S.Korea changes law to let k-pop stars postpone military service

[BUtterfield 8 20,143]

But on Tuesday (Dec. 1), three days before Jin's (real name Kim Seok-jin) fateful birthday, South Korea's National Assembly passed a revision of the Military Service Act that allows K-pop stars to postpone their military service until they're 30. Lawmakers proposed the revision in September after BTS' first-ever English-language single "Dynamite" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the Sept. 5-dated chart. The so-called "BTS Law" buys Jin two more years to perform with BTS during their incredible run.

The new law allows K-pop entertainers to apply for deferment if they've received government medals for elevating South Korea's cultural influence around the world. All seven members of BTS qualify after being awarded the country's Hwagwan orders of cultural merit from the government in 2018 during the Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards.

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[good 1,134]

Obligatory military service is ABSOLUTELY not it. And the way you can just avoid service by being talented or considered to contribute to culture more than others... yikes... I would go to prison before forced service ever happened. 

[weed 41,215]

That’s amazing, sucks it’s only extended to pop stars 

Edited December 2, 2020 by weed
switched K-pop to pop lmfao bc in their home country

[Quartz 10,700]

12 minutes ago, good said:

Obligatory military service is ABSOLUTELY not it. And the way you can just avoid service by being talented or considered to contribute to culture more than others... yikes... I would go to prison before forced service ever happened. 

Isn't it just a postponement not a cancellation of their service? 🤔 

[Popo 3,645]

38 minutes ago, good said:

Obligatory military service is ABSOLUTELY not it. And the way you can just avoid service by being talented or considered to contribute to culture more than others... yikes... I would go to prison before forced service ever happened. 

 they're not avoiding anything, it's just a postponement so they're not stolen away from the world stage while they're at the peak. 

Conscription is a service to the country and is a necessary evil especially for countries that are still at war like South Korea & Israel. Consider yourself fortunate for not having to experience these circumstances, otherwise you'll be thrown in prison for going AWOL and forced to serve afterwards.

[ToxicHot 5,153]

That's amazing! Their IMPACT. 

[TWICE 4,548]

NCT project is now found useless 

[good 1,134]

45 minutes ago, Popo said:

 they're not avoiding anything, it's just a postponement so they're not stolen away from the world stage while they're at the peak. 

Conscription is a service to the country and is a necessary evil especially for countries that are still at war like South Korea & Israel. Consider yourself fortunate for not having to experience these circumstances, otherwise you'll be thrown in prison for going AWOL and forced to serve afterwards.

Sorry for the clunky wording. I don’t mean to imply that BTS is evading the draft, but rather that certain people are pardoned for essentially being a popular public figure for the country.

In the US though you are required as a male to conscript with the military after high school. So I’m not exactly free from this kind of reality either. 

[VenusHooker 6,968]

Thank God military service is not mandatory in my country and I didn't do it 

[Radio Ga Ga 5,408]

36 minutes ago, good said:

Sorry for the clunky wording. I don’t mean to imply that BTS is evading the draft, but rather that certain people are pardoned for essentially being a popular public figure for the country.

In the US though you are required as a male to conscript with the military after high school. So I’m not exactly free from this kind of reality either. 

But you don’t have to go thru two years of mandatory military training which every Korean man has to. In America nowadays you rarely get drafted or trained. That makes a big difference.

[bloody grammys 29,075]

at least someone gets to avoid it i guess...

edit: oh wow they still have to do it nnn

Edited December 2, 2020 by bloody grammys

[Lighter 11,414]

this must suck for a korean boy sitting at his house who doesn’t feel comfortable training but he’s not lucked out to be a popstar

[SOYEON 1,722]

South Korea's laws really aren't it. An interesting read is the story of the former KARA member Goo Hara who committed suicide and by law her parents go to receieve 50% each of her assets. However, her mother wasn't apart of her and her brother's lives but still gets half of her assets which caused a discussion about the laws. https://www.soompi.com/article/1389212wpp/goo-haras-brother-explains-why-hes-fighting-for-a-goo-hara-act

OT: I think this is a really good solution for idols, because if they decided that kpop idols were exempt then there would be a slippery slope caused on how many sales they need, or their impact which could cause serious implications on the South Korea music industry

Edited December 2, 2020 by SOYEON

[good 1,134]

1 hour ago, Radio Ga Ga said:

But you don’t have to go thru two years of mandatory military training which every Korean man has to. In America nowadays you rarely get drafted or trained. That makes a big difference.

I didn’t know there was required training. That’s alarming IMO but as an American, we often don’t even realize how much worse things could be compared to other nations , despite ours already being a trainwreck. That is a huge commitment to ask of young people, and conditions them toward a pro-military mindset I imagine.. very big difference, you’re right

[Queen Bitch 8,588]

Mandatory military service shouldn’t even be a thing.