After Jin, the K-pop phenom training star will begin his five-week basic training at an army training camp in Gangwon province on Tuesday.
BTS pop star J-Hope will begin compulsory military service in South Korea on Tuesday, local media reported, becoming the second member of the K-pop boy band to join the military.
The first South Korean group to top the US and UK charts, multiple Grammy nominees and a global fan community called ARMY, BTS has generated billions of dollars in revenue since their debut in 2013.
But in South Korea, all able-bodied males must serve at least 18 months in the military, and after a years-long debate over whether BTS deserved an exemption, Jin, the eldest of the group, was the first to submit in December.
“We will miss you very much”
J-Hope, whose full name is Jung Ho-seok, is due to start his five-week basic training on Tuesday at an army training camp in northeast Gangwon province, reported Yonhap News Agency.
The 29-year-old “idol” posted photos of himself on Weverse, the fan community platform created by BTS’s label Hybe, with his new regulation haircut on Monday.
“I love you, ARMY. I’m leaving and I’ll come back healthy (from the army),” he said.
The post prompted thousands of comments from fans, many of whom expressed sadness over the band’s temporary split.
“Take care and stay healthy. ARMY will do its best to stay positive by spreading and supporting the things you love and enjoy! Say hello to Jin for us, please? We will miss you very much,” said writes one of them. Another praises his “sense of duty in the service” of his country.
“D-1”
Jin, who is currently serving in the military, commented “D-1” (J-1 in French) with a heart under one of J-Hope’s Weverse posts on Monday, meaning there was only one day before his enlistment.
Hybe had confirmed on April 1 that J-Hope would begin his military service, without giving further details “to avoid any problems related to crowd movements”.
“The entrance ceremony is a moment reserved for military personnel and their families. (…) Fans are advised not to go to the site,” the label said.
“A new experience”
During a livestream on Friday, J-Hope shared with his fans his excitement about joining the military.
“It will be a new experience, I will learn to integrate into a new society and that makes me enthusiastic,” he said.
“In the meantime, I look forward to living every day in a normal way, it will be different from my usual way of life. It could allow me to be healthier,” he added.
The group had invoked the exhaustion and pressure caused by their stratospheric success when announcing a hiatus in 2022, explaining that each of the members would be taking a break to focus on their solo careers.
Difficult recovery?
Analysts wonder about the future of the group, once the seven members have completed their military service.
Some male K-pop stars have struggled to resume their careers after serving in the military, in an industry where artists are easily replaced.
“During this absence, (BTS) may lose public interest, and the decline in popularity will harm its business,” said Lee Taek-gwang, a communications professor at Kyung Hee University, to AFP.
According to him, “it’s not only BTS’s problem, but also that of almost all boy bands and male celebrities” in South Korea.
