Jin becomes the first BTS member to enter mandatory military service in South Korea

It’s happening, BTS ARMY: As foreshadowed back in October by a statement from management group BigHit Music, beloved K-pop group BTS is officially on hiatus so its members can take part in South Korea’s mandatory period of military service. 30-year-old Jin, the oldest member of the group and the first to begin his service, has been conscripted into his country’s military and is now stationed at an army training center a few miles from the Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea.

This comes from CNN, which notes that a “motorcade of six black vans” delivered Jin to the base where “security staff and the media outnumbered a few hundred fans” who had showed up to see him off (despite him apparently asking for people to stay away). Able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military for 18 months by the time they turn 28, though deferments are allowed for people who “excel in popular culture and art”—like if you’re, say, a member of one of the biggest pop groups in the history of the planet.

But Jin is now set to serve in the military for the next 18 months, with BigHit Music saying back in October that BTS would be on hiatus until 2025 so the rest of the members could complete their required service as well. Also, coincidentally, Jin will be serving with another guy named Kim Seok-jin, which is the singer’s full name as well, with the non-famous Jin telling CNN that he’s excited to be serving with the famous Jin and that he hopes they become friends. Not only do we hope that happens, but that also sounds like a pretty solid pitch for a movie… You happen to be doing your mandatory military service with a huge celebrity, you become friends, then back in the regular world you’re a normal guy with this super-famous friend. Somebody tell one of them to write this!