K-pop heartthrob Jin kicks off 18 months of mandatory military service

The K-pop heartthrob posted a picture of himself with a buzz cut on the fan-community platform Weverse on Monday with the caption: “It looks cuter than I thought.”

According to the South Korean military, Jin will start his service at the boot camp of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.

He will be joining 200 other new cadets and after five weeks of training, he will be placed in the military unit.

Born in 1992, Jin is the oldest among BTS members and will be the first to serve in the military.

He enlisted in the military even though the 2020 amendment to the Military Service Act would have allowed him to postpone it to the end of the year.

The South Korean National Assembly revised the law in December 2020 in recognition of BTS’s global success, allowing them to postpone their conscription until they turned 30.

Military duty is compulsory for all able-bodied men in South Korea between the ages of 18 and 28.

Big Hit Music, the agency behind the K-pop mega group, announced that no official events will be held to commemorate Jin’s admission day. The agency urged fans and media outlets to avoid visiting the boot camp to prevent any cases of emergency.

The agency also said that Jin will drive to the boot camp without a farewell party.

“For safety management, the Army and related ministries will be operating an all-source situation room and there will be ambulances ready for any emergencies. We will make sure there are no safety loopholes at the scene,” an army officer said during a regular briefing on Monday.

Jin’s six other bandmates – RM, Suga, Jimin, J-hope, V and Jungkook – will be enlisting in that order, BigHit Music said.

BTS has been on a hiatus from group activities since June this year, so members can take a break and focus on solo careers.

Jin released a solo single called “The Astronaut” on October 28 and entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on November 12 at No 51.

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network