These are my thoughts and opinions. Information is out there if you seek it yourself. Nothing has been confirmed by any of the members or the company.
News media says Korean male citizens Kim Namjoon, Kim Taehyung, Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook will be enlisting soon: Dec. 11 for the first two and Dec. 12 for the latter pair.
And that Jimin and Jungkook seem to have chosen the companion enlistment option. Yes, "option" because they could have chosen to go in separately.
Koreans who are familiar with how this all works, have tried to explain the process. From what I understand, the companion option allows them to serve their entire enlistment together.
They weren't forced and this wasn't their only option for enlistment. They chose this themselves for a reason, for personal reasons, that none of us can know because we aren't them.
Many speculate but NO ONE KNOWS their reasons!
According to various sources, they will be at the same training center as Jin. There are many groups doing ongoing training there. But I don't believe they will be in the same company that Jin serves as assistant trainer. Credible sources say that Jin's unit at the training center is not accepting recruits on Dec. 12 which is the supposed date that Jimin and Jungkook will enter the military but we don't know for sure. But being at the same training center would allow them to see each other when they have time.
This reunion:
We won't know for sure until it actually happens.
Many are throwing around wild speculation regarding the fact Jimin and Jungkook are the only two with tattoos and therefore had fewer options. But they aren't. All the members have tattoos now. The Korean military needs all the manpower they can get, they aren't excluding men with tattoos, they are just limiting the situations they can serve.
The options are limited (and only slightly) for them because very visible tattoos, especially on the arms and hands, would allow them to be identified too easily. This is a consideration and criteria that is regulated in militaries and law enforcement around the world and is not isolated to Korea. Criminals are identified by their tattoos. Military personnel can also be identified by visible tattoos. In a situation where it is imperative that enlisted remain anonymous, hand tattoos would be a dead giveaway for identification. I'm sure there are other reasons for no tattoos allowed in certain assignments.
The application process began months ago and is the same process all Korean male citizens would go through to be approved for the companion program.
No one is really discussing Tae and Namjoon, everyone is going batshit crazy over Jimin and Jungkook. Let them do their service in the manner they wish. None of you have any say-so in it so shut up.
No one is capable of or even wants to step back and consider the big picture which is more telling.
Regarding Tae and Namjoon, I would venture to say that after basic training, its possible Namjoon will serve in some capacity with the Defense Ministry's Agency for KIA Recovery & Identification which he was named ambassador for earlier this year. That office is located in Seoul I believe. The fact he is well-known publicly and he can speak English would enhance his success in an assignment of this sort. This agency recovers those who lost their lives in action during the Korean War in which American soldiers also perished.
Recovering those KIA happens near or in the DMZ.
IF the hearsay about where Jimin and Jungkook might be assigned after training has any truth, they are supposedly headed to this area as they also perform minesweeping when searching for KIA remains. Again, none of this is confirmed, I am just employing critical thinking...
Tae supposedly has chosen the Special Task Force of the Army's Capital Defense Command. That seems like it implies he'll remain within Seoul during his enlistment.
It's all speculation, but I think these men carefully considered their options and the ramifications. None of this was done on a whim, from Namjoon's ambassadorship and the possibilities of it, to Jimin and Jungkook's companion enlistment and why they chose that option, NONE OF IT WAS DONE WITHOUT CAREFUL CONSIDERATION. They had to apply MONTHS ago for the options they were allowed to choose. They are not the only men in Korea enlisting this year, there are tens of thousands of others.
No one is considering, IF Namjoon is in Seoul during his enlistment, he would have something in common with Tae. And Yoongi. And Jin will be discharged in June, Hobi will be discharged in October... the implications, the connections... their target is 2025. Nothing is a coincidence. They can't be working while enlisted, however reuniting briefly with friends over dinner and drinks is allowed... what they talk about during their get togethers is none of our business.
ALL THAT BEING SAID... Hybe did a tremendous job this past summer with the 10th anniversary Festa celebration, involving various municipality governments, procuring large corporate sponsors and communicating to news media in the almost month long series of events. They elevated the general public's awareness of BTS's impact and therefore instilled value and pride for their continued success.
No military commander would want anything to happen to the members while under their watch.
NOTHING IS A COINCIDENCE.
P.S.: The idiots sending in emails to the Defense Ministry are hurting EVERYONE. The level of lunacy knows no bounds with certain people. They suffer from a pathological psychosis. Don't engage, don't acknowledge.
Jikooks love for their Hobi Hyung: saying goodbye to their protector and bestie ๐ญ
Hobi came live today, as promised, before he enrolls for his MS.
