BTS is Enlisted Now What?

BTS has reached the mandatory age to serve in the Korean Army, and now have taken a break to fulfill their responsibilities. Starting with the eldest member, Jin, who enlisted in December of 2022. Followed by J-Hope in April of 2023, Suga in September of the same year, RM and V both joining 3 months later, and Jimin and Jungkook joining a couple days later. 

Although supposedly kept private, the positions of the members of BTS have been leaked to the public. Jin is enlisted as an assistant instructor at the army base in Gyeonggi province while also being an active duty army-man alongside J-Hope, who was promoted to corporal  in November. Currently, he trains recruits at the 36th Infantry Division Basic Training Center. As for the others; Suga is serving as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service in Korea; RM is currently in the 15th Infantry Division; V is enlisted as a Platoon leader; and Jimin and Jungkook are enlisted privates. In a previous interview, Jungkook stated he wanted to join the Special Tasks Force, however due to his tattoos, he was denied entry.

With BTS on break, other groups have been taking the spotlight and top spots. As of recently, the group SEVENTEEN has taken the No. 1 spot in brand reputation. Beginning back in January of this year, the rankings have shifted from 5 years of BTS dominating the top spot, to SEVENTEEN  leading in the current charts. The group has risen in popularity due to many factors, most notably their increased surge in album sales, having recently released their 11th mini-album titled “Seventeenth Heaven.” 

Back in 2023, they hit the record of the highest-selling physical album [5.6 million copies] and pres-stock orders [4.67 million] with their album “FML,” surpassing BTS’ previous record of 5.03 million during “Map of the Soul: 7 Era.” This isn’t the first time the Pledis Entertainment boy band has outperformed BTS. Pre-orders for BTS’s 2019 album “Map of the Soul: PERSONA,” was exceeded by SEVENTEEN’s pre-stock orders by around 1 million copies. 

Although most people would have believed that BTS would just have dropped to second place, this was not the case. BTS dropped down to third, NCT taking 2nd place above them. This is mainly due to their drop in reputation points [47%], however, it may change when the band members return to the scene, with Jin [the eldest member] returning in June of 2024. The current ranking goes as listed: 1. SEVENTEEN, 2. NCT, 3. BTS, 4. RIIZE, 5. ZeroBaseOne(ZB1), 6. The Boyz, 7. Stray Kids, etc. With all BTS members enlisted, the company, HYBE, announced that they are expected to reconvene around 2025.