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The K-pop juggernaut BTS is one step closer to a reunion.<\/p>\n
The first member of the boy band to enlist in South Korea\u2019s army, Jin, 31, was discharged on Wednesday morning, BTS\u2019s label said. Over the next year or so, his bandmates are expected to complete their military service, which is required of nearly all South Korean men.<\/p>\n
BTS shocked its own Army \u2014 as the seven-member group\u2019s fervent following is collectively known \u2014 in June 2022 when they said they would go on hiatus to enlist. Jin, the group\u2019s eldest member, whose birth name is Kim Seok-jin, began his 18-month stint in the military that December. His enlistment came after much public debate about whether BTS should get an exemption from the draft, as Olympic medalists and some classical musicians do.<\/p>\n
Still, the group was given some leeway. Most men in South Korea have to enlist before they turn 28. Days before Jin reached that milestone, lawmakers revised the conscription law to allow pop artists who have bolstered the nation\u2019s reputation to postpone their enlistment for two years. Researchers say BTS\u2019s global success has contributed billions of dollars to the South Korean economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The group\u2019s music also seems to have become a military asset. Earlier this week, South Korea blasted K-pop music, reportedly including the BTS hits \u201cDynamite\u201d and \u201cButter,\u201d into North Korea in retaliation for the hundreds of trash balloons<\/a> that Pyongyang has been sending south.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In recent days, the band\u2019s label pleaded with fans<\/a> to refrain from flocking to the military site outside Seoul where Jin was to be discharged. Fans weren\u2019t the only ones who have been waiting for this day: Jin posted a \u201cD-100\u201d<\/a> countdown on social media in March.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know about BTS and South Korea\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n For decades, conscripts typically had to serve three years. By the early 2000s, that had been reduced to 24 months. In 2021, the minimum enlistment was cut to 18 months.<\/p>\n The length of service varies: it\u2019s 18 months in the army or marines, 20 months in the navy or 21 months in the air force. With the exception of Suga, who is performing alternative service in social work, all of the members of BTS signed up for the army. Jin served as an assistant drill instructor for new recruits, according to local news media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The last BTS members to join the military \u2014 RM, V, Jung Kook and Jimin \u2014 started their service in December.<\/p>\n Band members have remained commercially active, releasing music and videos that were produced before their enlistment. Last month, the group\u2019s leader, RM, released an album, \u201cRight Place, Wrong Person,\u201d that was accompanied by a series of music videos. Jung Kook, whose English-language album \u201cGolden\u201d<\/a> hit No. 1 on the Billboard top album sales chart last year, released a new single on Friday.<\/a><\/p>\nConscription has been getting shorter.<\/h2>\n
The band members have kept releasing music.<\/h2>\n
A reunion isn\u2019t imminent.<\/h2>\n