BTS might be able to do military service while still performing

BTS be granted an alternative to – but not an exemption from – the country’s military service mandate.Mayor Park Heong-joon recently made a formal proposal requesting the presidential office  consider granting the K-pop group an alternative form of mandatory military service that is currently available to athletes and artists who have “helped elevate national prestige or cultural advancement”, said officials on August 18, per Yonhap News Agency.The mayor cited BTS’ roles as ambassadors for Busan’s bid to host the World City Expo in 2030 as a reason for his proposal. According to Yonhap News Agency, Park expects an “aggressive promotional drive” by BTS would grant the city a competitive edge amid an “increasingly fierce” competition to host the 2030 Expo.“I do not mean to give BTS the privilege of exemption from military service.

If there was any doubting the support of the BTS Army, take a look at the group’s subscriber count.

J-hope spoke to NME backstage at Lollapalooza 2022 and told us how it feels to be the first South Korean artist to headline a major US festival, what it’s like to have fans supporting his first solo album, and what’s next for BTS. Watch our interview with J-hope below.A day before his historical headline set, the BTS rapper told us playing the festival was a “super super meaning moment” but that he also thought doing it as a solo artist was special.“Me being the first South Korean headliner of a major US festival, but also J-hope’s musical journey,” he told NME.

BTS have continued teasing the return of their long-running web series Run BTS, sharing a new trailer for their imminent ‘Telepathy’ special.Run BTS debuted in August 2015, running for three seasons – over which the boy band have premiered 153 episodes and three specials – between then and last October. A fourth season is yet to be confirmed.

J-Hope will be releasing a limited edition vinyl of his solo debut album ‘Jack In The Box’ later this year.Earlier today (August 8), Big Hit Music announced on fan community site Weverse that J-Hope’s July solo album ‘Jack In The Box’ will get a limited edition vinyl release that includes a booklet, folded poster and photo card. It’s now available for preorder via the Weverse shop, and other major online and brick-and-mortar retailers.While the vinyl is scheduled for release on December 12 for now, Big Hit noted that final release dates, which will be announced in late November, may vary by country.

Psy’s iconic ‘Gangnam Style’ music video has hit 4.5billion views, extending its own record as the most-watched Korean music video to date.On August 4, the music video for Psy’s 2012 breakout hit song ‘Gangnam Style’ had surpassed the 4.5billion mark in views, setting a new record as the most-watched Korean-language music video of all time, according to Soompi.The previous record belonged to the same video, which had also been the first Korean music video to breach the 4billion-mark on YouTube in March. With the new record, ‘Gangnam Style’ still retains its place among the top 10 most-viewed YouTube videos of all time.‘Gangnam Style’ was first released on July 15, 2012, having recently celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. In a tribute to the song, NME’s Rhian Daly wrote that ‘Gangnam Style’ had “served as an introduction to K-pop for many, curious listeners delving deeper into the Korean music scene and finding new artists they enjoyed”, with “online viewership or K-pop artists had doubled in the US since ‘Gangnam Style’ cantered onto the landscape”.Previously, BTS rapper Suga, who also collaborated with Psy on his latest title track ‘That That’, spoke in an interview about how pivotal ‘Gangnam Style’ was in paving the way for K-pop’s success in western arenas. “He was always someone I was grateful for,” Suga said.

Paramount+ is performing “above expectations”  in the UK, Ireland and South Korea, according to Bob Bakish, who forecast a “big year” for Western Europe to come and talked up local language content.

Big Hit Music has uploaded J-Hope of BTS‘ Lollapalooza set in its entirety on YouTube – watch it below.The video, which clocks in at slightly over an hour, was uploaded to the K-pop boyband’s BANGTANTV YouTube channel on August 3. It fully documents J-Hope’s headline set on the final night of the Chicago festival (July 31), including footage of all 18 songs on singer-rapper’s setlist that night, including cuts from his solo discography as well as BTS’ own songs.

EXCLUSIVE: North America is getting its latest free streaming service later this month. Mometu, which is marketing itself as a “hand curated” on-demand live streaming platform, will launch on August 19 and has secured free streaming rights to South Korean feature The Policeman’s Lineage.

Squid Game was previously the most popular Netflix TV show ever, but many believed Stranger Things‘ fourth season could beat the Korean language thriller to become number 1.

So many K-Pop superstars also happen to be social media sensations – and the top accounts have millions and millions of followers.

