Jin, the eldest son of BTS, began his mandatory military service in South Korea on Tuesday, leaving millions of dejected fans and the K-pop industry with doubts about the boy band’s future.
The first South Korean group to top the US and UK charts, multiple Grammy nominees, and a global fanbase, BTS has generated billions of dollars in revenue since their debut in 2013.
The announcement in October of the departure under the banners of Jin had marked the separation, at least temporarily, of the septet.
Affected on the “front line”
In South Korea, military service is compulsory for all able-bodied men for a minimum of 18 months. Jin, who turned 30 on December 4, is the first to do so, but the other six BTS members will also have to go.
Jin, whose full name is Kim Seok-jin, will take his classes for five weeks before joining his final unit. The media assure that he will be assigned “on the front line”, that is, near the border with North Korea.
Hundreds of BTS journalists and fans gathered Tuesday at the entrance to the Yeoncheon training camp, not far from the border, 40 km north of Seoul. A convoy of vehicles, one of which was thought to bear the star, drove through the gate of the camp, surmounted by a sign promoting it as “a breeding ground for first-class combat soldiers”, twenty minutes before 2:00 p.m. :00 (05:00). GMT), the arrival time limit imposed on new recruits.
“We have mixed feelings today because, on the one hand, it’s normal for him to join, because anyway it’s a must for any Korean,” said Véronique, a 32-year-old fan from Indonesia.
“But on the other hand, we won’t be able to see it for at least 18 months… I’m happy but also sad and proud, something like that,” she continues.
Group reform in 2025
Jin joins the military at a time when inter-Korean relations are extremely tense, following a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang.
BTS’s label Big Hit Music had asked Jin’s fans not to attend the singer’s induction ceremony, which is for families only. Fans of the boy band, nicknamed ‘BTS ARMY’, have been in shock since the revelation in June of the group’s breakup. It may be reformed by 2025, once all its members have served in the military.
Exemptions from military service are granted to a few elite athletes, such as Olympic medalists or classical musicians. But not to pop stars. BTS had already benefited from a draft law revision that pushed back the enlistment age limit from 28 to 30 for certain artists.
Loss of public interest?
Jin, the oldest member of the group, turned 30 on December 4. Therefore, the separation of the boy band had been thought in accordance with this obligation, according to specialists. But doubt looms over the future of the K-pop flagship: despite its incredible popularity, will it survive this hiatus?
For the K-pop industry, BTS’s withdrawal is going to be a big problem,” Lee Taek-gwang, a communications professor at Kyung Hee University, told AFP.
“During his absence, they may lose public interest and their declining popularity will hurt their business. It won’t be easy for the boy band to reunite after their enlistment,” he added.
But BTS will be an exception, say experts like Lee Ji-young, a BTS scholar and professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
The septet “reached a new level of popularity, influence and credibility” and “will not be forgotten,” he predicts.
In more than nine years, many consider BTS to have done more than any diplomat or celebrity for South Korea’s global cultural reach.
The group represented their country at the United Nations and met Joe Biden at the White House. He is also the official ambassador of Busan’s bid for hosting the 2030 World Expo.
“Egalitarianism Marker”
Not enough, however, to escape military service. A bill to exempt BTS had been drafted, but it never made it to the doors of Parliament.
“In South Korea, military service is an indicator of egalitarianism,” says Lee Taek-gwang.
Jin’s possible posting near the North Korean border is also symbolic, according to Macquarie University professor of music and media, Sarah Keith.
“It shows the role of culture and public opinion in shaping international relations. Is this role at the border a combat role or a media and public relations role?”
On Monday, Jin posted a picture of him revealing his new crew cut on South Korean social network WeVerse, with the caption: “It’s cuter than I imagined!”
Source: BFM TV
