Alanna Lane- Staff Writer
In Korea, men in their early 20s must serve their duty in the military, but is it any different towards K-Pop stars? Ranging at ages 18-28, Korean men are required to serve in the country’s military for about 20 months. Typically young men first graduate high school, complete two years of university and then begin their military service. Only males attend the military, and females are not required to, but they are welcomed to do so. It has been traditionally like that since 1957. Korean pop music has risen in popularity over the years, and usually the stars would take a break from their career to fulfill the duty of serving for war.
Controversies spread about athletes being exempted from performing active duty. Many were outraged that athletes receive an exemption, whilst singers, idols and actors do not. Some were even abandoning the whole idea of exemption all together. I believe that both athletes and celebrities should be exempted because both careers involve a lot of consistency and constant support from their supporters to have a healthy career. When someone well-known disappears or isn’t active in their career, they could be easily forgotten. It’s almost like all their hard work to be where they are presently, will go down the drain because service that anyone else could perform in the country is being put on an athlete and/or celebrity.
BTS, an internationally popular Korean band, were the firsts to be blessed with a postponed requirement. South Korea’s parliament amended a law that allowed globally famous K-Pop artists to postpone their mandatory military service to age 30. The law was created to provide exceptions for Korean idols that contribute to South Korea’s economy, whilst promoting the culture. I think the law makes the exemptions fair between athletes and celebrities. Fans before the law came into the picture, were questioning why performers that instrumentally promote South Korea have been left out from the exemption. There were calls from pleading fans, asking for an exemption and South Korea’s culture minister, Park Yang-woo, explained the stance regarding K-Pop stars. “Unlike classical arts or sports, it is difficult to to fix the criteria of the selection in the popular culture and arts fields, which makes it difficult to institutionalize a waiver system,” stated Park. Thankfully, the government later solved the issue with a law that satisfies the supporters and even the artists.
The idol’s fans cannot imagine the sudden disappearance from their admired celebrity, but the company BTS is signed under, Bighit, strongly believes military duty is a must. The founder of Big Hit Entertainment, Bang Si-hyuk, phrases the group plans to fulfill their duties when it comes to the military. “The company believes military service is a duty, we will try to show the fans the best of BTS until, and after, the members have fulfilled their service duties,” Bang reassures the crowd of millions of fans. The oldest member of the group, Jin, is currently 28 and the law will come into play soon, so appreciating the time and products being released is encouraged until then.
Southview Catalyst 