Fans celebrate as BTS stars Jimin, Jung Kook end mandatory South Korea military service

3 week_ago 44

Entertainment

Hundreds of fans gathered successful the aboriginal greeting hours to drawback a glimpse of K-pop superstars Jimin and Jung Kook, the latest and last members of BTS to beryllium discharged from South Korea's mandatory subject service.

They're the last members of the K-pop mega radical to decorativeness their work aft enlisting successful 2023

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 10:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Two Korean men successful subject uniforms saluting extracurricular connected a sunny day.

The brace wore their subject uniforms Wednesday, saluted and addressed fans who had assembled to spot the brace aft their discharge.

Jung Kook thanked the journalists and fans who travelled to spot him and Jimin after their discharge and acknowledged however antithetic it was to beryllium backmost successful the spotlight.

"Actually, it's been truthful agelong since I've been successful beforehand of cameras, and I didn't adjacent enactment connected makeup, truthful I'm a spot embarrassed," helium said. "I don't cognize what to say."

The brace enlisted successful December 2023, 1 time aft RM and V did the same.

The second were discharged connected Tuesday.

A assemblage of radical extracurricular a subject basal holding up nationalist flags and banners with faces connected them. Red balloons clasp up vertical banners with faces and Korean penning connected them successful the background.

Supporters travelled from astir the satellite to the nationalist sports crushed wherever the meet-and-greet took place. It was moved from the subject base's gross for information reasons.

Colour-wrapped buses bearing BTS members' faces lined the streets, portion reddish and yellowish balloons floated above. A decorated nutrient motortruck provided escaped java and water, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Many supporters wore masks, conscious of imaginable backlash aft the band's statement discouraged attendance, citing information concerns.

WATCH | Jin, first subordinate of BTS to implicit mandatory subject service, discharged successful 2024:

BTS prima Jin finishes mandatory subject service

The star, who is the oldest subordinate of the K-pop mega-group, served for 18 months. Jin the archetypal subordinate of BTS to implicit the mandatory nationalist service in South Korea.

Despite the challenges, fans like Anaesi from Portugal said the 20-hour travel to Yeoncheon, a municipality adjacent the tense borderline with North Korea, was worthy it.

"Portugal is simply a tiny country, but wrong of Portugal, BTS is a king," she said. Anaesi, who discovered BTS on YouTube, said the radical "saved" her from depression.

"So for me, BTS is my angel," she said. She displayed a colourful upper limb tattoo featuring a aureate shield emblazoned with "ARMY" and an eagle supra it, complemented by Korean substance listing BTS members' names and those of her friends.

V thanked fans Tuesday for their patience successful waiting for him and RM's return and teased the band's reunion.

"If you tin conscionable hold a small spot longer, we volition instrumentality with a truly astonishing performance."

A assemblage of young Korean women, wearing look masks with names written connected them, clasp up signs and images of young Korean men.

The 7 singers of the fashionable K-pop set program to reunite arsenic a radical sometime successful 2025 aft they decorativeness their service.

Six of the group's 7 members served successful the army, while Suga is fulfilling his work arsenic a societal work agent, an alternate signifier of subject service. He volition beryllium discharged aboriginal this month.

Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged successful June 2024.

J-Hope was discharged successful October. In South Korea, each able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by instrumentality to execute 18-21 months of subject work nether a conscription strategy meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

The instrumentality gives peculiar exemptions to athletes, classical and accepted musicians, and ballet and different dancers if they person obtained apical prizes successful definite competitions and are assessed to person enhanced nationalist prestige.

A pistillate successful distress sits connected the ground, with a vessel of h2o successful her hand, arsenic 2 different radical assistance her.

K-pop stars and different entertainers aren't taxable to specified privileges. However, successful 2020, BTS postponed their work until property 30 aft South Korea's National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to hold their enlistment until property 30.

There was heated nationalist statement successful 2022 implicit whether to connection peculiar exemptions of mandatory subject work for BTS members, until the group's absorption bureau announced successful October 2022 that each 7 members would fulfill their duties.

LISTEN | Debate implicit BTS, Korean conscription and K-Pop idols arsenic diplomatic emissaries:

Nothing is Foreign27:24From stardom to service: BTS's subject dilemma

In galore ways South Korean lad set BTS is exceptional. The radical sells retired stadiums astir the world, and adds astir $3.6 cardinal USD a twelvemonth to their location economy. But successful 1 important aspect, each of its 7 members is wholly ordinary. Like each young antheral successful South Korea: they indispensable enlist for mandatory subject work earlier they crook 30. Last week, the oldest subordinate of the group, Kim Seok-jin — amended known arsenic Jin — started his deployment successful the region of Yeoncheon, adjacent the North Korean border. This week connected Nothing is Foreign, we propulsion isolated each the antithetic arguments successful the statement implicit BTS, Korean conscription, and utilizing K-Pop idols arsenic the eventual diplomatic emissaries. Featuring: Michelle Cho, prof of East Asian studies astatine the University of Toronto, BTS fan.

read-entire-article