Will BTS have to serve in the real ARMY? The debate over military service and the K-pop band in South Korea

The biggest question haunting South Korea is whether members of the K-pop supergroup BTS will have to serve in the military as per the law that makes conscription mandatory for men after they turn 18. The debate has been ensuing for a while now and becomes more heated as one of the oldest band members Jin turns 30 in December.

In mid-June, the hearts of millions of people skipped a beat when South Korea’s BTS announced a hiatus, saying they would be taking this time to focus on their solo careers. The seven-member band, comprising of Jung Kook, V, Jimin, Suga, Jin, RM and J-Hope, which has enjoyed an unstoppable and successful nine year-run said they were not disbanding and will return to making music together.

There was a lot of speculation as to why the hit singers were taking a break, but many attributed it to South Korea’s rule of mandatory military service.

Also read: From anti-Asian hate to Black Lives Matter, how South Korean band BTS has spoken up for the right causes

Now the country’s military appears to want to conscript members of the BTS for mandatory military duties, as the public remains sharply divided over whether they should be given exemptions.

Lee Ki Sik, the commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, told lawmakers on Friday that it’s “desirable” for BTS members to fulfil their military duties to ensure fairness in the country’s military service.

Earlier last week, Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup made almost identical comments about BTS at a parliamentary committee meeting, and Culture Minister Park Bo Gyoon said his ministry would soon finalise its position on the issue, reports The Associated Press.

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Mandatory military service

South Korea’s Constitution states, “All citizens shall have the duty of national defence.”

By law, every able-bodied Korean man is obligated to start serving in the military from the year in which he turns 18 for at least 18 months. The age to enter service depends on various factors – including education – but normally Koreans sign up by the year in which they turn 28 at the latest.

Women are not required to perform military service, but they may voluntarily join the military. Objection to military service, for any reason, is not allowed and will lead to jail time

However, there are some exemptions to the law. In 1973, President Park Chung-hee introduced an exemption from military service for athletes in the run-up to the 1976 Summer Olympics, in an attempt to secure a better performance and more medals for the country.

As of date, medal-winners in the Olympic Games and Asian Games are allowed exemptions, where they only engage in four weeks of basic military training.

Superstar footballer Son Heung-min, who was a gold medallist at the 2018 Asian Games and baseball played Lee Jung-hoo, who also won at the Asian Games in 2018, are just some examples of the exemption.

Exemptions are also granted to globally recognised award-winning classical musicians; Cho Seong-jin, the first Korean pianist to win the International Chopin Piano Competition is another example of being granted a military exemption.

Amendment to the law

In December 2020, the month in which BTS’s oldest member, Jin, turned 28, the South Korean government revised the country’s military law that requires able-bodied South Korean men to perform approximately two years of military service.

The revised law allows top K-pop stars to defer their military service until they turn 30 if they’ve received government medals for heightening the country’s cultural reputation and apply for the postponement.
This amendment hugely benefitted Jin at the time, but time is running out now for him.

Several other amendments to the conscription law that would pave the way for BTS members to be exempted have been introduced in the National Assembly but have not been voted on with lawmakers sharply divided on the matter, reports AP.

Lee, the defence minister, earlier said he had ordered officials to consider conducting a public survey to help determine whether to grant exemptions to BTS. But the ministry later said it would not carry out such a survey.

In August, Lee said if BTS members join the military, they would likely be allowed to continue practising and to join other non-serving BTS members in overseas group tours.

The debate rages on

The matter of military service and exemptions has long been a contentious issue, but it has become a hot topic of debate today. In a recent survey, about 61 per cent of respondents supported exemptions for entertainers such as BTS, while in another, about 54 per cent said BTS members should serve in the military.

There have been nationwide discussions of exempting BTS, the only Korean act to ever top the main Billboard charts, in recognition of its contributions to the country. They are the first band from the country to receive a Grammy nomination.

Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party has proposed an amendment to include three-week training for K-pop stars, saying the way BTS had raised South Korea’s profile around the world through “soft power” should be taken into account when considering their military service.

“BTS has done a job that would take more than 1,000 diplomats to do,” he said.

As per Allkpop, South Korea culture, sports and tourism Minister Hwang Hee said that he has proposed that global icons from South Korea, including award-winning athletes and musicians, should be allowed to substitute mandatory military service for other alternative programmes in recognition of their role in promoting the country’s image abroad.

“It’s time to create a system for incorporating popular culture-art figures as art personnel. The system has been operated meaningfully to give those who have enhanced the national status based on their excellent skills more chances to contribute to the country, and there is no reason the popular art-culture field should be excluded from this,” he was quoted as saying.

But, not everyone agrees with the exemption for K-pop stars. Seo Chang-jun, 20, told Reuters he understood why Olympic winners got an exemption but wasn’t sure about BTS. “The Olympic Games are national events where all Koreans cheer for the same team but not everyone is a BTS fan. Many people aren’t interested in them,” he told Reuters.

Choi Hyung-seok, a 32-year-old office worker, told The Observer: “It is true BTS are promoting national prestige but the standards for evaluating national prestige are too vague. If famous singers are exempted from military service, starting with BTS, there will probably be many cases of abuse. I think it’s important to have some flexibility so that male celebrities can do their work as well as serve the country.”

As of now, there is no only clarity on whether Jin will have to replace his stage clothes with army fatigues, but it could be the future awaiting him.

With inputs from agencies

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