J-Hope Officially Enlists in South Korean Military, Becomes Second BTS Member to Serve
J-Hope became the second member of K-pop sensation BTS to join the Korean military on Tuesday.
The singer, born Jung Ho-seok, was reported arriving at boot camp at Wongju, east of Seoul, and is expected to begin five weeks of basic training there. Hybe Corp., the parent company of BTS’ management agency Big Hit Music, later confirmed the 29-year-old singer had entered the camp, according to the Associated Press.
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Ahead of his enlistment, J-Hope shared a message to his fans, promising that he would “come back well” and showing off his new military-approved buzzcut.
“I’ll have a good trip!!” the BTS member wrote on Instagram in Korean. “I love you ARMY…I’ll go and come back well.”
While fans didn’t know exactly when J-Hope was set to start serving, Big Hit had confirmed in February that he would be enlisting soon.
In March, J-Hope and Jimin visited Jin, the first BTS member to enlist for military service in South Korea. Jin, who began serving in Decemeber shared a photo wearing camouflage fatigues on Instagram and holding up a peace sign, with his bandmates on either side. In the caption, Jimin wrote, “???,” which translates to “Welcome.”
J-Hope recently shared a new solo single, “On the Street,” featuring a verse from J. Cole; he also released his debut solo album Jack in the Box last year and his Disney+ documentary J-Hope IN THE BOX in February.
The remaining BTS members are also expected to complete their mandatory military service over the next couple of years. Last summer, the band announced that they would be taking a hiatus to focus on other endeavors and solo projects; a few months later, their label confirmed that the members would also fulfill their military service requirements during the break as well.
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