By Jae-Ha Kim
Substack
October 17, 2022
I woke up this morning to the news that BTS’ eldest member, Kim Seok-jin, was initiating the process to begin his mandatory military duty in South Korea. The press release from Bighit Music read:
Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans. Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.
[공지] 방탄소년단 병역 이행 및 향후 활동 계획 안내 (+ENG/JPN/CHN) pic.twitter.com/jntF90agO4
— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) October 17, 2022
In other words, Jin is doing what he and his six bandmates have said all along: when it is their turn to serve in the military, they will do so, like every other able-bodied Korean male.
But the fact is, not every able-bodied Korean male serves in the military. There are exemptions for citizens who have performed extraordinary feats, such as elite athletes (soccer player Son Heung-min) and classical musicians (pianist Cho Seong-jin). And if a Korean wins a gold medal in ESports at the Asian Games, he will be exempted. But to date, no Korean pop star has been exempted from military duty for being notable in their field. I’ll get to that in a bit.
The government policy on military enrollment presents itself as being fair. But in reality, it’s a crapshoot on who is considered worthy of having represented South Korea well enough on a national and international scale. It’s not lost on me that patriarchy and bias are at play. Exempt a medal-winning Olympian, because that’s a masculine endeavor. Exempt a classical musician who wins an international competition, because classical music — unlike pop music — is connotated with intelligence.
But do you know who is a literal genius? BTS leader Kim Nam-joon. Why is South Korea not exempting this brilliant man, who also helped shape the world’s most famous pop group? (And to be clear, I don’t mean to imply that he should be the only BTS member to be excused from having to serve. I’m using his huge brain to show the hypocrisy of who gets exempted.)
So let’s see who else is spared from having to join the armed forces. A Korea Times article noted that chaebol children have a disproportionate number of exemptions compared to the general public. About 35.1 percent of chaebol family members from the top 11 conglomerates did not serve in the military.
You know who that reminded me of? A certain former U.S. president who got out of being drafted and shipped off to Vietnam because he theoretically had … bone spurs. In other words, if you are rich enough…if you are connected enough…you can manipulate a system to your advantage.
Sometimes, you don’t even have to be wealthy or have the right parents to earn an exemption. Certain students at the prestigious Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) don’t have to serve. If you are a doctoral candidate, you are eligible for military exemption. I get it. South Korea loves smart people. But this emphasis on academic (or athletic) prowess as a measure of a person’s worth is obscene, unfair, and short-sighted.
With that said, I’m kind of curious about the average IQ of a KAIST Ph.D candidate. Is it higher than, say, Kim Nam-joon’s?
So now let’s get to the K-pop artists. Where do they fall in the realm of exemptions? No K-pop idol has been relinquished from military duty for any reason other than family hardship or being unfit (physically or mentally) to serve. Not Rain. Not Taemin (SHINee). Not pre-“Gangnam Style” PSY (who actually was re-drafted for not serving his full term on his first go round).
BTS has said all along that they would serve. They were never the ones who requested an exemption. Government officials — including the Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister as well as a former presidential candidate — brought this up in public, which some people wrongly conflated as BTS asking for favors. Unable to come to a decision on its own, the government even resorted to asking South Koreans whether BTS should or shouldn’t be drafted.
It’s disappointing to see that the South Korean decision makers regard BTS’ historic achievements as too ordinary to be allotted the preferential treatment they give to athletes, classical musicians and academics. Truthfully, I’m not even opposed to BTS being drafted. But let’s be real. Military exemptions have never been about fairness. So either make every able-bodied male serve his time. Or, exempt those who have irrefutably stood out for excelling on the highest level.
While one could argue the artistic merits of BTS vs. any other artist, what is undeniable is that the septet has brought their country the kind of pop culture clout that the government couldn’t have dreamed of even a decade ago. The average person may not be able to name a single K-pop song, but they more than likely have heard of BTS. Those three letters carry a prestigious cachet in the global market and it’s one that the South Korean government has taken advantage of — asking these young men to represent them at the United Nations and, most recently, at Saturday’s free Yet to Come in Busan concert. They were picked because of their star power to help Busan win the bid to host the World Expo 2030.
