BTS to take hiatus while members serve in South Korean military

One of K-pop’s most wildly successful and globally recognized groups, BTS, will be taking a short hiatus in the immediate future. The group plan to disband briefly while its members serve their mandatory time in the South Korean military, BTS’ management company announced Monday. The group will reunite sometime around 2025, after all seven members have had a chance to serve.

BTS management company, Big Hit, also said the group’s members would continue to work as solo acts during the hiatus in whatever schedule their service allows. While the oldest member of the group, Jin, is almost 30 and is likely to start his service in the very near future, other members could wait a little longer and still make the 2025 reunion.

Military service for 18-21 months is mandatory in South Korea for able-bodied men and must be performed before the age of 35. This announcement puts to rest several years of speculation about whether or not BTS members would attempt to get exemptions for their service, something that sometimes happens for athletes or performers.

While BTS is likely the most popular K-pop group in the world at the moment, their reach currently extends way past just music and into the rest of popular culture as well. Their songs and content dominate social platforms. The band has also had several recent collaborations with video games like Fortnite and Cookie Run: Kingdom, as well as several movies about their different tours and concerts.