hankyoreh

BTS. (provided by Big Hit Entertainment)

The leadership of South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has suggested that figures in pop culture and art — such as the wildly popular K-pop group BTS — should be exempted from mandatory military service if they have helped boost the national prestige. This argument was made when the Korean Wave, also known as Hallyu, moved beyond Asia and into Europe and the Americas, but it has faced stiff pushback from Korean men who have completed their military service and also prompted questions about fairness. But now that BTS has become a worldwide sensation, even reaching the top spot on the Billboard singles chart in the US, the home of pop music, there are signs that public opinion is changing, leading politicians to call for a revision to the law.

Noh Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party’s supreme council, brought up the idea during a council meeting on Oct. 5. “In a short time, BTS has brought the country 1.7 trillion won [US$1.46 billion] worth of [economic] benefits. The value of the group’s contribution to spreading the Korean Wave and elevating the national prestige can’t even be estimated. It’s time we had a serious discussion about exempting BTS from military service,” Noh said.

“Currently, there are alternative service programs available for industrial technicians, professional researchers, artists, and athletes, but those aren’t open to popular artists such as the BTS members. If there are concerns about objectivity and fairness, decisions [about giving exemptions from military service] could be made by a public cultural and arts panel composed of several experts,” Noh emphasized.

“In a time of convergence when it’s difficult to distinguish between high art and popular art, leaving figures from popular arts and culture out of military service exemptions may itself be a form of discrimination. In connection with that, we’re working on a revision to the Military Service Act,” Noh told the Hankyoreh over the phone.

Jeon Yong-gi, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party, has submitted a bill to the National Assembly that would allow top practitioners of popular arts and culture to delay their enrollment in the military until the age of 30. Under the current Military Service Act, that kind of delay is only available to undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and outstanding athletes. The bill that Noh is preparing would go one step further by providing an exemption from military service. But another member of the party expressed skepticism, noting that “a consensus hasn’t formed inside the party about exempting figures in popular arts and culture from military service.”

Even if it were submitted to the National Assembly, any revision to the Military Service Act faces considerable hurdles before it becomes law. Military service is a sensitive issue for the younger generation, given its ties to fairness, making politicians reluctant to jump on the bandwagon. Nor would it be easy to devise standards for applying such an exemption. While athletes can be deemed eligible based on medals earned in the Olympics or the Asian Games, it’s less obvious what the standards would be for popular artists.

The BTS management company believes that Jin, the oldest member of the group, can delay his enrollment in the military until 2021 since he’s currently attending graduate school.

By Jung Hwan-bong, staff reporter

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