BTS is another step closer to having an official reunion. Member J-Hope was discharged from South Korea's military on Thursday, October 17 after completing the country's mandatory military service requirement.
NBC reports the K-pop star was wearing a uniform and black beret when he exited the military camp in Wonju, Gangwon province after 18 months of service. He saluted the press, around 100 cheering fans, and fellow BTS member Jin. Jin – the oldest member of BTS who finished his military service in June – presented J-Hope with a bouquet of flowers.
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South Korea mandates all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 to serve 18 to 21 months in the military or equivalent civilian service. This is because the country remains technically at war with North Korea, as the 1950-53 Korean War concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Exceptionally talented athletes and artists can sometimes be exempted from military service, and supporters argued BTS members served as valuable cultural ambassadors for South Korea. Lawmakers disagreed. However, they permitted the BTS members to postpone their enlistment until they reached the age of 30.
Jin enlisted first in December 2022, followed by J-Hope in April 2023. A third BTS member, Suga, began his military service in September 2023. The last four members of the seven-member K-pop group – RM, Jimin, Jungkook and V – began their required service in December 2023 and will be finished in June 2025, after which the group will be able to reunite.
BTS' last album was their 2022 project Proof. Members of the group who aren't engaged in military service have focused on their solo careers until the group is able to reunite. Jin has his solo album Happy releasing in November, while J-Hope's last solo record, Jack in the Box, was dropped in 2022.
See photos and videos from J-Hope's military discharge below.
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Article Image: Portrait of J-Hope at the 2022 Fact Music Awards. (btspurplegalaxy [CC BY SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons)
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