logo
BTS member SUGA's military service ends

BTS member SUGA's military service ends

Express Tribune23-06-2025
SUGA is the last to complete his service. Photo: AFP
SUGA, a member of the K-pop megaband BTS, will officially complete 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 will be the last to complete his service, ahead of the group's widely anticipated return to activities as a full unit.
His final day concludes 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 per cent 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.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Doctor pleads guilty in Perry overdose case
Doctor pleads guilty in Perry overdose case

Express Tribune

time10 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Doctor pleads guilty in Perry overdose case

A doctor charged in connection with the drug overdose death of actor Matthew Perry pleaded guilty Wednesday to supplying the Friends star with ketamine. Salvador Plasencia, 43, one of five people charged over Perry's death, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Los Angeles to four counts of distribution of ketamine. Plasencia is to be sentenced on December 3 and faces up to 40 years in prison. He will also surrender his medical license. Plasencia's attorney, Karen Goldstein, said after the hearing that her client regretted his actions. "Dr Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry," Goldstein said in a statement. "He is fully accepting responsibility... acknowledging his failure to protect Mr Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction." Plasencia did not provide Perry with the fatal dose of ketamine but supplied the actor with the drug in the weeks before he was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. Another doctor, Mark Chavez, pleaded guilty in October to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry. Plasencia allegedly bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the American-Canadian actor at hugely inflated prices. "I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia wrote in one text message presented by prosecutors. Jasveen Sangha, the alleged "Ketamine Queen" who supplied drugs to high-end clients and celebrities, is charged with selling Perry the dose that killed him. She has pleaded not guilty. Perry's live-in personal assistant and another man pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. The actor's lengthy struggles with substance addiction were well-documented, but his death at age 54 sent shockwaves through the global legions of Friends fans. A criminal investigation was launched soon after an autopsy discovered he had high levels of ketamine – an anesthetic – in his system. In his plea deal with prosecutors, Plasencia said he went to Perry's home to administer ketamine by injection and distributed 20 vials of the drug over a roughly two-week period in autumn 2023. Perry had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression. But prosecutors say that before his death he became addicted to the substance, which also has psychedelic properties and is a popular party drug. Friends, which followed the lives of six New Yorkers navigating adulthood, dating and careers, drew a massive following and made megastars of previously unknown actors. Perry's role as the sarcastic man-child Chandler brought him fabulous wealth, but hid a dark struggle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol. AFP

Swift gets 13 wax figures in Madame Tussauds
Swift gets 13 wax figures in Madame Tussauds

Express Tribune

time10 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Swift gets 13 wax figures in Madame Tussauds

As reported by AFP, US pop megastar Taylor Swift will be honoured with 13 waxworks of her at Madame Tussauds venues around the globe, the museum said on Wednesday. In honour of Swift's lucky number, 13 of the waxwork museum's 22 branches will each receive a statue of the Love Story and Blank Space singer, in what it called the "most ambitious project" of its 250-year history. The statues were inspired by some of the 35-year-old songwriting sensation's looks from her record-shattering Eras Tour from 2023 to 2024. With 149 shows across the world over nearly two years, the tour raked in USD2 billion, making it the most lucrative in music history to date. More than 40 artists worked for more than a year on the statues of Swift, one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation with 14 Grammy Awards. "This is the most ambitious project in Madame Tussauds' 250-year history, which only feels right to reflect the stratospheric status of Taylor Swift," said Danielle Cullen, the museum's senior figure stylist. UK-based Swifties are well served, with one waxwork slated for London and another for the northern seaside resort town of Blackpool. Another 10 will find a permanent home at the branches of Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York, Orlando and Sydney. The thirteenth statue, which will travel around the remaining museums, will begin its worldwide walkabout with a residency at Madame Tussauds Shanghai. In December, Swift was named the UK's top live music star in viagogo's 'Year In Live Experiences' roundup, with demand for tickets to her Eras Tour soaring 196 per cent higher than that of Liam Gallagher, who came in second. The data, compiled by the UK's leading live event ticket marketplace, reveals that Swift's tour, which revisited every stage of her career, captivated UK fans like never before, confirming her status as the most-viewed artist globally on viagogo's platform in 2024.

George Lucas to attend Comic-Con for first time
George Lucas to attend Comic-Con for first time

Express Tribune

time10 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

George Lucas to attend Comic-Con for first time

Comic-Con kicked off Thursday in San Diego, California, with expectations running high among devoted fans keen to catch a glimpse of George Lucas at his first-ever appearance at the convention, reported AFP. Other expected highlights of the gathering - one of the world's biggest celebrations of pop culture - include the world premiere of the prequel series Alien: Earth. Comic-Con began holding events in San Diego in 1970, as a low-key and rather niche huddle, but has now grown to an annual get-together that attracts 130,000 people eager to hear behind-the-scenes tidbits from Hollywood stars and directors unveiling their latest projects. This year's edition will be marked by the presence of legendary filmmaker Lucas, who has never visited the convention before despite Comic-Con culture being deeply rooted in his Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In a session on Sunday set to be moderated by Queen Latifah, Lucas will discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, who has shaped the iconic Star Wars universe for decades. The museum, scheduled to open in Los Angeles next year, will be dedicated to illustrated narratives and will house the Lucas archive. "Nearly five decades ago, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, along with a booth featuring (comic book artist) Howard Chaykin's now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item," said David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer. "Now, to have Mr Lucas... is a true full-circle moment. His lifelong dedication to visual storytelling and world-building resonates deeply with us and our community." Marvel Studios will have a smaller presence at the convention this year, skipping its eagerly awaited annual presentation in Hall H. According to Variety, changes to the premiere of the new Avengers installment complicated logistics for the studio, whose cast is currently filming in Britain. Despite this notable absence, events at coveted Hall H still promise great excitement for fans of science fiction, a core genre of the convention. On Friday, it will host the world premiere of the pilot episode of the prequel Alien: Earth, directed by Noah Hawley and slated to hit streaming platforms in August. The series takes place a couple of years before the events depicted in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien, offering an expansion of the venerated franchise. Another fan favourite that will have its moment in the spotlight is Predator: Badlands, with a panel Friday set to include director Dan Trachtenberg, who revitalised the brand with Prey (2022).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store