Suga, a member of the South Korean boy band BTS has announced his military enlistment date. Under South Korea’s conscription system, the country requires all able-bodied men to serve at least 18 months in the armed forces by age 28, including fan favorite K-Pop idols. For BTS, the government elevated the joining age to 30.
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BTS’s Suga enlists for military service
On September 17, BIGHIT Music, the representative of BTS, revealed in a notice on the popular fan community platform Weverse, that Suga will begin his mandatory military service on September 22, 2023.
BIGHIT Music further added that any official events will not be taking place on the day Suga starts his service as well as when he enters the training camp. The management team has kindly asked fans not to visit him at his workplace.
[Weverse Notice]
— BTS Charts & Translations (@charts_k) September 17, 2023
SUGA will be beginning his required service on September 22.
There will not be any official events taking place on the day he starts his service or on the day he enters the training camp. pic.twitter.com/k5TJPuQzGL
Read more: Is it worth it for South Korea to lose billions by sending BTS to mandatory military service?
Suga says goodbye to fans
Following the announcement on Sunday, Suga held a live session and said his goodbyes to his fans before enlisting for mandatory military service in South Korea. He will serve for 2 years in the military.
During the live stream, the artist told the BTS fandom, who go by ARMY, that his enlistment is not something they should cry about. To keep fans excited for the future, Suga also mentioned that he has filmed a lot of content for his talk show Suchwita, as something to look forward to.
230917 🐱 suga's live; a summary pic.twitter.com/VEFujRBScA
— pha (@bemyjinnie) September 17, 2023
In October 2022, BIGHIT first revealed that BTS members Suga, RM, Jin, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook would not be able to perform together until 2025 due to their military service.
Suga is the third BTS member to currently serve in the military. Members Jin and J-Hope are currently serving in the military after enlisting in December 2022 and April 2023 respectively. The rest of the band, including V and Jungkook, will also enlist by the end of 2023.
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