From Crash landing on You’s Hyun Bin to BTS’ Kim Seok-jin and BigBang’s G-Dragon: how does military service impact K-pop and K-drama stars’ careers?
K-pop band BTS will lose Kim Seok-jin, when he enlists for national service this year, while members of other groups are returning to the entertainment industry
South Korea requires all men to serve in the army for slightly less than two years, although the country does sometimes grant exceptions.
When duty calls, it can put K-pop boy bands in the prime of their careers on hiatus. Crash landing on You star Hyun Bin gained popularity while Rain lost some fans after his military service.
It’s a fate that will derail K-pop’s most dominant group, BTS, as one of its seven members, Kim Seok-jin, is expected to enlist later this year.
Several male idols have revived their careers after being discharged from the forces. That includes the resurrection of mega-group Super Junior, who haven’t played together for almost a decade. What are the stars up to next?
BigBang
G-Dragon, Taeyang, Daesung and T.O.P all completed their military service last year. While many expected this hiatus in the band, no one forecast the existential crisis BigBang faced after its youngest member Seungri got caught up in sex and drug scandals and subsequently left the band in March 2019.
BigBang will play in Coachella, a major music and arts festival in California, in April.
G-Dragon teamed up with Nike to release the Nike Air Force Para-Noise limited-edition sneaker. He also supported a Paris show for We11Done, a brand run by his sister Dani Kwon and co-founder Jessica Jung.
TV heartthrob Kim Soo-hyun