BTS presses pause to join military with plans to reunite in 2025
South Korea’s boy band BTS, seen as a cultural phenomenon, is about to embark on its biggest foray into the Korean military.
The group is expected to conduct a two-day rock opera of the South Korean military, with a performance in its first and biggest ever stadium during a military parade.
The BTS group is about to embark on a musical adventure, which could be its last, and its first major military engagement, in the Korean Peninsula.
A soldier poses with a BTS fan on the streets of Seoul, September 6, 2017. Jung Yeon-Je / AFP – Getty Images
BTS, formed in 2013, has garnered more than 3.9 billion views on YouTube, and its first three albums have sold more than 3.6 million copies, with its latest, which was released on April 20, topping the South Korean chart.
But its upcoming musical exploits are being overshadowed by plans by the group and its leader, RM, to help their country fight terrorism.
In a video posted on BTS’s official website, the group described the musical performance as a “military action” in South Korea.
“We will be performing in the main stadium, and the performance will be a live act,” the video says. “During the show, we will present the history of the military, its current battle and its development.
“Then we will perform the military action song.”
A soldier poses with a BTS fan on the streets of Seoul, September 6, 2017. Jung Yeon-Je / AFP – Getty Images
The group has no plans to visit the North, but says it wishes to bring a message to the people of Pyongyang.
“We have decided to go to North Korea in order to hold a concert with the members of BTS and share our appreciation with North Korean people,” it said. “Our message will be to express our support for the North’s development and unity.”
A soldier poses with a BTS fan on the streets of Seoul, September 6, 2017. Jung Ye