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From stardom to service: BTS's military dilemma

With BTS’s Jin officially starting military duties this month, Nothing is Foreign takes a closer look at South Korea’s mandatory conscription policy and how its collision course with the otherworldly success of a beloved billion-dollar boy band is causing some to reconsider its merits.

Jin, the oldest member of the popular septet, started his mandatory military service this month

CBC News ·
The members of BTS pose on the red carpet for the Grammy Awards.
V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attends the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Nothing is Foreign27:24From stardom to service: BTS's military dilemma

In many ways South Korean boy band BTS is exceptional. The group sells out stadiums around the world, and adds about $3.6 billion US a year to their home economy. But in one crucial aspect, each of its seven members is completely ordinary. Like every young man in South Korea: they must enlist for mandatory military service before they turn 30. 

Members of BTS are crowded around Jin, touching his shorn head. Everyone wears masks and heavy winter jackets.
Members of BTS touch Jin’s newly shorn head as he prepares to enter military service. (Bangtang TV/YouTube)

Last week, the oldest member of the group, Kim Seok-jin — better known as Jin — started his deployment in the county of Yeoncheon, near the North Korean border.

This week on Nothing is Foreign, we pull apart all the different arguments in the debate over BTS, Korean conscription, and using K-Pop idols as the ultimate diplomatic emissaries.   

Featuring:

  • Michelle Cho, professor of East Asian studies at the University of Toronto, BTS fan.

Nothing is Foreign, a podcast from CBC News and CBC Podcasts, is a weekly trip to where the story is unfolding. It's hosted by Tamara Khandaker.

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