There was another quarrel after the Asian Games! E-sports athletes can be exempted from military service by winning medals. Why does BTS’s music achievements not count: they have made a huge contribution to the promotion of K-POP.

(Cover image source: Asian Esports League, BIG HIT MUSIC)

E-sports players are exempt from military service, why not BTS?

At the just-concluded 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, e-sports including “League of Legends”became an official competitive category at the Asian Games. Korean e-sports players “Faker”Lee Sang-hyuk, “Zeus”Choi Woo-jun, “Keria”Liu Min-suk and others participated in the “Won the gold medal in the “League of Legends”competition and became one of the first players to receive special treatment for military service. At the same time, this Asian Games also included break dancing (B-boying) as an official competitive event for the first time. The legendary B-boy Hong 10 (Kim Hong Ryul), who has completed his military service, won a silver medal in the break dancing competition. But with breakdancing becoming an official event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, other South Korean athletes have a good chance of winning medals.

According to the Korean Military Service Act, “arts and sports personnel”who have won gold medals in international sports events are given the privilege of being exempted from full military service (those who have won gold medals in the Asian Games; players who have won gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Olympics). They do not need to serve in the military for nearly 2 years, but only need to complete 3 weeks of basic military training and 544 hours of volunteer service.

Related events have triggered a discussion on “whether the exemption from military service should be extended to pop artists who have important influence on the global stage.”BTS is the focus of attention. Many netizens believe that “even e-sports players can be exempted from military service.”, Why can’t BTS do it?” , “BTS has made a huge contribution in promoting K-pop culture, and athletes’ medals have low gold content, so why can’t they be recognized?” , “In order to build a strong sports country in 1973, In 2000, a special exception was established that exempted people from military service by winning medals. How many years have passed, why should we maintain this backward rule?”and so on.

Some professionals explain that compared to sports competitions, popular culture lacks an internationally recognized competition platform. Currently, there are 42 competition categories listed as eligible for exemption from military service for art and sports personnel, forming a clear gap with popular culture that lacks internationally recognized competition categories. Although BTS has won American Music Awards (AMAs) and Billboard Music Awards (Billboard), these are not internationally recognized competition platforms, so there is no standard to evaluate an individual’s contribution to the promotion of pop culture.

In 2019, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense conducted a survey on alternative service systems such as artistic athletes among 2,000 adult men and women over 19 years old. According to the report, 55.6% of the respondents believed that special exceptions to military service should be given to those with sports expertise. Appropriate, 44.5% of respondents thought it was inappropriate.

In addition, whenever the issue of military service of BTS is involved, it will trigger heated discussions on the Korean network. The seven members have long stated that they will seriously perform their national defense obligations. Currently, three members have enlisted in the military.