A source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed Friday that K-pop superstar Jin will start his mandatory military service next month. This comes after the BTS singer asked the group’s fans to stay away from his South Korean army training center.
The source said that the 29-year-old star, who is the oldest member of BTS, will start his military service on December 13 at the Yeoncheon army base in the Gyeonggi province in the north.
Military service is required in South Korea. By the time they are 28 years old, almost all able-bodied men must have served in the army for 18 months. In 2020, South Korea’s parliament passed a law that said pop stars who “excel in popular culture and art” could put off their military service until they were 30.
Jin will start his service with a five-week basic training course before being sent to a unit. This is how things usually work. Many people had been expecting the move. Last month, BTS’ record label announced that all seven members of the group were planning to serve in the military, with Jin who turns 30 on December 4 being the first to enlist.
Jin posted a message on the fan community app Weverse on Thursday, urging fans not to go to the military training center to catch a glimpse of him amid reports of his impending enlistment. In the post, he did not reject the reports.
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“Reports have surfaced against my wishes, but our ARMYs (BTS fans) should not attend the training center,” he wrote. “It could be dangerous because the place will be crowded with many people who are coming in addition to me.” “I adore you, ARMY.”
BTS is often compared to The Beatles. They even broke one of The Beatles’ records by having three No. 1 albums on the Billboard charts in the same year.
The group’s loyal fans, who call themselves the “BTS Army,” support their music and defended them on social media in 2019 when they weren’t nominated for any Grammys. In 2023, they have been nominated for three Grammys.
With military service coming up, BTS said in June that it would put its solo projects on hold. Their record label says that the group will probably get back together in 2025.
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