BTS military exemption is ‘not possible’, says Military Manpower Administration

Bangtan Sonyeondan or BTS will not be exempted from the mandatory military service according to South Korea’s military draft. This was confirmed by a South Korean official who contested BTS’ military enlistment to Naver. The seven members of the K-pop band BTS, Jin, Jimin, Jungkook, J-Hope, Taehyung, RM, and Suga will be joining the military when the time comes as per the official.

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BTS military exemption denied 

According to a report in Yonhap, the BTS military enlistment is due in the coming years and cannot be exempted as per the Military Manpower Administration and the Ministry of National Defense. Culture Minister Park Yang-woo said while attending a meeting with UNESCO’s Forum of Ministers of Culture that there are a lot of people who wish to exempt the group which is not possible as there are no institutionalized waiver systems for popular culture and arts.

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BTS military enlistment

South Korean military exemption has been given to several international classical arts or sports individuals. However, the centre for defence of South Korea has not listed down judgement criteria to popular culture. The argument for BTS military exemption comes after the K-pop juggernauts contributed in billions to the Korea entertainment industry as well as tourism. The group is the first Korean act to achieve a Billboard Hot 100 number one charting song.

However, all South Korean, able-bodied men are mandatorily meant to serve military service irrespective of career choice due to the lack of manpower and the ongoing war with North Korea. The mandatory military service came into effect after the Korean War in 1953 affected the lives of laymen. The military service prepares men in advance for any transgressions from the border country.

BTS military service schedule  

The first member who will be enlisting to the military service will be eldest member Jin or Kim Seok Jin. He is born in the year 1992 which makes him 28 years old. He has reached the maximum age to enlist. According to recent reports in Soompi, a Korean media portal, Jin can enlist until the end of 2021.  He will be the first to leave and register for his BTS military enlistment dates. 

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