Good luck Kim Seok-jin!
The first member of BTS enters the military on Dec. 13. ARMY meets reality: the real Korean Army.
The BigHit notice we all dreaded arrived into our Weverse inboxes two days ago. Our fluffy haired Jin had his date with the barber and buzzed his shiny locks to a tight cut.
It wasn’t another real-time BTS hairstyle experiment, but the manifestation of what we knew was coming: Jin preparing to enter the Army for his mandatory military service as an of-age Korean male.
And of course, Jin had to add in the World Wide Handsome brand of humor, assessing his beauty as still being in effect.
Oh Jin. As usual, he’s making a joke to diffuse the situation. But the reality is everywhere for the fanbase, the members of BTS, and their company: things are officially changing hard, starting now, through 2025. Each member of BTS will go through the same steps, serving stints of at least 18 months. The service depends on the branch entered. Jin’s is 18 months, because he is going into the Army. It is reasonable to expect, because of being around 30-ish when they enter, that Yoongi, Namjoon and Hobi will all be Army-bound.
I will say this now, I am not emotionally prepared for the hellaciously gorgeous long locks of one Min Yoongi to hit the floor. I ask for a follicular exemption for Agust D. Please.
All kidding aside, this is a pretty seminal moment in BTS’s nearly 10 year history. They will not be together, not by choice, and they will all find their own ways until whole again. We’ve seen the creative rise of j-hope (Jack in the Box) and RM (Indigo) through their impressive and critically-acclaimed solo debut albums. Their videos and approaches to promotion have been diverse and true to their spirits. They seem energized. And swearing a lot more frequently, haha. (Joon has found the F-word to be an effective noun, verb and adverb.)
Jin’s farewell-for-now, the Astronaut single with Coldplay, has left us with the emotional debut/one-off solo performance in Buenos Aires. His deviation into creating the animated character of Wooteo, a proxy for him as somebody who is going far away, has been delightful. I’ve lived for Jin’s crazy turns on the various Korean talk/game shows. He also has been shining.
JK’s World Cup theme song is OK. I still put Ricky Martin (1998) and Shakira’s (2010) bangers above his. But he did his thing.
The rest of the clan is moving around, with Tae pulling Waldo duty popping up all over the globe for secret stuff. JK and Jimin are being way too quiet. More content is coming.
It’s already early Tuesday morning in Seoul, and the time is ticking in that world for Jin to report the enlistment center. Wishing him a safe, healthy and OK stint in the military. Maybe write some interesting songs from the experience.
Until then, we will stay occupied with the old content, and enjoy the new stuff from the guys.
Dallyeora Jin.
