Let’s talk about BTS and their new situation. The K-Pop industry is one of the new activities that are generating a lot of income for the South Korean reserves, but the mandatory military service is playing against the country’s growing musical influence.
Context:
South Korea went through what economists call an “Economic Miracle” in the last two decades, with the country now being leaders in many sectors, and being highly competitive in many others, running shoulder to shoulder with the biggest economies of the world, securing a high position in the industries of technology, electronics, manufacture, steel, processed foods and vehicles, all of this after being considered on of the poorest countries in the world in the 50s decade.
Alongside this economic boom, the cultural influence grew accordingly, expanding through the neighbor countries, and then, in the decade between 2010 and 2020, South Korea emerged as one of the biggest cultural influencers on the world. All thanks to their musical exponents, who have conquered most of the territories in the world, and their conquest is so strong that South Korean artists are growing even more popular in the western emisphere than western celebrities themselves, such as Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.
But what could BTS, seven singers and dancers, bring to the national army?
BTS are the absolute ambassadors of the K-Pop movement around the world, with no doubt or hesitation. They have broken records with each release, each step they take becomes a new tabloid, and their popularity was growing stronger by the minute until they came across their biggest obstacle, their own government.
In South Korea, men are obligated, by law, to serve two years in the mandatory military service, this includes singers, actors, and every celebrity alike. Everybody was assuming that the Minister of Defense would make an exception with the biggest artists in the world, but it didn’t really happen.
Even after the exhaustive efforts of the internet users, and the managing company of BTS, BigHit Music, to try to exempt or postpone the military service for the seven members of the group, there was no agreement on the government’s side of the negotiation, so the interpreters of the biggest song of 2020 , will not be present in the stages for at least two years.
Let’s take into account that, according to Forbes, BTS is valued in around 3.6 billion dollars, they are the #1 musical act of the moment, and they generate around 60 million dollars annually to their record label, though it’s been rumored that the number is too low, and it could go up to 300 million per year. They are expanding the K-Pop industry further with each comeback, which also benefits South Korea, and are taking the Korean culture to otherwise unreachable places, putting the name of the country in high standards, and constantly raising the bar for the other countries, but they will still have to go to a commando, wear a uniform and cut their hair. Think of all the funds that South Korea will be losing, all of that just to include 7 more guys into the military force, who will also not make much of a difference anyway. Is that really worth it?
It appears that South Korea has scored an own goal with this decision.
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