The subject of military enlistment is a thought that crosses every idol mind at one point in their career.
All eligible Korean men must enlist to the military to serve their country, it’s mandatory and you can only skip it if you’re deemed unfit for one reason or another.
BTS and military enlistment has been a hot topic of discussion last year. When a new law proposed to exempt idols from military service, Kpop fans both domestic and international had contrasting thoughts. Many wondered if BTS should serve and everyone had their own thoughts to share on the subject.
Despite everyone’s interest in this subject, BTS and Big Hit have remained quiet and didn’t comment about anything relating to the matter.
On April 21st, CBS Sunday Morning met BTS in Seoul to cover the boys’ success story. During their interview section, the boys were asked about military service.
Jin responded,
“As a Korean its natural. Someday when duty calls we will respond and do our best.”
The interviewer then asked about how they’d feel separating or picking different paths, to that Jungkook said,
“I don’t want to think about it. We have something really good going.”
RM added,
“We just enjoy the ride and live in the moment. Thats all we can do.”
So there you have it guys, BTS finally talked about their pending military enlistment.
You can check out the full interview below:
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What do you think of what they said?
Related: BTS Fans Are Not Happy That The Group’s Name Is Being Used To Discuss Idol Military Exemption
My Personal Thoughts
I remember the heated debate in 2018. I won’t discuss my own thought on military exemption here but I wanted to commend BTS and Big Hit for the way they handled this subject until now.
BTS are huge and some feel that because of their contribution they deserve military exemption. In case you guys didn’t know, military is a very sensitive subject to Koreans and a lot of idols or celebrities go down the drain for making mistakes/doing wrong during their military service.
I understand how serious the subject is since I discuss it with my Korean friends regularly and I feel that a lot of international Kpop underestimate just how sensitive the subject is. All I have to say is BTS are handling it extremely well, unlike other idols I won’t talk about here.
Despite their status, they seem keen on fulfilling their duty. If you think about it, its only two years and if they do well and not cause trouble (which is extremely easy) they should be good to go.
BTS members are clever and amazing human beings; I highly doubt they’d want to sabotage their careers. I am sure they will not disappoint and not cause trouble, they worked so hard and I don’t think they want that taken away from them.
If I were them, I would also happily serve no matter how difficult it was. After I am done, I will go back to my status and promote happily with the rest of my members as part of one of the biggest Kpop acts ever, why would I want to harm my reputation?
Big Hit silence plus the way BTS answered this question just show how amazing they are at managing their artists. I know there is no perfect agency but I really like the way Big Hit handles a lot of things.
