(SEOUL) Jin, the eldest child of the phenomenon group BTS, begins his compulsory military service in South Korea on Tuesday, leaving millions of fans dejected and the K-pop industry in doubt about the future of the boys band.
First South Korean group to dominate the American and British charts, several times nominated for the Grammy Awards, with a worldwide fan base… BTS has generated several billion dollars in revenue since its debut in 2013.
The announcement in October of the enlistment of Jin in the army had recorded the separation, at least temporary, of the septet with more than 30 billion plays on Spotify.
In South Korea, military service is compulsory for all able-bodied men. With a minimum duration of 18 months, all members of BTS will submit to it, after years of debate around a possible exemption.
Jin, whose full name is Kim Seok-jin, will do his classes for five weeks before joining a “front line” unit, that is to say near the border with North Korea.
He joins the army in a context of very tense inter-Korean relations, after a record series of arms tests by Pyongyang in recent months.
BTS’s label, Big Hit Music, asked Jin’s fans not to attend the singer’s induction ceremony, which is for families, on Tuesday.
Fans of the boy band, dubbed the “BTS ARMY”, have been in shock since the June revelation of the group’s breakup. It will be able to reform around 2025, once all its members have served in the army.
“It’s true that there are a lot of fans who spent their days crying,” confirmed a South Korean fan of the group, known as @5 heterotopia on Twitter.
Exemptions are granted to a few elite athletes, such as Olympic medalists, or to classical musicians. But not to pop stars.
Exception
BTS had already benefited from a revision of the law of conscription which pushed back the age limit of enlistment from 28 to 30 years for certain artists.
Jin, the oldest member of the group, turned 30 on December 4. The separation of the boy band had therefore been considered according to this obligation, according to specialists. But doubt hangs over the future of the flagship of K-pop: despite his incredible popularity, will he survive this hiatus?
In this ultra-competitive sector, several male icons have struggled to revive their careers after serving in the military.
“For the K-pop industry, BTS’s retirement is going to be a big deal,” said Kyung Hee University communications professor Lee Taek-gwang.
“During their absence, they could lose public interest and the decline in their popularity will harm their business. It will not be easy for the boy band to reunite after their enlistment,” he added.
But BTS will be an exception, say experts like Lee Ji-young, a BTS scholar and professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
The septet “got a whole new level of popularity, influence and credibility” and “will not be forgotten,” she predicts.
In more than nine years, many consider BTS to have done more than any diplomat or celebrity for South Korea’s global cultural outreach.
The group represented their country at the United Nations and met Joe Biden at the White House. He is also the official ambassador of Busan’s candidacy for the organization of the 2030 World Expo.
First line
Not enough, however, to escape military service. A bill to exempt BTS had been drafted, but it never passed through the doors of Parliament.
“In South Korea, military service is a marker of egalitarianism,” explains Lee Taek-gwang.
Jin’s posting near the border with North Korea is also symbolic, according to Macquarie University media and music lecturer Sarah Keith.
“It shows the role of culture, and public opinion, in shaping international relations. Is this role at the border a combat role, or a public and media relations role? »
Jin said goodbye to thousands of tearful fans in Buenos Aires in October during a concert with Coldplay.
On Monday, he posted a photo of himself showing off his new military haircut on South Korean social network WeVerse, captioning, “It’s cuter than I imagined!” “.