Amongst all the artistes in YG Entertainment, BIGBANG has to be the most popular. They’re also one of the longest surviving groups in both the entertainment company as well as the South Korean music scene.
So it should come as no surprise that there’s a special place for them in YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk’s heart.
In a recent (4th October) interview with Newsen, Yang Hyun Suk expressed his strong affection for BIGBANG. All in the same breath, he revealed that BIGBANG’s contract with YG Entertainment will end next year.
He said:
I have spent 9 years of my life with BIGBANG and I have been with the members for 15 years. Soon, the members of BIGBANG will have to go to the army. When they return, I want to continue to work with them and maintain our close relationship. As long as my involvement in their work will help them in the future, I would like to work with them as long as possible. They are my close friends. I care for them a lot.
BIGBANG leader G-Dragon started his career when he was only a tender age of 5. The 27-year-old entertainment icon trained under SM Entertainment for 5 years before officially joining YG Entertainment when he was about 12 years old.
It was then and there that he met his now best friend, Dong Young-bae aka Taeyang.
They were both supposed to debut as hip hop duo GDYB but that plan eventually fell through, which paved the way for BIGBANG. In 2006, BIGBANG was officially introduced to the world as a 5-member (primarily hip hop) group – G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P, Daesung, and Seungri. Their formation was documented via a survival cum documentary show.
Now, more than a decade on, the BIGBANG members are nearing the age where they would have to enlist in the mandatory South Korean army training.
According to the law, males aged between 18 and 35 are required to complete the service, which consists of 5 weeks basic training 21 months as an active-duty soldier. Nevermind CEO Yang Hyun Suk, VIPs (as BIGBANG fans are lovingly called) have been anxious for years now about the members’ enlistment dates.
G-Dragon recently mentioned on “JTBC News Room” that he will go to the army when he is required to go, but is afraid that he would lose his sense of talent after his military service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=869K-RasM6I
As it stands, the age ranks in BIGBANG puts T.O.P above the rest as he’s 28 years old this year, while members G-Dragon and Taeyang are both 27. Daesung is 26 and “maknae” Seungri is 24. Keep in mind that they’re all a year older in South Korean age.
Are you anxious about BIGBANG members’ army enlistment news? Do you fear that things will change after they return from their military training? Would you like them to continue to be with YG Entertainment after their contract ends via renewal? Feel free to discuss that in the comments box below.
