A BTS member finally has their enlistment date. Jin, the eldest of the K-pop group, will enter the military on Dec. 13. South Korea’s front-line boot camp in Yeoncheon will be his first stop, and he’ll be assigned to a local unit after five weeks of training, reported The Dong-A Ilbo. Through the fan community Weverse, Jin announced earlier on Nov. 13 that he would serve his mandatory military service. On Nov. 24, he posted again, asking fans not to attend the training center on his enlistment day. “There are many people who enlist that day, and it might get very crowded,” Jin wrote. In October, the singer announced his intention to enlist in the military. After performing his solo single “The Astronaut” with Coldplay in Buenos Aires, he applied to cancel his request to postpone military conscription.
According to BIGHIT MUSIC, the group’s record label, the members are preparing to enlist in the military per the government’s mandatory service requirements. The oldest group member, 29-year-old Jin, was the first to sign up. “The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service,” read an official statement released by BIGHIT last month. “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. Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”
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All able-bodied men are required to perform between 18 and 21 months of military service in South Korea, but a bill approved in 2020 lets those who excel in popular culture and art defer their service until age 30. “If the seven BTS members feel the same way and if you guys have faith in us, we will overcome whatever happens to us in the future, and we will perform with you guys and make music. Please have faith in us,” BTS leader RM told fans during the Yet to Come in Busan concert in October, which is part of the city’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said in August that BTS may still perform overseas while serving in the military, according to Reuters. Moreover, BIGHIT hinted at more to come for BTS, saying the group’s song “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” was “more than a track from their latest album, it is a promise, there’s much more yet to come in the years ahead from BTS.”
