The lead singer of the K-pop supergroup BTS doesn’t want his legion of screaming fans to be crowding around an army base in South Korea when his compulsory military training begins next month.
Kim Seok-jin, known professionally as Jin, urged fans to avoid flocking to the base in Yeoncheon, about 37 miles north of Seoul, when he starts boot camp there on Dec. 13.
He will learn what his specific military specialty will be following five weeks of training, according to the Aju Business Daily newspaper in South Korea.
“ARMY can’t come to the training center. There are many people besides me, so it can be dangerous because it’s crowded,” he said on a fan community platform, according to Aju Business Daily.
Jin, the oldest member of BTS, had been allowed to postpone military service until age 30. There had been some discussions at the highest levels of South Korea’s government about exempting BTS members from military service. It ended with Jin deciding to fulfill his mandatory military service.
Military officials said Jin will be allowed to participate in “limited group activities” with other BTS members during his 18-month hitch in the army, such as concerts outside barracks. But that could happen only if commanders decide such a reunion would promote the national interest, Aju Business Daily reported.
The other members of BTS will fulfill their mandatory military service when required, the newspaper reported.
