Any person with a male Korean friend or sibling would be aware that military service in South Korea is mandatory for all men. Since 1957, all Korean men between the age of 18 and 35 are required to perform compulsory military service to protect the country from any potential attacks or war with the North. In the past, military service lasted up to 36 months, but it has been slowly decreased to 18 months of service. Once a Korean male turns 18, his compulsory service in the military comes into effect, but it is also possible to delay serving in the military until the age of 28. Still, most Korean men complete their compulsory service in their early 20s, apart from famous singers and actors who usually wait longer since it might negatively affect their careers. 

Although it is expected that all men will serve active duty, a few exemptions are granted to those with health issues or exceptional skills. For instance, those who are determined to be not in good health after a thorough physical examination are allowed to complete their military service through social work. Athletes who win medals in the Olympics or a gold medal in the Asian Games are also exempted from active duty. This is because the government believes that top-performing athletes significantly contributed to elevating national prestige abroad. Over the years, there have been debates regarding whether that exemption for athletes and artists could be extended to K-pop musicians, since a two-year hiatus will negatively impact their careers as well. Some are outraged that athletes can get an exemption but actors and singers cannot, while others are pushing towards abandoning the idea of exemption altogether.

Today, continuous controversies are being raised on whether BTS should be allowed to skip military service — especially with the band’s oldest member, Jin, set to enlist in military service before the end of this year. At its current state, the Ministry of National Defense opposes BTS’s military service exception, saying “a careful review is necessary because military service should be applied equally to all.”

The biggest issue of BTS’s military service exemption is whether or not K-pop can play a “significant-enough” role to promote national prestige. Those who oppose special military service treatment emphasize that K-pop artists are different from sports players who participate in national competitions, such as the Olympics and the World Cup. They claim that BTS’s activities should be viewed as a profit-making activity rather than a promotion of national prestige. 

Furthermore, opponents argue that in the field of pop culture, there is no public confidence and representative indicators like the Olympics, making it incredibly difficult to set objective standards. BTS was not the first celebrity who gained global popularity. Psy’s “Gangnam Style” was very popular worldwide in 2012 and Big Bang is the original Hallyu idol — but none of them were exempted from military service. Thus, BTS’s military service exemption raises questions about fairness and by what standards the exemptions should be granted. Although BTS has won many record-breaking awards such as the Billboard, there are controversies over whether those can be used as objective standards, as they are limited to national events in the US. The demand for such special exemptions could spiral out of control to include other pop culture artists, such as break dancers, leading to chaos. 

The debate surrounding the exemption of military service to K-pop artists sheds light on the question of whether the current system of mandatory military service needs to be revised. In fact, in the most recent presidential election, one of the pledges was to increase the wage for soldiers to push for voluntary military service. Unless more fundamental issues are addressed, the debate on exemption of military service to K-pop artists will likely continue in the foreseeable future. 

Any person with a male Korean friend or sibling would be aware that military service in South Korea is mandatory for all men. Since 1957, all Korean men between the age of 18 and 35 are required to perform compulsory miliary service to deter an attack by the North. In the past, military service lasted up to 36 months but has slowly decreased to 18 months of service.  

Once a Korean male turns 18, his compulsory service in military comes into effect. They do not have to start their service immediately and are possible to delay the starting date until the age of 28. Apart from famous idols and actors, who usually wait since it might negatively affect their careers, most Korean men complete their compulsory military service in their early 20s. Objection to military service, for any reason, is prohibited and will lead to jail time.

Although it is expected that all men will serve active duty, few exemptions are granted to those with health issues or exceptional skills. For instance, those who are not in good health are allowed to complete their military service through social work. Athletes who win medals in the Olympics or a gold medal in the Asian Games are also exempted from active duty. 

Over the years, there was been a few controversies surrounding Korean military service. Usually, these controversies and scandals were directed towards Korean celebrities and athletes. This is because while military exemption for athletes and artists is currently possible, whether that luxury should be extended to K-pop musicians remain a core issue of societal debate. Some are outraged that athlete will get an exemption but actors and singers won’t, while others are pushing towards abandoning the idea of exemption altogether. 

Today, continuous controversies are raising on whether BTS should be allowed to skip military service especially with the band’s oldest member Jin enlisted for military before the end of this year. At current state, the Ministry of National Defense opposes BTS’s military service exception, saying “a careful review is necessary.”

The biggest issue of BTS’ military service exception if whether or not to promote national prestige. Those who oppose special military service treatment emphasize that K-pop artists are different from sports players who participate in national competitions such as the national Olympics and the World Cup. BTS’ activities should be viewed as a profit-making activity rather than a promotion of national prestige. They claim that BTS was not the first celebrity who gained global popularity. Psy’s Gangnam Style was very popular in the US in 2012 and Big Bang are the original of Hallyu idol, but both enlisted. Therefore, BTS’ military service exemption would go against fairness.

The second reason for the opposing position is objective standards and equity. Opposers argue that in the field of pop culture, there is no public confidence and representative indicators like the Olympics, making it incredibly difficult to set objective standards. Also, the target of special treatment could be demanded out of control to other pop culture artists such as break dancers. Although BTS has won many records breaking awards such as the US Grammys and Billboard, there are controversies over whether those can be used as objective standards as they are limited to national events in the US. 

There are also concerns that as South Korea’s population is aging and the country’s military services face a shortage of able-bodied men, the country may face potential threat from unpredictable and nuclear-armed North Korea. 

The debate on exemption of military service to K-pop artists will likely continue in the foreseeable future. There was also a presidential election pledge to increase the wage for soldiers and push for voluntary military service. Perhaps the controversies will persist until relations between the two Koreas change.