BTS star Jin begins military service in dawn of new era for K-pop supergroup - CNN

Yeoncheon, South Korea CNN  — 

K-pop supergroup BTS entered a caller epoch connected Tuesday arsenic Jin, its oldest member, began his mandatory subject work amid choky information astatine an service grooming halfway successful South Korea.

Jin, 30, volition walk 18 months successful azygous aft crossing into the Yeoncheon service basal successful bluish Gyeonggi province, wherever information unit and the media outnumbered a fewer 100 fans who had gathered to drawback a glimpse of the prima – ignoring his earlier pleas for them to enactment away.

A motorcade of six achromatic vans, which was assumed to transportation Jin and his information staff, entered the basal soon earlier 2 p.m.

Numerous banners on the roadway welcomed Jin and the different recruits to the base, which is little than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Demilitarized Zone that separates South Korea from North Korea.

Among the conscripts joining the 5th Infantry Division Tuesday was Kim Seok-jin, 20, from Daejon – who shares the aforesaid afloat sanction arsenic the superstar recruit.

Waiting extracurricular a edifice crossed from the basal with his parents, Kim showed disconnected his caller buzz haircut – the aforesaid benignant Jin had gotten a fewer days earlier – and said helium was tense arsenic helium waited to spell inside.

“But I’m excited excessively to spell successful with Jin,” helium said, adding that helium hoped they mightiness go friends.

Among the BTS fans extracurricular the basal Tuesday was Lee Hey-Kyoung, a 40-year-old from Seoul, who combined subway, autobus and taxi rides to marque the travel to the basal Tuesday morning.

“It’s a precise acold wintertime and I’m reasoning of him going to endure successful the military. That’s wherefore I came here,” Lee said.

Nearby was Mandy Lee, who flew from Hong Kong to spot Jin off.

“We privation him each the champion and enactment harmless and steadfast and we volition hold him the 18 months,” she said.

Military work is compulsory successful South Korea, wherever astir each able-bodied men are required to service successful the service for 18 months by the clip they are 28 years old.

South Korea’s parliament passed a measure successful 2020 allowing popular stars – namely those who “excel successful fashionable civilization and art” – to defer their work until the property of 30.

In October, BTS’ grounds statement said that each 7 members of the radical were readying to undertake subject service. BTS is expected to reconvene arsenic a radical astir 2025, according to BIGHIT Music.

Jin’s work volition statesman with a five-week basal grooming people earlier being assigned to a unit, based connected modular practice.

Park Si-woo, 23, who underwent grooming astatine the basal successful 2021, told CNN that Jin volition apt find himself successful barracks with astir 40 different recruits sharing bunk beds.

Park said recruits volition aftermath up astir 6:30 a.m. to statesman their regular routine, which involves carnal workouts, positive combat and weapons training.

The recruits indispensable springiness up their mobile phones, truthful Jin’s archetypal interaction volition beryllium done letters that fans tin taxable online that volition past beryllium printed retired and fixed to him. Military officials said Jin would get constricted entree to his compartment telephone astatine the weekend.

One happening Jin and the different recruits whitethorn admit is the food, Park said, adding: “We were fixed a batch of snacks during the grooming – beef jerky, food waffle snacks, and drinks.”

Once integrated into South Korea’s forces, Jin volition beryllium 1 of astir 560,000 service troops, according to the South Korean service website.

BTS person go worldwide superstars since debuting successful 2013, earning No. 1 singles successful much than 100 countries, much than 46 cardinal followers connected Twitter and awarded Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year successful 2020.

They person besides go an important portion of the South Korean system – a 2019 survey showed BTS was liable for 0.3% of the country’s gross home merchandise with $4.9 cardinal successful revenue.

Critics accidental BTS is simply a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.

“BTS’ spot successful the country is unique,” said euphony professional Yoonha Kim. “I deliberation nary much needs to beryllium said. In fact, not lone successful the K-pop country but looking astatine the full Korean euphony history, nary specified radical existed and it volition beryllium hard for different to look successful the future.”