South Koreans, including celebrities, are obliged to enlist in the military by ages 18 to 28. With that said, BTS members are heading to the military soon.
With their career being at its peak at the moment, fans have been hoping for the boys to be exempted from enlisting. Unfortunately for ARMYS, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are still obliged to do their military service. If they do not comply, the boys will face several possible punishments.
Article 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea states that all citizens have “the duty of national defense.” The law has no exception unless they are Olympic medalists, accomplished international athletes, and other individuals. But, in the music sphere, only classical artists are exempted from the rule. BTS is a K-pop boy group, which means they are not eligible for such exclusions.
Since Jin is the oldest member of BTS, he is the first one to be enlisted. With the singer and songwriter turning 28 in 2020, it’s hard to deny the fact that Jin is going to enlist this year.
So during BTS’ online global press conference for their new album MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 on February 24, the question regarding Jin’s military enlistment was brought up. Although the BTS star noted that this is a sensitive topic, he tried his best to answer the question.
“I know many people are curious about this topic and all I can say is that no decisions have been made yet,” Jin said. “I believe that military enlistment is a part of my duty and I am ready to accept it whenever the country calls me in. If something does become confirmed, I hope to show my best to everyone.”
Several ARMYs were not very happy that Jin’s military enlistment was included in the program. They believed that until there was confirmation, the topic shouldn't be discussed.
“This wasn’t even a real-time question so I don’t understand why Big Hit included it in the list of questions. If you know that nothing has been confirmed, why add it in? Jin looks so distraught after answering this question,” one wrote. “I thought they received the questions beforehand through e-mail? Why didn’t they take this question out? Jin just said the same answer he’s always been saying so why was it necessary to be said again here?” another one shared.
