J-Hope of BTS begins mandatory military service

BTS star J-Hope (pic) was set to start his mandatory South Korean military service yesterday, local media reported, the second member to report for duty since the K-pop juggernaut went on hiatus last year.

The septet has become a global cultural phenomenon, selling out stadiums and dominating charts while raking in billions for South Korea’s economy and building an international legion of fans known as ARMY.

But all able-bodied South Korean men must serve at least 18 months in the military, and after a years-long debate about whether BTS deserved an exemption, Jin, the oldest member of the group, began his service in December.

J-Hope – whose full name is Jung Ho-seok – was set to begin his five-week basic training at an army boot camp in Gangwon province yesterday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 29-year-old posted pictures of himself with a buzzcut on the South Korean social media platform Weverse on Monday.

“I love you, ARMY. I’ll go and come back safely!” he said.

The post attracted thousands of comments from fans, with many expressing sorrow over the group’s ongoing hiatus.

“Be careful and stay healthy... Say hi to Jin for us, please? We will miss you so much!” one wrote.

“It suits you so well,” another wrote of J-Hope’s buzzcut.

Jin left the comment “D-1” on one of J-Hope’s Weverse posts on Monday – a nod to the fact he had one day left before the start of his service.

The septet’s agency HYBE had confirmed on April 1 that J-Hope would begin his service, but did not disclose details “to prevent any issues that might occur from crowding”. — AFP