According to a Sunday statement from Big Hit Entertainment, BTS member Suga is scheduled to start his service into the South Korean military before the end of the week.
In a statement posted on the fan community website Weverse, Big Hit Music stated that “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. We kindly ask fans to refrain from visiting Suga at his workplace during the period of his service. Please convey your warm regards and encouragement in your hearts only.”
“We ask for your continued love and support for Suga until he completes his service and returns. Our company will also strive to provide all the support he needs during this time,” the statement continued.
On Sunday, Suga also made a live appearance on Weverse to discuss his enlistment. He reportedly informed the Army that serving in the military is nothing to be sad about and that they will be reunited in 2025, according to a fan translation. He also made light of the fact that people are having trouble recognising him because of his short hair.
After Jin and J-Hope, Suga is the third member to sign up for military service. According to current plans, all seven members of BTS will finish their required military service over the course of the following few years, and their break is anticipated to run until 2025.
All able-bodied men in South Korea between the ages of 18 and 28 are required to serve in the military for roughly two years. Back in 2019, the BTS members received special permission to postpone their compulsory military service till they turned 30. A new regulation that would permit other South Koreans who “excel in popular culture and art” to similarly postpone their duty by a few years was passed by the Korean Parliament in 2020. According to reports, lawmakers are currently debating a change that would reduce the two years of required duty to just three weeks of military training.
The D-Day album, Suga’s first as a solo artist, was formally released in April. In a Rolling Stone interview, he discussed how he came to identify with the album’s central subject of “liberation.” “In the past, I knew what that theme meant, and I figured out my thoughts were already resolved in the process of recording it,” he said. “There was this K-drama called My Liberation Notes [from 2022] that did really well. I had started working on the album three years ago — and then I noticed that it really matched thematically with the drama. I felt and hoped that people were looking for more stories, more discussion on this topic of ‘liberation.
He added: “Once I asked myself about what my definition of liberation is, I started unpacking that idea of liberation more [through my songs]. I think viewers will think it’s very fun and entertaining—considering the other kinds of promotions I’ve done. I have confidence. In the video, I’m just living very freely.”