Classical, not K-pop… BTS military service exemption fairness

“In fairness, it is difficult to expand the alternative service system.”

The Ministry of National Defense intervened in the controversy surrounding the special military service of the BTS group on the grounds of ‘fairness’.

With Jin (30, Kim Seok-jin), the first person to be notified of enlistment, the BTS members who started their individual activities were in a situation where they had to enlist one after another. However, the issue of fairness between the current arts and sports and popular culture remains a controversial topic.

The current Military Service Act, first enacted in 1973, requires those skilled in the arts and sports who contributed to the promotion of national culture and prestige by coming second in international art competitions and first in competitions domestic art, instead of serving in the military, serving as art and sports personnel for 34 months However, in the case of pop culture artists, this special military service exemption does not apply.

On the 19th, Representative Kim Young-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed an amendment to the Military Service Act to allow alternative military service for pop culture artists like BTS. According to the amendment, pop culture artists who have received cultural medals, cultural medals, sports medals, sports medals, etc. will be added to the arts and sports staff.

The current Military Service Act states that persons with special skills in the fields of arts and sports prescribed by Presidential Decree, recommended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, may be transferred as arts and sports personnel. According to the Military Service Act, artists in popular culture, such as BTS, cannot be transferred to art and sports personnel, but if the amendment is passed, they will receive the Hwagwan Culture Order in 2018 for spreading the Korean Wave and the Korean. language, opening the way for an alternative service.

A bill to amend the Military Service Act has been proposed, but the pros and cons of the so-called ‘special exemption for BTS military service’ are strongly against it. The view that it makes sense for those who made a mark in the history of Korean pop music in the global music market to stop their activities and enlist in the army is contrary to the view that military service is not a matter for treated urgently. .

Piano player Seong-Jin Seong won the 2009 Hamamatsu Competition, and soccer player Heung-Min Son won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. However, it is noted that BTS, who have been gaining global popularity by topping the Billboard chart day after day, have not contributed as much to promoting national prestige as they did.

On the 14th and 15th, a poll conducted by Realmeter, a public opinion polling agency, at the request of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, surveyed 1,018 men and women over the age of 18 across the country on ‘consent to convert to service’ alternative for pop culture artists who promote national prestige,’ 60.9% favor special military service exemptions, and 34.3% oppose it.

University student Mo Kim (25), who showed a positive stance, said, “My classmates and pianists are exempt from military service, but there’s nothing wrong with BTS.” “The overall impact of stimulating tourism by attracting foreigners, such as hotels, food and beverages, and various products, is huge,” he said. In fact, BTS attracted 180,000 foreigners with just three concerts held before the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for 67% of the number of foreign visitors to the Pyeongchang Olympics. The economic impact they caused alone reached 1 trillion won.

Choi Gwang-ho, secretary general of the Korean Music Content Association, an organization that represents the rights and interests of record producers and distributors, spoke of ‘promoting BTS’s national prestige’. The message emanating from the song also includes content as love for humanity and carbon neutrality. BTS has an absolute impact on the music industry as a whole, not just individuals.”

He continued, “Even if you look at the music chart index, BTS accounts for the absolute majority of overseas traffic. If the BTS military service issue is not resolved, a death blow to the music industry will be inevitable.”

General Secretary Choi said, “In terms of the amount of contribution to promoting national prestige, BTS is not inferior to other artists. If BTS does not receive special military service, the alternative service system itself must be changed in a fair and just way. in a comprehensive manner.” I hope that the amendment to the Military Service Act will be done as soon as possible in a reasonable way,” he said.

The most important thing is public sympathy. Deputy Defense Minister Shin Beom-cheol, who appeared on MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ on the 22nd, said, “It is difficult to see that the majority of people are in favor, with 40 to 60 percent in favor and 30 to 50 per cent against.” he did “With regard to the fairness of the fulfillment of military service obligations, the consistent position of the Ministry of National Defense is that it is difficult to extend exactly ‘replacement service for supplementary service’.

“The biggest problem in the culture and art world is that the standards are vague,” said Lee, a 34-year-old office worker who opposed the military service exemption for pop culture artists. The problem is I don’t know what else. to be used as a standard in the acting and film fields,” he noted.

“In order to properly judge the issue of the Military Service Act, we need to review several cases of exemption from military service,” he said he thought.

The public agreed that the value of ‘fairness’ can only be maintained when they deal with the world of popular culture and art from a long-term and broad perspective, rather than focusing on one case of BTS, and based on a standard that everyone can identify their heads are..

Reporter Kim Soo-young of Hankyung.com swimk@hankyung.com/ Reporter Lee Hyun-joo intern