South Korean K-Pop Band BTS Enlists
![Members of the South Korean pop group BTS are, left to right, front row: Suga and V. Back row: J-Hope, RM, Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook. Credit: © RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images](https://bth.worldbook.com/bth/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/pc380170-300x200.jpg)
Members of the South Korean pop group BTS are, left to right, front row: Suga and V. Back row: J-Hope, RM, Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook.
Credit: © RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images
BTS members are trading in their matching outfits for… different matching outfits. The group, also known as Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean K-pop (Korean pop) music group that rose to international fame in the mid-2010’s. The South Korean government requires men to complete 18 to 21 months of military service, and international pop stars are not immune. The group’s management company, Big Hit, announced their conscription (military draft) on October 17, 2022.
BTS combines elements of rap, hip-hop, pop, and electronic dance music (EDM). The group’s vocals are mainly in Korean. But they also perform lyrics in English and Japanese. The group also is known for its lyrics about the challenges that young people face. BTS plans to come back together as a band in 2025. Maybe they will have new songs inspired by their time in the military.
BTS originally stood as an abbreviation for Bangtan Sonyeondan, Korean for Bulletproof Boy Scouts. The initials were later also said to stand for Beyond the Scene. The members of the group are J-Hope (born Jung Ho-seok), Jimin (Park Ji-min), Jin (Kim Seok-jin), Jungkook (Jeon Jeong-guk), RM (Kim Nam-joon), Suga (Min Yoon-gi), and V (Kim Tae-hyung). In June 2022, the band members announced they would take a break to pursue additional solo projects.
The government normally requires military service to be completed before men turn 28. However, the government granted Jin (Kim Seok-jin), the oldest member of BTH, a two year delay since he was “enhancing Korea’s image” while working with the band. Refusing to serve in the military is considered a crime in South Korea. Many fans called for an exemption for the members of BTS. some athletes and musicians have received exemptions in the past. However, the group decided to enlist despite their musical fame. Now the members are starting off on a different kind of tour. Before starting off on their new endeavors, the group held their last concert in Busan on October 15, 2022.
BTS was formed by the South Korean music producer and record executive Bang Si-hyuk. The group’s first single was “No More Dream” (2013). The song deals with the pressures many young Koreans feel from their culture and society. Since 2013, the group has released many successful recordings. The band’s first full-length studio album was Dark & Wild (2014).
In 2017, BTS released the popular EP (extended play recording) Love Yourself: Her. An EP contains several songs but is not considered a full-length album. The EP’s songs “DNA” and “Mic Drop” became the first tracks by a Korean group to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). RIAA presents a gold record to an artist who sells 500,000 copies of an album. The group’s single “Idol” (2018) also became a huge hit. That same year, BTS became the first K-pop group to reach number 1 on Billboard magazine’s “Billboard 200″ music chart, with its album Love Yourself: Tear (2018).