SEOUL, South Korea (CelebrityAccess) — Korean pop icon and BTS member Jin began his mandatory enlistment in South Korea’s military on Tuesday.
According to NBC News, Jin, whose full name is Kim Seok-jin, reported to boot camp near the border with North Korea on Tuesday, taking the first steps towards completing his obligatory 18 months of military service.
He will undergo five weeks of basic training, including physical conditioning and basic military skills before he is assigned to a unit in the South Korean military and receives more specialized training.
At 30, Jin is the oldest member of BTS and will be the first member of the group to begin his mandatory hitch in the military, to be followed by his bandmates in the coming months and years.
According to NBC, more than 300 officers from the military and local police forces were deployed around the training camp on Tuesday to provide security from enthusiastic fans and Jin posted to social media service Weverse, sharing a photo of himself with his new military haircut and asking fans to stay away to avoid dangerous crowding.
South Korea, which is still technically in a state of war with its northern neighbor, is one of the few industrialized nations to require mandatory military service from male citizens. All able-bodied men between 18 and 28 years are required to serve at least 18 months, though many, including Jin, are able to defer entering service for several years.
