BTS Military Service: Boot Camp and Barracks Life

With “Arirang” dropping on March 20 and a world tour close behind, BTS’ return is sure to be the K-pop event of 2026. Get ready for the BTS Arirang album and tour! The K-pop icons are back!

But before hitting the stadiums, all seven bandmates spent the better part of two years fulfilling their mandatory military service, a requirement for every able-bodied Korean man.

The album title carries more weight than most headlines have conveyed. “Arirang” is one of Korea’s oldest folk songs, tied for centuries to themes of separation, longing and reunion. And apparently, their time in uniform had something to do with landing on that title. Discover the meaning behind the BTS album title, “Arirang.”

In a January stream on Weverse, RM traced the choice directly back to his service. Being away, he said, had stirred memories of performing, of his bandmates and of ordinary life.

“I kept thinking about the old days, about performing. I missed society, I missed Army (BTS’ fan group), I missed the BTS members,” he said. J-Hope chimed in: “Everything felt like something to miss.”

That longing, RM said, was what “Arirang” had always captured — a long, hard stretch before finally making it to the other side. Learn more about RM and J-Hope’s experiences in the military.

As it happens, six of the seven enlisted in the South Korean Army (not to be confused with the BTS fan group). Their specific roles, though, were anything but uniform. Now that they’re all back, following is what they were actually up to. Discover the diverse military roles of the BTS members!

Walk into a Korean boot camp as a fresh recruit and the first people you’ll run into are the stone-faced men in red caps, barking commands, watching you fumble with your gear.

These are the drill instructors, tasked with turning civilians into soldiers over a roughly five-week cycle, covering everything from marching in formation to rifle training and throwing grenades. Every Korean man who has served has a vivid memory of a particularly terrifying one.

Both Jin and J-Hope served in this role, with the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon and the 36th in Wonju, respectively. Getting selected is not quite a given — you need to stand out during your own basic training to be tapped for the position.

The common wisdom among those who have served is that drill instructors have it easy: more time off and no brutal field exercises. There is some truth to that, but they are also up before the trainees and in bed after them, responsible for literally everything they do. Worse, every five weeks a fresh batch of confused civilians arrives and the whole thing starts over.

Celebrities seem to end up in this role more often than others. Alongside Jin and J-Hope, the list includes actor Im Si-wan, Big Bang’s Daesung and Seventeen’s Woozi. One reason is that they tend to enlist later, which makes them older and more naturally authoritative within the unit. Their stage presence also does them no harm. Jin and J-Hope’s military service as drill instructors: Details and insights.

If you’ve been online in the past year, you’ve probably seen the clip of RM on his discharge day, playing saxophone to a crowd of fans.

Easy to miss is that he most likely learned the instrument from scratch during his service.

South Korean Army bands run on a tiered system. Top-tier ensembles attached to the Army Headquarters and major corps commands are competitive, professional outfits that perform at state ceremonies and major summits.

Since 2023, these upper-tier bands have restricted intake to classical and traditional Korean instrument players, effectively closing the door on most K-pop stars.

Division-level bands are a different story. Some experience with piano or a school ensemble is often enough to get in. Recruits pick up the rest on the job, frequently handed a brass or woodwind instrument they’ve never played, learning ceremonial marches as they go.

These bands perform at a range of occasions — deployment ceremonies, local civilian events, city festivals — and unlike their higher-tier counterparts, members still pull regular duty alongside their peers: drills, physical training, the works.

RM ended up with the 15th Infantry Division’s band, most likely pulled straight from boot camp. He played saxophone at local events throughout his service and performed again on the day he was discharged. Not a bad outcome for someone who probably didn’t sign up for it. RM’s saxophone skills: How the BTS leader spent his military service.

If you’ve watched “D.P.” on Netflix you have a rough sense of what military police do, at least in their more dramatic moments. V served with a Special Duty Team, which sits toward the higher-stakes end of that spectrum.

You know them when you see them: head-to-toe black tactical gear, body cameras, specialized equipment. These units handle counterterrorism operations at military installations, responses to armed incidents and protection of senior officials. They operate less like conventional law enforcement and more like a tactical response team, working alongside Army special operations forces and police special operations units.

Getting in requires an application and rigorous screening, with martial arts credentials and strong fitness scores giving an edge. Training includes rappelling off buildings and helicopters, quickly descending ropes and close-quarters combat.

Many who have served in similar units say the hardest part, though, is the conditioning: miles of running in full kit and relentless calisthenics, multiple times a day. V’s intense military service: Life in the Special Duty Team.

Jungkook was already known as a good cook before enlisting. Noodle recipes he posted online kept going viral among fans, which made his military assignment something of a natural fit.

Culinary specialists are a breed apart in Korean unit life. Rarely seen at morning formation or out on field exercises, they practically live in the kitchen, always the earliest to rise and last to finish.

In a standard battalion of around 400 soldiers, four to eight cooks handle three meals a day, every day, managing ingredient prep, cooking and cleanup. Leave rotation has to be managed carefully so the kitchen is always staffed.

At larger postings like boot camp battalions processing thousands of trainees, the scale tips into something almost industrial: massive woks, ingredients by the ton, a crew of about a dozen keeping the whole operation running.

Since 2023, those with a culinary background can apply for the role before enlisting rather than waiting to be assigned on arrival. Jungkook’s culinary adventures in the military: From viral recipes to mess hall hero.

Jimin served as a gunner in an artillery battalion within the 5th Infantry Division.

Contrary to what you might imagine, live-fire exercises with howitzers do not happen all that often, just once or twice a year at most. Most of the time is spent on maintenance, positioning drills and the part artillerymen dread most: site preparation. That means leveling and flattening ground with shovels and pickaxes so the guns can be accurately emplaced.

Which weapon system one is assigned to also makes a huge difference. Towed howitzers — manually set up and broken down at every position — are the hardest draw; self-propelled version are typically more manageable.

Photographs from Jimin’s service show him on a K-9 self-propelled howitzer. Even so, recounting his service on a Weverse live after his discharge, Jimin was pretty bleak about it.​​​​​​​​​​​ The howitzer had an “intimidating look,” he said — not easy to warm up to.

He also described weeks in the field without washing, eating rations roadside and sleeping inside the howitzer regularly. Not clean in there, he noted, but he was tired enough that it did not much matter. Jimin’s experience as a howitzer gunner: Challenges and insights from his military service.

Not everyone who gets called up serves in uniform. Suga was designated for social service — an alternative track for those deemed medically unfit for active duty, in his case due to a shoulder injury from 2012.

Social service agents work in civilian government institutions like city offices, community centers and public facilities. They commute like regular employees, maintain civilian status throughout and serve a longer term of 21 months versus 18 for active-duty soldiers.

Where exactly Suga was placed was never officially confirmed, though reports at the time pointed to somewhere in Yongsan, central Seoul. Suga’s social service: Details on his alternative military duty.

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