The surprise announcement by BTS last week that they were taking a break to focus on members\u2019 solo projects stunned their global fanbase, shaking their label\u2019s stock price and leaving many questions about the K-pop supergroup\u2019s future.<\/P>
HYBE, the company behind the band, denied the group was taking a hiatus \u2014 a word used in a translation of the group\u2019s emotional dinnertime video announcement. In the days since, band members have remained active on social media, continuing the stream of posts, photos and assurances that the band wasn\u2019t breaking up.<\/P>
Despite the immediate impacts \u2014 HYBE\u2019s stock initially dropped more than 25% and has yet to fully recover \u2014 several factors may still affect BTS\u2019 future. One is looming military enlistment for older BTS members, as well as how engaged the group and their devoted fans, known as ARMY, will continue to be in social issues.<\/P>
In 2020, at the height of BTS\u2019 success, the South Korean government revised the country\u2019s military law that requires able-bodied South Korean men to perform approximately two years of military service. The revised law allows top K-pop stars \u2014 including Jin, the oldest member of BTS \u2014 to defer their military service until they turn 30 if they\u2019ve received government medals for heightening the country\u2019s cultural reputation and apply for the postponement. All BTS members meet the criteria as recipients of government medals in 2018.<\/P>
\u201cObviously, there\u2019s a looming military enlistment so they might have thought it\u2019d be good to do something individually before it\u2019s too late and that\u2019s why I think military enlistment was the biggest factor,\u201d said Lee Dong Yeun, a professor at Korea National University of Arts.<\/P>
There have been calls \u2014 including from South Korea\u2019s former culture minister \u2014 for an exemption for BTS because of their contribution to heightening South Korea\u2019s international reputation. But critics say that such an exemption would be bending the conscription rules to favor the privileged.<\/P>
Jin, 29, is expected to enlist this year unless he receives an exemption.<\/P>
Military enlistment of members has always been a headache for HYBE; BTS once accounted for 90% of the label\u2019s profit. Currently, the group makes up 50%-60% of the label\u2019s profit according to a report from eBest Investment & Securities.<\/P>
The eBest report noted that the rapid stock plunge might have resulted from an \u201canticipation that the activities as the whole group might be uncertain after being discharged from the military.\u201d<\/P>
HYBE has been attempting to diversify its portfolio by debuting new K-pop bands, making online games, and rolling out Korean language tutorials.<\/P>
As the most successful K-pop band to date with hits like \u201cDynamite\u201d and \u201cButter,\u201d BTS has for years commanded tremendous attention on social media and with each new music release. They recently performed several sold-out shows in the United States, became the first K-pop act to get a Grammy Award nomination, released an anthology album, \u201cProof,\u201d and channeled their global influence with an address at the United Nations and a trip to the White House to campaign against hate crimes directed at Asians.<\/P>
\u201cOnce you achieve success like BTS achieved success, then it means there\u2019s a constant expectation to continue doing something that is connected to what you\u2019ve already done, where you\u2019ve already been. In the most recent releases that BTS has brought out, also we can see how they continually reflect back on where they have been,\u201d said CedarBough Saeji, professor of Korean and East Asian Studies at Pusan National University.<\/P>
She said Tuesday\u2019s announcement signaled the band\u2019s intention to figure out \u201cwhere they are going for themselves without interference from other people\u201d and \u201cbeing able to choose their own path forward as artists.\u201d<\/P>
Last week\u2019s announcement also leaves in doubt the group\u2019s social justice efforts, which have included vocal support for the Black Lives Matter movement and anti-violence campaigns. BTS\u2019 legions of fans have embraced the causes, matching a $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter after George Floyd\u2019s death.<\/P>
But the group has faced mushrooming questions about why it isn\u2019t as vocal about discrimination in their own country.<\/P>
A leading South Korean newspaper recently published a column in which the author mused why South Korea, despite having BTS \u2014 \u201cthe ambassador of anti-discrimination and human rights\u201d \u2014 has struggled to enact an anti-discrimination law for 15 years.<\/P>
\u201cIt\u2019s an irony,\u201d the writer said. \u201cSouth Korea needs their force for good.\u201d<\/P>
The country\u2019s lack of an anti-discrimination law has led to unfair treatment against women and foreigners, among others.<\/P>
Jumin Lee, the author of the book \u201cWhy Anti-Discrimination Law?\u201d told the Associated Press that there\u2019s a dire need for the anti-discrimination law in the country.<\/P>
\u201cSouth Korea is in essentially the same situation legally as America\u2019s Jim Crow South. Equal protection exists as a constitutional concept, but there is no implementing legislation that allows the government to force private businesses to comply,\u201d Lee said. \u201cWhat that means in practice is that if I\u2019m a business owner, I could post a sign on my door tomorrow that says, \u2018no gays\u2019 \u2018no blacks\u2019 or \u2018no old people,\u2019 and absent extraordinary intervention by the Constitutional Court, there\u2019s very little the law can do to stop me.\u201d<\/P>
Lee recently expressed disappointment in the band for not speaking up about the important domestic issue.<\/P>
\u201cBTS and their business folks know that speaking up in the U.S. is profitable but doing the same back home would be more trouble than it\u2019s worth. So, they don\u2019t,\u201d tweeted Lee after the band\u2019s visit to Washington.<\/P>
Despite that, Lee said the band\u2019s silence is understandable, stating that BTS would be met with \u201cindifference at best and hostility at worse\u201d from politicians if they did speak up.<\/P>
Some South Korean celebrities like singers Harisu and Ha:tfelt have been speaking out on touchy subjects such as the anti-discrimination law and feminism, despite backlashes.<\/P>
After speaking out about the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, which killed 304 people in one of the country\u2019s worst disasters, Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho and director Park Chan-wook were blacklisted by the administration of the ousted President Park Geun-hye, noted Areum Jeong, a scholar of Korean pop culture.<\/P>
\u201cSo, although many idols might be politically conscious, they might choose not to discuss social issues,\u201d Jeong said.<\/P>
Several BTS members said during last week\u2019s announcement that they were struggling with the group\u2019s successes and having trouble writing new songs.<\/P>
\u201cFor me, it was like the group BTS was within my grasp until \u2018On\u2019 and \u2018Dynamite,\u2019 but after \u2018Butter\u2019 and \u2018Permission to Dance,\u2019 I didn\u2019t know what kind of group we were anymore,\u201d member RM said. \u201cWhenever I write lyrics and songs, it\u2019s really important what kind of story and message I want to give out but it was like that was gone now.\u201d<\/P>
While that clouds what BTS\u2019 next steps might be, Saeji said their continued candor was necessary because of how much the group has impacted their fanbase.<\/P>
\u201cThey\u2019re meeting the fans with that same honesty and saying to them, \u2018You had my help when I needed it. And now I need my help,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201c\u2018I need to be on my own. To think for myself, to know what I want to write a lyric about, to understand my own mind, to become inspired on my own.\u2019\u201d<\/P>
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Source: Voice of America<\/P>
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The surprise announcement by BTS last week that they were taking a break to focus on members\u2019 solo projects stunned their global fanbase, shaking their label\u2019s stock price and leaving many questions about the K-pop supergroup\u2019s future.HYBE, the company…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n