From fighting off fans, to fighting off North Korea

In some more not-so-dynamite news for BTS fans, all seven members of the “Dynamite"-singing boy band (our office's fav song btw) will serve in the South Korean military until "around 2025," when they plan to come back together as a group, the K-pop band announced yesterday.

This comes months after the bandmates said they were taking a break from performing together to pursue solo projects on their own.

🇰🇷🪖 A deeper dive… South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve at least 18 months in the armed forces by age 28, due to ongoing threats from North Korea. Though some athletes and performers may receive exemptions.

• BTS had applied for such an exemption, and were granted a temporary stay until age 30. Jin, the band’s eldest member, will turn 30 in December.
• South Korean officials said earlier this month it would be “desirable” for the K-pop group to fulfill their military obligations to ensure fairness across the system.

🌎 Zoom out: Nearly 70 countries have mandatory military service or training for some or all of its citizens. Most policies only apply to men over the age of 18, but a handful of nations – including Israel, Norway, and Sweden – also require women to serve.

More than a dozen other countries, including the US and China, have laws that allow the government to compel citizens to serve in the military, but aren’t currently in use.