The label of the South Korean group BTS has announced today that the seven members of the popular group will perform compulsory military service in their country, which lasts a minimum of 18 months, with the intention of reuniting as a band around 2025. The news has devastated millions of fans around the world, after BTS has become the most influential band in the K-pop genre on a global scale and one of the musical phenomena with the most followers today.
Big Hit Music, the company that formed the musical group in 2013 and that has accompanied the seven young people during their nine years of experience, explained that now "is the perfect time" to complete military service. After last summer the band announced the beginning of a stage where its members were going to be more focused on their individual projects, the group initiative had ceased to be the priority. That is why now all the members will carry out the military service, compulsory for between 18 and 21 months in South Korea, and that for them it is “an honor to do it”.
In fact, military service is a topic that has been haunting the band for years and, consequently, worrying their fans. The oldest member, Jin, had already deferred his enlistment two years ago, when he was 27. The Ministry of Culture, recognizing the relevance of BTS and its great cultural and economic contribution to the country, had considered granting all members an exemption, although this decision would have fostered controversy. However, both Jin and the rest of the group members "plan to carry out military service in relation to their own individual schedules," added Big Hit Music.
The news has been made public just two days after one of the most anticipated BTS concerts they offered in the South Korean city of Busan. Many fans had generated great anticipation after suspecting that it could be the last concert in a long time.
"Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reuniting as a band around 2025 after having fulfilled their obligations," the text details.
All the members, RM, Jimin, Jin, V, Suga, J-Hope and Jungkook now end a nine-year shared music career during which they have broken various records and won national and international awards that no South Korean pop band had ever seen. accumulated before. Thus, they have become the first Asian group that has managed to become a global musical phenomenon.
