BTS' Jin begins 18 months of military service

BTS' Jin posts a selfie with short hair on Weverse on Mon. (Yonhap)

BTS member Jin is beginning his military service on Tuesday in one of the northernmost military bases in South Korea.

Jin shared a selfie of his short shaved hair on the fan community platform Weverse on Monday in preparation for his 18 months of military service.

According to the South Korean military, the boot camp where Jin begins military service is that of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Jin will be admitted to the boot camp with around 200 other new soldiers.

After five weeks of basic training in Yeoncheon, Jin will be placed in a military unit.

Along with the photo, Jin wrote, “It looks cuter than I thought.”

Jin, born in 1992, is the oldest among the BTS members and will be the first to serve in the military.

He enlisted in the military after canceling his request to postpone his mandatory military duty in early November until the end of this year under the Military Service Act, which was revised in 2020.

In recognition of BTS’ global success, South Korea’s National Assembly revised the law in December 2020 to let them postpone their conscription until they turned 30.

Military duty is compulsory for all able-bodied men in South Korea between the ages of 18 and 28.

Big Hit Music, the agency behind the K-pop mega group, announced that there will not be any official event held on Jin’s admission day. The agency urged fans and media outlets to avoid visiting the boot camp to prevent any cases of emergency.

The agency added that Jin will drive into the 5th Infantry Division's boot camp without a farewell.

"For safety management, the Army and related ministries will be operating an all-source situation room and there will be ambulances ready for any cases of emergency. We will make sure there are no safety loopholes at the scene," said an Army official during a regular briefing on Monday.

Jin’s six other bandmates -- RM, Suga, Jimin, J-hope, V and Jungkook -- will be enlisting in the military in order, according to BigHit Music.

Since June, BTS has been on a hiatus from group activities to take a break and focus on solo careers.

Jin released a solo single called “The Astronaut” on Oct. 28 and earned his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Nov. 12 at No. 51.