BTS Learn Tough News Hours Before 2022 Grammys Performance

By Daniel S. Levine

All BTS members are expected to serve in the South Korean army, the country's ambassador to the U.K. said this weekend, as tensions between South Korea and North Korea rise again. South Korean men are required to serve in the army for at least 18 months between 18 and 28. South Korea's national assembly passed a BTS Law that allows the group to postpone their military service until they turn 30, but time is beginning to run out as the band's oldest member, Kim Seok-Jin, turns 30 in December.

"It is very much expected that young Korean men serve the country, and those BTS members are role models for many young-generation Koreans," Kim Gunn, South Korea's ambassador to the U.K., told the Sunday Times this weekend. "Most of our people expect that our members of BTS will fulfill their obligation as citizens of Korea. Eventually, I think that will happen."

In December 2020, South Korea passed a law that gave the group a chance to hold off on their military service. Since Jin turns 30 at the end of the year, speculation about when they would serve began recently reports The Daily Mail. Min Yoon-gi, whose stage name is Suga, turns 30 in March 2023. The other members of the band are Jung "J-Hope" Ho-seok, 28; Kim "RM" Nam-joon, 27; Park "Jimin" Ji-min, 26; Kim "V" Tae-hyung, 26; and Jeon "Jungkook" Jung-koon, 24.

Kim Gunn's comment about BTS' military service came the same weekend the group had a big moment in Las Vegas. They performed their international smash hit "Butter" at the Grammy Awards. The song was nominated for the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Last year, they became the first South Korean act nominated for a Grammy, as "Dynamite" was up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Before the Grammys, Entertainment Tonight asked RM if they plan to work with Snoop Dogg in the future. "Oh, are we going to collaborate with him?" he joked. "We're all fans! Come on, Snoop, call us!" He refused to shut down the rumor, instead noting that their label would "hate us" if he confirmed the Snoop Dogg rumor. RM called the rapper their "idol."

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