BTS ‘Honored to Serve’ as Members Prepare to Fulfill Korean Military Service
Global superstars BTS have officially announced their plans to fulfill their Korean military service.
In a statement released Monday (Oct. 17), the group's label, BIGHIT Music, shared they were "proud to announce" BTS' plans to complete their military service.
"BIGHIT MUSIC has focused to the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that's now," the statement read.
The statement revealed that Jin, who is the group's oldest member at age 29, will begin the enlistment process at the end of October after his upcoming solo project is released.
The other six members "plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans."
The statement added that BTS plan to reunite "around 2025" after each member completes their service, meaning all members will be enlisting sometime within the next year.
The news comes after months of public debate about whether or not the band would receive an exemption from mandatory conscription for their contributions as global icons.
The seven members have long said they would be honored to serve should the time come, and that sentiment was repeated again in the announcement.
"We support and encourage our artists and are beyond proud that they will each now have time to explore their unique interests and do their duty by being of service to the country they call home," BIGHIT's statement continued.
"'Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)' is more than a track from their latest album, it is a promise, there's much more yet to come in the years ahead from BTS," the statement concluded.
Read the full statement, below:
In June 2022, during the group's annual Festa, which serves as a celebration of the anniversary of their debut, in an emotional video the group discussed their current plans to focus on solo projects more than group activities.
However, BTS has still taken on group endeavors since, such as their recent free concert on Oct. 15 to support the city of Busan, South Korea, in their bid to host the 2030 World Expo.
The band played a mix of old and new songs which fans noticed seemed carefully arranged to tell the story of their current trajectory.
Despite the Busan concert being the last BTS group performance until 2025, in a livestream celebrating his birthday on Oct. 13, member Jimin promised, "It's not like this concert will be our last concert. We'll work hard and have another concert."