BTS members will have to complete their mandatory military service, no exceptions.
The members of BTS have announced, that they will serve in the South Korean military, fulfilling their mandatory service. I guess, BTS is going to war! Nah, probably not. It is highly unlikely, that the famous K-Pop group would see any military action, even if a war broke out. Imagine the public outcry by BTS Stans!
They would have canceled South Korea harder, than VTubers streaming porn:
The announcement, made by management company Big Hit Music, ends years of speculation, about a possible exemption. Guess being one of the biggest K-Pop groups, with millions of international fans and the status as a lucrative cultural asset has its perks. Who would have thought. Oh wait, in this case, it didn't.
The BTS members, will each complete their mandatory service individually, which might just lead to some solo action. One example of this is Jin, who will enlist later this month. Just yesterday, he announced a solo single, once his release campaign concludes. Park Jiwon, CEO of Big Hit Music's parent company Hybe, announced that:
Individual activities for several of the members are planned into the first half of 2023, and we have secured content in advance, which will enable BTS to continue their engagement with fans for the foreseeable future.
To me, this doesn't sound like the end for BTS. I guess, because a big evil music company created and manages BTS like a gorgeous Frankenstein Monster, they can have them do solo stuff, without disbanding the group.
Public opinion in South Korea is a little split on whether the group should be forced into mandatory service. Since 2013 this includes all healthy men, as the government scrapped a loophole which allowed entertainment figures to use promotional material for the military instead of actual service. So it seems that BTS will have to serve in the military the same way, any other ordinary handsome fellow would. I guess war... war never changes.
Don't worry though, K-Pop fans, the band will remain active in various different formats.