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Seoul — Jin, a member of South Korea’s Ok-Pop famous person band BTS, has shaved his head and joined the military. At 30 Jin is the eldest member of the band, making him first in line to place his pop profession on maintain to fulfil his necessary nationwide army service.
An enormous purple banner was hung close to the doorway to the Yeoncheon County army coaching middle Tuesday, welcoming “Jin and every enlisted man” as they signed up for service.
BTS introduced in June that it could pause its touring schedule, resulting in a sudden drop within the inventory worth of the group’s guardian leisure firm, Hybe, of just about 25% in a single day.
A photograph posted on the group’s Twitter account confirmed Jin, along with his new regulation army buzz reduce, laughing along with his BTS bandmates. The accompanying message learn: “My brother! Come back safe! I love you.”
Questions over whether or not the younger males of BTS can be required to enlist below South Korean regulation bubbled for years, stoking heated debates over all the pieces from the requirement being for males solely, as to whether the band’s enormous cultural contribution and incomes energy — each domestically and as representatives of South Korea on a worldwide stage — ought to exempt them.
After machinations by the federal government to grant the band a move drew a pointy rebuke — particularly from former members of the army — the Ministry of Defense dominated in 2019 that the boys of BTS would, the truth is, should serve.
Most wholesome Korean males are required to serve within the army for 18 months.
Pop star Psy, of “Gangnam Style” fame, has even been enlisted twice: As he managed to squeeze in so many musical performances throughout his first stint within the military, officers deemed his nationwide service insufficient and required him to enlist once more. He has now accomplished his second enlistment interval and brought his singing profession again on the street.
But there isn’t a assure for boy band members that careers shelved for army service will probably be ready for them after they return. In the world of pop and standard tradition, 18 months is a very long time. Being out of the general public eye for therefore lengthy — particularly for a band like BTS, which has members of a spread of ages, that means its hiatus will probably be staggered and drag on for years — can see even probably the most fervent of fanbases fade away.
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And BTS could have probably the most fervent group of followers on this planet – or at the least on the web. “The Army,” as they considerably mockingly name themselves, replied to the band’s tweet on Tuesday with regret, lament, and vows to stay loyal to their Ok-Pop heroes.
“We will wait for u jin, we love u,” declared one fan below the consumer deal with mia. Another merely posted a brief clip of a girl crying on her knees with the phrase “ARMY” emblazoned over her, in entrance of a superimposed picture of the automotive driving Jin into the recruitment middle.
It is extensively assumed at this stage that BTS will at the least try to reunite in 2025, as soon as all of the members have fulfilled their army service requirement.
At a each day news briefing, a Defense Ministry official sought to reassure nervous followers about Jin’s security as he enlisted, noting that some 300 safety personnel had been dispatched to assist management crowds gathered on the website.
The drive, consisting of members of the South Korean Army (the precise military, not the BTS followers), native police and fireplace departments had been “jointly doing their best to prevent safety accidents.”
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From Tuesday, Jin will undergo 5 weeks of bootcamp coaching. It has been reported, although not confirmed by the army, that he’ll then be assigned to a front-line unit close to the tense border with North Korea.
CBS News’ Tucker Reals contributed to this report.