When this concert was announced, cynics may have speculated that this was BTS’s last-ditch effort to earn military exemption. In reality, it was their goodbye gift to their fandom, ARMY … until 2025.
Note: I wrote this in between a multitude of doctor appointments today.
If there is a flagrant error, please let me know and I will fix that. If you simply don’t like my opinions, I can live with that. xxoo
© 2022 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
Great article Jae! Thank you for writing it and getting this information out because hardly anyone is writing anything substantial about it. I don’t think any other journalist has written about why it’s odd BTS isn’t getting an exemption when others have.
Do I want them to enlist – well, to be honest, no.
BUT
it is the law, so let them serve and hopefully make good friends in the army and return to us safely.
As Mum said, even Elvis had to serve in the army for a couple of years when he was mega famous.
Este artículo refleja esas desigualdades de la sociedad Koreana tan bien plasmadas en sus series. Estos 7 chicos le han aportado tanto pero tanto a su país que recluirlos en un servicio militar es una gran pérdida para el país, la pregunta en este caso es: Quiénes pierden más por esta ausencia de mas de 2 años? BTS o Korea? La respuesta todos la sabemos! No será su fieles ARMY estoy segura de mantendrá más unidas y firmes. Hoy entiendo lo que varios de mis compañeros koreanos de las clases de inglés en esta parte del mundo 🇨🇦 me decían, “South Korea es un sistema y una sociedad asfixiante”… definitivamente Korea es un ejemplo de modernidad solo en algunos aspectos.. BTS merece mucho más retribución de su país de lo que en realidad han recibido. Espero que estos 7 chicos algún día migren a un país donde todos puedan ser realmente libres y no unos presos de los intereses de Korea.
I’m ARMY from the United States and I want to thank you for writing such an informative article based on facts. It’s been very overwhelming the last few days because everyone’s thoughts on the internet have been based on opinion and feelings. I’ve been following the government’s debates for the last year about BTS’ enlistment. The jockeying back and forth felt like politicians rallying for votes and self-interest rather than having a serious conversation about K-pop idols and enlistment. Thank you for highlighting that the bigger picture is that this has never been BTS. I would love to read more of your writing about how being a Kpop idol is not considered a masculine endeavor like being an Olympic athlete. I’ve only seen how masculinity is performed and regarded in the U.S., so I originally came to Kpop with some bias but my view on what can be masculine has expanded greatly.
It would’ve been good article If not fot the cheesy parts about joonie, just cut to the chase and explore the topic for readers. We don’t need azz kissers.
Since when is pointing out facts azz kissing? Sorry she didn’t mention your fave, but they’re not geniuses.
THIS! That’s exactly why Aluma is so salty!
Bold of you to include anyone else as part of your crazy “we”.
Entitled much? She wrote this on her own time for her own website to share information that a lot of international fans don’t know. We don’t need entitled beeshes like yourself so get lost.
There’s nothing wrong with the RM mention. Jae wrote about how how pop musicians aren’t connotated with being intelligent & pointed out that he literally is a genius. If she hadn’t, a troll, much like yourself, would have said, “But there are no smart KPop stars!”
What is the point of this? It’s a superior article. Just say you hate RM and be on your way, cretin.
Thank you for noting that BTS and Big Hit/HYBE never asked for the exemption, to begin with (to our general knowledge). It was purported that the other agencies were seeking it, but that BTS would be the only members who could probably be considered based on the level of cultural awareness they’ve brought to the nation. I’m not upset that BTS/Jin has decided to opt-out of their deferment to serve. What I’m angry about is that they even felt the need to do so because the governing body couldn’t make a decision. I realize there’s red tape involved in changing laws, however, they’ve had plenty of time to acknowledge the law is out of date, announce that BTS would be given an exemption (based on the plethora of reasons why they have already given back to SK and the WORLD), and then move forward to create a law that is equitable for future idols and any others who are deserving. If I were a foreign nation looking at SK right now and seeing that they are completely unable to make a relatively easy decision to excuse seven men from active duty military service, I’d question their ability to make the hard decisions that certainly come along with leading a country.
In light of the recent *request* that BTS perform at the World Scout Jamboree to salvage South Korea’s reputation, I am resharing my article about how military exemption is biased against pop culture superstars & favors men who🇰🇷perceive as elite.