BTS's RM And V Are Back From Military Service
Expect the group reunion and new songs this year
RM and V, two-sevenths of the global K-pop phenomenon BTS, have officially clocked out of their mandatory South Korean military service. As of Tuesday morning, Chuncheon City was less a sleepy provincial hub and more the stage for a global fan pilgrimage.
About 200 ARMY faithful waved weeped, and FaceTimed cousins back home, all to catch a glimpse of their boys in olive green. One fan flew in from Mexico City—18 hours, no layovers, armed with heart-shaped placards and unwavering devotion. “It didn’t feel that long,” she said still glowing. That’s the power of K-pop. It makes time, geography, and sleep cycles irrelevant.
RM and V had enlisted in December 2023 as part of the mandatory military service, joining a staggered enlistment queue that’s seen Jin (the eldest) out first in June 2024, J-Hope following in October, and Suga currently doing his bit as a social service agent.
Meanwhile, Jungkook and Jimin are expected to finish their service--drumroll --tomorrow. Yes, you read that right. Tomorrow.
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The band’s agency, HYBE, confirmed a 2025 reunion is in the works. That gives us precisely enough time to get our hearts (and concert outfits) ready.
Why Did They Serve In The Military?
A quick explainer for the uninitiated or just your confused uncle and non K-Pop lovers: South Korea requires all able-bodied men aged 18–28 to serve in the military, a rule born of its tense standoff with North Korea. While elite athletes and classical musicians occasionally win exemptions, K-pop idols—despite their cultural exports and GDP-level impact—do not.
BTS, for all their UN speeches and Billboard conquests, weren’t granted a hall pass. They did, however, get permission to delay enlistment until 30, thanks to a 2020 legal revision nicknamed the “BTS Law.”
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And sure, there was national soul-searching: Should they have been exempt? Could they not just serve in sequins? Ultimately, HYBE shut it down with a mic drop of a statement in 2022: all seven members would serve.
Now, as RM and V re-enter the world of choreography and chaotic variety shows, one thing’s clear—military service may have built character, but it’s the fans who kept the home fires burning.
With all seven soon reuniting soon, the only battle we care about now is who gets the bridge in the next comeback single.