Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, has begun his 18 months of mandatory military service at a frontline South Korean boot camp, as fans gathered near the base to say goodbye.

Six other younger BTS members are to join the military in coming years one after another, meaning the world’s biggest boy band must take a hiatus, probably for a few years.

Their enlistments have prompted a fierce domestic debate over whether it is time to revise the country’s conscription system to expand exemptions to include prominent entertainers like BTS, or not to provide such benefits to anyone.

With MPs squabbling in parliament and surveys showing sharply split public opinions over offering exemptions to BTS members, their management agency said in October that all BTS members would perform their compulsory military duties.

All members to undergo conscription

Big Hit Music said both the company and the members of BTS “are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment”.

Jin, who turned 30 earlier this month, entered the boot camp on Tuesday at Yeoncheon, a town near the tense border with North Korea, for five weeks of basic military training with other new conscript soldiers, the defence ministry said.

After the training involving rifle-shooting, grenade-throwing and marching practices, he and other conscripts would be assigned to army units across the country.

Tweet from @KepAr_Les

About 20 to 30 fans, some holding photos of Jin, and dozens of journalists gathered near the camp.

But Jin did not meet them as a vehicle carrying him moved into the boot camp without getting him out.

A couple of dozen fans could be seen as a small turnout given Jin’s huge popularity.

Hours before entering the camp, Jin, whose real name is Kim Seok-jin, wrote on the on the online fan platform Weverse that “It’s time for a curtain call.”

He posted a photo of himself on Sunday with a military buzz cut and a message saying, “Ha ha ha. It’s cuter than I had expected.”

By law, all able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the military for 18 to 21 months under a conscription system established to deal with threats from North Korea.

-AP