On the morning of Oct. 17, a seemingly normal Monday, I woke up to a flurry of text messages from family and friends checking on my well-being. And upon confusingly checking Twitter, I realized this was no normal day at all: BTS is moving forward with enlisting in the South Korean military. I promptly spent the rest of the day in a melancholy haze that ended in tears to my mom on a Facetime call. Fellow ARMY (a term for BTS fans) can 100% relate to my dramatic response to this news, as it means our favorite people in the world will now be disappearing from the public for the next couple of years.
However, this announcement is not as shocking as it may seem to non-fans or those unfamiliar with Korean customs. In South Korea, it’s mandatory that all able-bodied men enlist in military service by the time they turn 30 and then serve for a minimum of two years. Many have been able to be exempt from service, such as medal-winning Olympians and classical musicians, but never K-pop performers. With the behemoth that is BTS, it has raised questions within the Korean government and around the world on their possible exemption ever since their immense success became international. The group has produced billions of dollars for the Korean economy from fan activity, and are even representatives at the United Nations. Despite all of this, a full exemption was never officially granted and now the group has taken matters into their own hands by beginning the enlistment process. In a statement from BIGHIT MUSIC, the company writes that it, “has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that’s now.” It goes on to say that group member Jin will begin the process first after releasing a solo project at the end of October, as he is the oldest and turns 30 in December. The rest will follow on their own individual schedules, with fans receiving solo music from each member as well. The statement makes it known that they “are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment”.
I truly believe I speak for all ARMY when I say how proud we are of the group for making this difficult and emotional decision on their own terms. It’s hard to imagine a world without BTS the way we’ve had them for the past 9 years, and I believe this change carries a lot of complicated personal feelings for fans. Being an ARMY has given me a community unlike any other, and for some BTS is even their livelihood. But this monumental decision is a testament to the kind of people they are: admirable, humble role models that recognize their privilege in the world and yet still carry out the duties of an ordinary citizen. So, until 2025 we will be patiently waiting and supporting our favorite guys in any way that we can and come back bigger and better than ever. The official statement ends on a perfect note: “Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” is 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.”