In the span of the last eighteen months, BTS has seen its members gradually fulfilling their
mandatory military service
obligations. The procession began in December 2022, with
Jin
leading the charge, and then Jungkook and Jimin being the last one to enlist in December 2023.
However, the spotlight turned to Suga, whose enlistment took a slightly different way.
Suga, whose official enlistment occurred in September 2023, went on an alternative service path as a
social worker
. Notably, unlike his bandmates, Suga maintained a low profile following his enlistment, with no official posts documenting his whereabouts. It was only when the final four members of BTS enlisted that glimpses of Suga emerged, appearing in photos posted by the BTS Twitter page.
Fast forward to March 28, and confusion gripped the ARMYs when Korea Dispatch shared a tweet featuring a video captioned ‘Military Enlistment BTS Suga’. The accompanying thumbnail depicted the Nonsan training site, overlaid with older images of both Suga and Jin. The video, titled showcased cars arriving at the Nonsam training center, similar to the previous enlistment events involving other members. Although neither Suga nor Jin were directly observed, speculation arose that they were among the occupants of the vehicles.
Clarification arrived via a statement from BIGHIT to Korean news outlet Osen, affirming Suga’s presence at the base for a three-week basic training stint. His service as a social worker began under the ‘pre-service post-entry system’, which involves entering the training center at the designated time set by the Military Manpower Administration to undergo fundamental military training before returning to his designated role.