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South Korean boy band, BTS is going on a hiatus as members commence their mandatory military service.

Kim Seok-jin, better known as Jin, is the first to serve his 18-month military service that started on Dec. 13, The Korea Herald reported.

While the send-off was attended mostly by the recruits' families, all six other members of BTS were present at the entrance ceremony to send their eldest bandmate off.

Jin enlists

Cute photos of the band sending off Jin circulated online.

There's also a picture of members rubbing Jin's freshly shaved head.

The 30-year-old recently posted a picture of his new look on Weverse, a social media platform specifically for fans of K-pop bands, with the caption: "Cuter than I thought."

One of his bandmates, Jung Ho-seok, better known as J-hope, even dedicated a farewell Instagram post to Jin, wishing him good health and happiness.

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by jhope (@uarmyhope)

Asked fans not to come

BTS' agency, South Korean music label Bighit Music, thanked fans for their continued support of BTS and gave an update on Jin's military enlistment in a post on Dec. 12.

Since the entrance ceremony is "a time to be observed by military personnel and their families only", they urged fans to refrain from visiting the site to prevent overcrowding issues.

The label's statement, posted on Weverse, is seen below:

Allkpop reported that 270 riot police were dispatched to the venue.

There were also officers present who would be able to interpret different languages and emergency health services on-site.

In addition, 60 task force officers from the Yoncheon district office prevented the illegal sale of goods.

Hope to reconvene in 2025

On Oct. 17, Bighit Music confirmed in a statement that all members of the boy band will be serving mandatory military service.

[공지] 방탄소년단 병역 이행 및 향후 활동 계획 안내 (+ENG/JPN/CHN) pic.twitter.com/jntF90agO4

— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) October 17, 2022

The band had earlier announced they would be going on a hiatus in June 2022, leaving their fanbase, known as “BTS Army", heartbroken over the group's absence from the scene.

The members cited exhaustion and pressure as reasons for their hiatus, as well as their wish to engage in solo projects, according to AFP and Reuters.

Ending on a hopeful tone, the statement mentioned the possibility of the band reuniting in the near future.

"Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment," the statement concluded.

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Top image via @BTS_twt and Jin/IG.