In South Korea, every male is required to serve in the military for about one and a half year, unless he had obtained an exemption that has been cleared by the nation. Of course, even our favorite male idols are not above the law.
This year, a number K-pop stars who were born in 1993 and 1994 are (with the exclusion of Dowoon from DAY6) are expected to conscript by the end of 2022. Ready to say goodbye to these boys? Here’s a list of male idols who are likely enlisting for mandatory military service:
1. DAY6’s Dowoon
- Birthday: 25th August 1995
- Dowoon revealed that he will be enlisting for his mandatory military service as a part of the ROK army’s music corps, starting from 17th January.
- He’s the third member of DAY6 to begin his mandatory military service duties, after Sungjin and Young K who enlisted in and Young K who enlisted in March and October 2021 respectively.
2. DAY6’s Wonpil
- Birthday: 28th April 1994
- Earlier in February, Wonpil announced that he would be serving in the Republic of Korea Navy. He enlisted in the military on 28th March 2022.
- “We are trying to have all of the members return around the same time. Since the other hyungs went on ahead, we need to hurry up and go, so we can come back and release more music,” the vocalist revealed during a V App Live session with fellow member Dowoon.idol
3. SF9’s Inseong
- Birthday: 12th July 1993
- Enlisted on 21st March as a member of the military band.
- His ideal type: Someone tall.
4. SF9’s Youngbin
- Birthday: 23rd November 1993
- Enlisted as an active duty soldier for the ROK Army’s 27th Infantry Division on 28th March.
- His ideal type: Someone with a big heart.
5. Golden Child’s Daeyeol
- Birthday: 11th February 1993
- Enlisted as an active duty soldier for the ROK Army’s 3rd Infantry Division on 28th March.
- His older brother is Sungyeol from Infinite.
6. VIXX’s Ravi
- Birthday: 15th February 1993
- Ravi (real name Kim Won Sik) announced that he would be leaving the variety program “2 Days & 1 Night” ahead of his military enlistment.
7. Block B’s P.O
- Birthday: 2nd February 1993
- He enlisted in the Marine Corps on 28th March.
- Most recently, his agency Artist Company announced that he will be serving in the military band after completing seven weeks of basic training with the Marines.
8. Pentagon’s Hongseok
- Birthday: 17th April 1994
- Hongseok entered the army training center on 3rd May to receive basic military training, before serving as an active duty soldier.
- He acted in several K-dramas such as “Phoenix 2020”, Netflix’s “Move To Heaven” and also “Shadow Beauty”.
9. Astro’s MJ
- Birthday: 5th March 1994
- MJ (real name Kim Myung Jun) enlisted in the military on 9th May.
- He is the first member of Astro to begin mandatory military service.
11. A.C.E’s Jun
- Birthday: 2nd June 1994
- Enlisted as an active duty soldier on 7th February.
- He is the third member of A.C.E to enlist in the military. Fellow members Donghun and Wow enlisted in September last year.
12. A.C.E’s Kim Byeongkwan
- Birthday: 13th August 1996
- The 26-year-old enlisted in KATUSA (Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army) on 11th April.
- He was the second K-pop idol to be selected as a soldier for KATUSA, following DAY6’s Young K. According to Soompi, KATUSA is a branch of military service that requires applicants to demonstrate a high degree of fluency in English.
We certainly look forward to these idols’ return in the next couple of years. Serve well, guys!