He came to say his goodbye to ARMY ๐ข
Jimin commented on Hobi's live and dropped off some love
And Hobi tells us how Jungkook rearranged his schedule so he could be back in SK to say his goodbyes and see Hobi off for his MS
He raised him well ๐ฅฐ
Being the good president of the Jikook supporters club that he is, he couldn't leave us without telling us how when he and Tae went to JK's, JK was singing Jimin's songs ๐ฅฐ
We know how much JK loves to sing Jimin's songs
Hobi is such a sweetheart, I wish for him to stay safe and well during his time in MS and to never lose his sunshine โ๏ธ
Hello Iโm Kim-I-Am-So-Cold. Everyone, Beijingโs so so so cold all do be careful of catching colds!! If you were to be like me and wear just a shirt and coat youโll come out regretting so no-no! Do dress warmly no matter what hooheeheuhahararaha
But for me.. (In J-Hopeโs tone) Iโm quite warm because thereโs all you ARMYsโฆ (black star)(white star)
What's with all the anti talk in the tag lately/anon asks?
People still didn't get over the fact that jikook chose each other for the buddy system yet?๐ What will you all do when they get out and talk about it? When the travel show will air? When they'll keep being close for the next few years like they always been?
This dinner was shot pre-White House, but post-Vegas and PROOF LIVE... the timing is important, here.
Koo has just refreshed the JM on his hand. That's important. And we know it is because he gloved it, part of the time. And yet the seating chart has him separated from Jimin and they're still in the golden closet and there are entirely other factors at play which I will elaborate on in my next post. Not right here. BUT. It's not time to worry about the Jeon-Parks, Scout.
They are all DRUNK AS HELL because this is HARD. They all end up in tears because growth is painful, often, and they are young men with lives to lead and they are not breaking up with us, exactly, but they need some space. To grow. To not be BTS all the damn time.
Right now they need to be Namjoon
And Seokjin
And Yoongi
And Hobi
And Jimin
And Taehyung
And Jungkook.
And sometimes that means they can't tell us everything: who they're with, who they love, where they live, what they're doing. Because, they did NOT say but didn't need to, is that their lives have been dangerous and not private enough for too long.
BUT PAY ATTENTION KIDS.
What they are not telling us is that, at the time this was shot, their military service was (maybe is, on today) still up in the air. I'm not sure it will be announced before any of them actually go. Maybe a little bit before, but not much. But I suspect that it's a very good chance Seokjin's papers are already submitted. Possibly others' as well.
What they are telling us is that we can expect a fair bit of solo work and we should plan to pay for it, this time, as we should.
We should not expect a Run BTS performance soon but later on, we can, and also Run! BTS, if they have anything to say about it.
And based on Tae's most recent shot of the other six, posted on Weverse just a little while ago, we have not seen the last of BTS as a group.
It's not time to worry. It might be time to cry, a little bit.
It's time to let them grow, each on their own, so they can come back together.
I am serving as an assistant assistant training assistant after completing an assistant research lecture at the 36th Division Baekho New Military Education Battalion.
As we were so busy
I didn't have time to update you..
I came here to say hello to you in a little by little
I remembered the days when I worked hard as J-Hope around this time last year while performing my military mission in July.
It's a completely different side of me
I think the heart that draws the future hot will be the same!!!!
I wanted to tell you that I'm living j-hopely with JUNG HO SEOK Haha ๐ซก
We know there will be lots to look forward to but if you find yourself with some time, please read the book, Beyond the Story.
A lot of things that are confusing, especially to those who weren't around since 2013, can be understood more clearly through the words of the members in the book.
If you can, watch the docuseries Beyond the Star. So much information from them, in their own words, their tone of voice, and in context with what they are trying to communicate, adds another layer of context.
And watch the recent HYBE Labels series that explains what T&D is... their staff become emotionally attached to their trainees too. To see them bloom into fully rounded artists that take off on their own journeys must be an amazing experience. It helps to have real human faces to associate with "the company."
The series should be eye-opening for some. I hope it is. Hearing that Namjoon and BTS formed the foundation for how they develop trainees... imagine that... huh...
You will learn so much about them and how they got to this point.
That's not to say that they didn't work hard, that they weren't pushed, that they didn't question themselves, but the big picture is that they were young, making it up as they went, both the members as individuals and the company itself. Bang PD had the experience but he also had other ideas that broke away from the normal.
Not to mention the enormous pushback, bullying, downright hate, they received all through it. I don't know how they kept going.
It took years for them to be able to stop, take stock in what they'd accomplished and how they got there and then decide what they wanted to do from then on. And then they did it again this past year, choosing to forge ahead as a group with their company.
I believe they indeed talked about ten, twenty, even thirty years and have tentatively outlined what they want to accomplish. I think they are working their way toward whatever it is they envisioned.
Nothing is a coincidence but I bet a LOT is serendipity.
On another note, my two that I pay closest attention to...
Jungkook tried all year to tell us they were a pair. And Jimin... bless his heart. What a handful he has, right? Maybe they are both a handful for each other and that's why they are together right this minute.
Jimin sort of intimated in his last live that after MS he can do whatever he wants without hindrance, whether he means pushing the envelope with his creativity or just being able to work without anything hanging over him...
And Jungkook is apparently building a wonderful and securely-walled place to live that will be ready for when they're discharged. Very large for one person and a dog...yeah, it's huge.
Just my own thoughts here: at this point, with everything we know, the possibility could be that Jimin and Jungkook may live together following MS. There will be enough room in that place for sure, 5 levels? 12,000 square feet? It's huge. Why wouldn't they? That's just my own thought.