ONE of the hottest topics in South Korea at the moment is whether or not the members of BTS will have to undergo mandatory military service obligations.
The ongoing debate is whether BTS’s achievements in the world of music is considered sufficient for the members to get exempted from having to serve, as has happened in previous cases.
Notably, male athletes who win any medal at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games are exempted from active duty service.
The group’s label HYBE Corporations, has stated that it is requesting that the Korean National Assembly make a decision on the issue, as it is preventing the members and the label from making plans for the future.
In light of this, some fans have highlighted a solo track released in 2020 by BTS member Suga, with lyrics that seem to indicate that he would be fine with serving after all.
The track, What Do You Think? takes aim at people who were looking down upon BTS, and urges them to stay silent. One line in the song translates to: “We will join the military service on our own when the time comes.”
Fans are wondering whether this means that Suga would actually be willing to join military service should they be required to.
Aside from these lyrics which were written several years ago, neither Suga nor any of the other members of the group have indicated their own personal feelings on the situation.