World Famous K-Pop Band BTS is Expected to Answer South Korea’s Call to Duty

The South Korean pop group, BTS, gained national attention through the performance of their hit song, “Butter”, at the Grammy awards ceremony on April 3 in Las Vegas, particularly when one of its members, V, seemed to get up-close and personal with Grammy winner, Olivia Rodrigo, as part of the setup for the performance.

While members of their fandom, officially titled BTS Army, are angry that the band lost the Grammy award for Best Group Performance or Pop Duo to SZA and Doja Cat, fans are more engrossed with the reminder that some of its members are scheduled for an 18-month mandatory military service for their home country.

In 2020, a law was passed in the South Korean national assembly that permitted K-pop entertainers who have received medals for helping spread their country’s culture worldwide to apply for a deferment of their military service until age 30. At first glance, this might seem like a sweet deal. But time waits for no one, and now member Jin is set to turn 30 this December, and another member by the name of Suga will follow next March.

“I heard from the grapevine that many fans are against them (BTS) performing their military service because they’re afraid they’ll become irrelevant when they come back,” said Ross V., a freshman at AISG. “But then again, all men aged 18 to 28 are required to serve, so I don’t see why BTS should be an exception.”

Both Jin and Suga will be required to serve for at least 18 months, with members J-hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook following suit in the following years. There have been speculations that the band’s representative will send all seven members to do their service simultaneously to take care of the obligation as soon as possible. While this cycle is happening, the group may not have the opportunity to perform altogether for nearly a decade.

“The only thing I can wish for them is good luck,” Said Yeawon Y., a freshman at AISG. “As a Korean myself, my dad also had to answer to the drafting. So I believe it’s only fair that BTS should as well.”

It is not unknown that anyone entering the South Korean military must be prepared for the real possibility of going into combat against North Korea, who claims to have fired a new long-range nuclear missile named Hwasong-17.

Regardless of how this plays out, BTS will become the biggest news in the pop star military industry since Elvis Presley in 1958.