Last member of K-pop megaband BTS to finish military service
His final day concluded at 11:59:59 pm, according to the band's agency HYBE and South Korea's Military Manpower Administration. The rapper, who served as a social service agent - an alternative form of military duty - effectively completed his service on Wednesday after using up his remaining leave, according to his label. 'Above all else, I wanted to .... sincerely thank our fans who waited for me all this time,' SUGA told the group's fans - collectively known as ARMY - on the platform Weverse. 'I've missed you so much.'
Before entering military service, the megaband generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. Analysts expect HYBE's operating profit to jump next year, driven in part by BTS's anticipated return to large-scale touring, with some projections forecasting a 71 percent year-on-year increase. 'The importance of BTS's reunion to HYBE, K-pop and South Korea at large cannot be overstated. They are singular in their part of the Korean Wave,' Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University, told AFP.
'I think their next tour will be their biggest yet.' Since their release last week, band leader RM has appeared at Art Basel in Switzerland as the new global ambassador for Samsung's Art TV, while member V was spotted attending a piano recital in Seoul alongside 'Old Boy' filmmaker Park Chan-wook.
Soft power
BTS has long been considered one of the best examples of South Korea's soft power reach, even making a White House visit in 2022. They have spoken candidly about mental health and anti-Asian crime and donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2019, inspiring fans to contribute the same amount. K-pop's surging popularity has also helped break down barriers for Asian artists, said Keung Yoon Bae, a Korean studies professor at Georgia Institute of Technology.
'Singers such as Eric Nam, born and raised in Atlanta, have discussed before how they had to go to Korea because they felt that attaining a music career in the US as an Asian felt impossible,' she said. 'Today, groups such as BTS and Blackpink seem to be breaking down that sense of impossibility.' Despite the widespread acclaim, SUGA was fined 15 million won ($10,933) for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol last year. — AFP
On Saturday, he once again apologised for the incident in a message posted on Weverse. 'I'm sorry for the disappointment and concern I caused due to what happened last year. More than anything, knowing I caused pain to my fans broke my heart,' he said. 'I'll do my best to repay the love you've given me — now more than ever.'--AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
5 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Fans celebrate ‘Squid Game' finale with Seoul parade
Thousands of fans gathered in Seoul on Saturday to celebrate the final 'Squid Game' season, ending a global Netflix hit that is seen as a symbol of South Korea's cultural clout. The third and final season was released Friday, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children's games for a massive cash prize. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had 'poured everything' into the series, which launched nearly four years ago. 'So while it's sentimental to see it end,' he said, 'there's also a sense of relief'. Fans gathered near Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace, led by marchers dressed in the bright pink uniforms worn by the show's mysterious masked agents. They were followed by others carrying oversize toys from one of the games featured in the series, along with the show's flag. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3'. South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae waves during a fan event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3'. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3'. A statue of Young-hee, the iconic doll character of Squid Game, is seen on a street during a parade event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3' in Seoul. South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun speaks during a fan event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3' at Seoul Plaza in Seoul. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3'. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3'. Fans attend a fan event for Netflix's South Korean TV series 'Squid Game Season 3'. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event. Pink Guards of Squid Game perform during a parade event. Park Sang-gyu, a fan who stayed up all night watching the final season, said the dystopian drama was 'ultimately a story about people'. 'As you watch, you realize it's not just about the games - it reflects many aspects of real life.' The walls of the Seoul Metropolitan Library were lit up with key scenes, including Young-hee - the giant motion-sensing animatronic doll featured in one of its brutal games. Lee Byung-hun, who played the masked Front Man overseeing the competition, said the show had become 'something of a cultural phenomenon'. 'One that has drawn one of the boldest lines in the history of Korean content,' he said. The first two seasons of the series are among Netflix's most-watched shows, and in 2022, Hwang and the show's leading actor, Lee Jung-jae, became the first Asian men to win Emmy Awards. The final season follows its hero Gi-hun, played by Lee, as he returns to the ultra-violent games to dismantle them from within after surviving the first round. Along with filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 thriller 'Parasite' and K-pop sensation BTS, 'Squid Game' is considered one of the most powerful examples of South Korea's rise as a global cultural force. — AFP
Kuwait Times
22-06-2025
- Kuwait Times
Last member of K-pop megaband BTS to finish military service
SUGA, a member of the K-pop megaband BTS, officially completed his mandatory military service on Saturday, marking the full return of all seven members of the global supergroup from duty. South Korea's most lucrative musical act has been on a self-described 'hiatus' since 2022 as its members undertook the mandatory service required of all South Korean men under 30 due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North. SUGA was the last to complete his service, ahead of the group's widely anticipated return to activities as a full unit. His final day concluded at 11:59:59 pm, according to the band's agency HYBE and South Korea's Military Manpower Administration. The rapper, who served as a social service agent - an alternative form of military duty - effectively completed his service on Wednesday after using up his remaining leave, according to his label. 'Above all else, I wanted to .... sincerely thank our fans who waited for me all this time,' SUGA told the group's fans - collectively known as ARMY - on the platform Weverse. 'I've missed you so much.' Before entering military service, the megaband generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. Analysts expect HYBE's operating profit to jump next year, driven in part by BTS's anticipated return to large-scale touring, with some projections forecasting a 71 percent year-on-year increase. 