There are so many excellent K-Pop releases in 2022.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSebastian Lelio’s “Wonder,” starring “Black Widow’s” Florence Pugh, “Winter Boy” with Juliette Binoche and directors Hong Sang-soo and Ulrich Seidl will compete in main competition at September’s San Sebastian Film Festival, the biggest film event in the Spanish-speaking world.In “Wonder,” the latest from Academy Award winning director Lelio (“A Fantastic Woman”),Pugh plays an English nurse brought in to the Irish Midlands in 1862 to observe the alleged miracle of girls going months without food.Binoche co-stars in “Winter Boy,” from resilient French auteur Christophe Honoré who won at Cannes Un Certain Regard with 2019’s “On a Magical Night.” Hong Sang-soo, the prolific South Korean director, will present “Walk Up,” a film which is billed as taking a gently delightful new perspective on themes dear to his poetics. Seidl’s “Sparta” forms part of a diptych with 2022 Berlin competition contender “Rimini,” both movies turning on men who cannot escape their past.The 12 competition titles announced on Tuesday by San Sebastian join its four Spanish contenders, unveiled last month.A brief breakdown on the new competition entries:San Sebastian Main Competition: Newly Announced Titles“Il Boemo,” (Petr Václav, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia)The passions and ambitions, breakthrough and tragic fall from grace of Czech opera composer, Josef Mysliveček,a mentor to Mozart.

BTS have announced that their variety show Run BTS will be returning with a new special episode.On August 2 at Midnight KST, the boyband unveiled a surprise teaser video for an upcoming special episode of Run BTS, their web variety series that first began in 2015. It will mark the first episode of the show in 10 months, after its third season concluded in October 2021.The new teaser features the BTS members themselves, who introduce the upcoming episode.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefK-pop sensation BTS may be allowed to practise and perform overseas even if they enter South Korea’s mandatory military service, the country’s defense minister said on Monday.All able-bodied men in Korea are required to enlist for service before age 30 unless they are given an exemption. The oldest BTS member Jin would normally be expected to enlist later this year.Korea has previously offered exemptions to athletes and artists in other fields who have created national prestige.

BTS may still be able to perform even while carrying out their compulsory military service, South Korean defence minister Lee Jeong-seop has said.At a National Defence Committee held by the South Korean National Assembly on Monday (August 1), Lee spoke about the defence ministry’s position on BTS’ military service terms.“I believe BTS could enlist in the military, and still be given time to practice and perform overseas,” said Lee, as reported by News1.“The Ministry of National Defence has reviewed [the issue of BTS’ enlistment] in consideration of maintaining fairness, equity, and military service resources, and they could be able to continue performing for national interests,” he said.According to Reuters, the minister added: “As many people highly value [artists serving] in the military, that may help boost their popularity even more.”Director Lee Ki-shik of the Military Manpower Association also reportedly stated that implementing additional exemptions for pop culture figures on top of the military’s existing provisions could “break the overall framework of military service exemption”.His comment suggests it is unlikely the boyband will receive a full exemption from service, though provisions may be made for them to continue their promotional activities concurrently.However, South Korean parliament is currently debating a bill that may allow for major pop culture figures like BTS to serve an “alternative” form of service as arts and cultural personnel.In May, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee called for the boyband’s exemption from South Korea’s mandatory military service, saying “It’s time to create a system for incorporating popular culture-art figures as art personnel.”Under South Korea’s current

BTS member J-Hope performed his headlining set at Lollapalooza 2022 last night (July 31), making him the first South Korean to top the bill at the famed Chicago festival.J-Hope closed out the final night of this year’s Lollapalooza, performing on the Bud Light Seltzer stage adjacent to sets from Green Day and Polo & Pan. Other headliners at the festival included J. Cole, Kygo, Dua Lipa, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Baby and Metallica.According to setlist.fm, J-Hope performed a total of 18 songs across his 70-minute set, including eight of the 10 tracks from his just-released debut album, ‘Jack In The Box’.

BTS‘ J-Hope and IU have collaborated on performances of ‘Equal Sign’, ‘Pierrot Laughs At Us’ and ‘Safety Zone’.The rapper recently made a guest appearance on IU’s ongoing talk show IU’s Palette, during which he spoke about his recently released solo record ‘Jack In The Box’. In between interview segments, both J-Hope and IU performed two songs from J-Hope’s new album, ‘Equal Sign’ and ‘Safety Zone’, as well as the B-side track ‘Pierrot Laughs At Us’ from IU’s 2014 album ‘A flower bookmark’.The duo’s rendition of ‘Equal Sign’ sees IU take charge of the vocal-heavy portions of the song while J-Hope delivers the rap verses.

BTS reality series In The Soop will soon be hosting two lucky fans for an overnight stay through Airbnb.On July 26, Airbnb and In The Soop announced that the estate BTS stayed in during the reality show’s second season will soon be available for booking.