BTS: Group Gets Government Permission to Play Concerts During Military Service

The Defense Minister of South Korea, Lee Jong-supannounced in a parliamentary session on Monday, 1st, that the Korean pop group BTS will be able to continue performing abroad even during the mandatory military service of its members.

“Even if they join the military, there would be a way to give them a chance to rehearse and perform together if there are concerts scheduled overseas.” reported jong-supaccording to the portal The Korea Herald. “As many people value so much [artistas servindo] in the military, this can help to increase their popularity even further.”

In South Korea, fit men between the ages of 18 and 28 must complete a mandatory period of nearly two years of military service. So far, the benefit of exemption from military service is only given to classical musicians and renowned athletes.

In 2019, a revision of the rule established the possibility for globally recognized K-pop singers to defer enlistment until age 30, in what became known as the “BTS Law”. Under current law, singer Jin, the oldest member of the group, must enlist in December, when he turns 30.

Meanwhile, the South Korean parliament is debating whether to cut K-pop stars’ service time to three weeks. The members of BTS have already commented on the mandatory service and said that they come naturally to fulfill it.

BTS was the first group k-pop indicated to Grammy and competed for two years in a row in the category of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. In 2021, he competed with his first song in English “Dynamite”which marked an unprecedented achievement by South Korea at the top of the Hot 100, the music billboard.