'The importance of BTS's reunion to HYBE, K-pop and South Korea at large cannot be overstated. They are singular in their part of the Korean Wave,' Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University, told AFP. 'I think their next tour will be their biggest yet.' Since their release last week, band leader RM has appeared at Art Basel in Switzerland as the new global ambassador for Samsung's Art TV, while member V was spotted attending a piano recital in Seoul alongside 'Old Boy' filmmaker Park Chan-wook. Soft power BTS has long been considered one of the best examples of South Korea's soft power reach, even making a White House visit in 2022. They have spoken candidly about mental health and anti-Asian crime and donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2019, inspiring fans to contribute the same amount. K-pop's surging popularity has also helped break down barriers for Asian artists, said Keung Yoon Bae, a Korean studies professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. 'Singers such as Eric Nam, born and raised in Atlanta, have discussed before how they had to go to Korea because they felt that attaining a music career in the US as an Asian felt impossible,' she said. 'Today, groups such as BTS and Blackpink seem to be breaking down that sense of impossibility.' Despite the widespread acclaim, SUGA was fined 15 million won ($10,933) for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol last year. — AFP On Saturday, he once again apologised for the incident in a message posted on Weverse. 'I'm sorry for the disappointment and concern I caused due to what happened last year. More than anything, knowing I caused pain to my fans broke my heart,' he said. 'I'll do my best to repay the love you've given me — now more than ever.'--AFP
Kuwait Times
18-06-2025
- Kuwait Times
Soft power: BTS fans rally behind Korean international adoptees
K-pop megaband BTS is back from military service, and their international fandom - long known for its progressive activism - is celebrating by rallying behind a cause: adoptees from South Korea. Now Asia's fourth-largest economy and a global cultural powerhouse, the idols' native South Korea remains one of the biggest exporters of adopted babies in the world, having sent more than 140,000 children overseas between 1955 and 1999. The country only recently acknowledged, after years of activism by adult adoptees, that the government was responsible for abuse in some such adoptions of local children, including record fabrication and inadequate consent from birth parents. The septet's fandom, dubbed ARMY, is known for backing causes like Black Lives Matter and ARMY4Palestine, and launched the #ReuniteWithBTS fundraising project last week to support Korean adoptees seeking to reconnect with or learn about their birth families, which can be a painful and legally tricky process. Peter Moller, KoRoot's co-representative, pointing to a screen showing the #ReuniteWithBTS fundraising campaign on Facebook. Almost all of BTS members have completed South Korea's mandatory military service, required of all men due to the country's military tensions with North Korea. 'We are celebrating both the reunion of BTS and ARMY, and BTS members being able to reunite with their own family and friends,' the BTS fan group behind the initiative, One In An ARMY, told AFP. 'Helping international adoptees reunite with their birth country, culture, customs and families seemed like the perfect cause to support during this time.' The fans are supporting KoRoot, a Seoul-based organization that helps Korean adoptees search for their records and birth families and which played a key role in pushing for the government to recognize adoption-related abuses. Peter Moller, KoRoot's co-representative, told AFP it was 'very touching' that the BTS fans had taken up the cause, even though 'they're not even adoptees themselves'. For many adoptees, seeing Korean stars in mainstream media has been a way for them to find 'comfort, joy, and a sense of pride' in the roots that they were cut off from, KoRoot's leader Kim Do-hyun added. Peter Moller, KoRoot's co-representative, posing for a photo after an interview with AFP at KoRoot.--AFP photos Soft power BTS, who have discussed anti-Asian hate crimes at the White House and spoken candidly about mental health, have long been considered one of the best examples of South Korea's soft power reach. For years, Korean adoptees - many of whom were adopted by white families globally - have advocated for their rights and spoken out about encountering racism in their host countries. Some adoptees, such as the high-profile case of Adam Crapser, were later deported to South Korea as adults because their American parents never secured their US citizenship. Many international adoptees feel their immigration experience has been 'fraught', Keung Yoon Bae, a Korean studies professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, told AFP. Some adoptees have found that, like Crapser, their guardians failed to complete the necessary paperwork to make them legal, she said. This is becoming a particular problem under US President Donald Trump, who is pushing a sweeping crackdown on purported illegal immigrants. Bae said it was possible that ''accidentally illegal' adoptee immigrants may fall further through the cracks, and their deeply unfortunate circumstances left unremedied'. A general view of the sign of KoRoot, a Seoul-based organization that helps Korean adoptees search for their records and birth families, at its house in Seoul. The whale Reunions between Korean adoptees and their birth families can be emotionally complex, as Kara Bos - who grew up in the United States - experienced firsthand when she met her biological father through a landmark paternity lawsuit. During their encounter in Seoul in 2020, he refused to remove his hat, sunglasses, or mask, declined to look at her childhood photos and offered no information about her mother. He died around six months later. 'The journey of birth family searching is very lonely, difficult, and costly. Many adoptees do not even have the means to return to their birth country let alone fund a family search,' Bos, 44, told AFP. To have BTS fans rally around adoptees and provide help with this complex process is 'a wonderful opportunity', she said. For Malene Vestergaard, a 42-year-old Korean adoptee and BTS fan in Denmark, the group's song 'Whalien 52', which references a whale species whose calls go unheard by others, deeply resonated with her. 'I personally sometimes feel like that whale. Being amongst my peers, but they will never be able to truly understand what my adoption has done to me,' she told AFP. 'For me, finding BTS at the same time I started looking for my birth family and the truth about my adoption and my falsified papers, was such a comfort.' Vestergaard said the grief woven into her adoption would never go away, but that 'BTS and their lyrics have made it easier to reconcile with that truth'. - AFP
