How Will BTS’ Military Service Affect Their Careers? HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk Weighs In

etonline.com:

BTS' next chapter will be one of growth and change. Big Hit founder and HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk gave an interview featured Thursday on CNN's where he addressed BTS' current slow-down from group activities amid the members' South Korean military service and made reassurances about their future plans.«From the career's point of view, no artist would be happy to have such a long pause against their will.

I think it's a separate issue from the mindset that we faithfully and gladly serve the country. Yet BTS and I were talking about this since early 2018,» Bang Si-hyuk said in the interview when asked about the members' military obligations. «So it's been long discussed, and we're not done yet.»«We've been prepared to turn this into a turning point in their career,» said the 50-year-old producer, who professionally goes by Hitman Bang. «It's obviously true that they needed this time of rest after such an intense period of hard work.

They can't remain the BTS of today, but need to grow and change as artists.»The group's eldest member, Jin, reported for mandatory military service in December 2022 with his fellow members seeing him off.

J-Hope officially began the process of enlisting for military service, Big Hit announced in February, becoming the group's second member to do so.Bang acknowledged the impact of BTS' break, which was announced last June during the group's ninth-anniversary celebrations, and expressed hope that K-pop as a whole can continue to grow and expand globally. (BTS has plans to "[reconvene] as a group again around 2025," Big Hit said in a statement at the time.)«K-pop is not as hot in the market as you might perceive.