K-pop stars should not be exempted from the mandatory military service since it has enormous cultural, political and social influences on Korean society. Male image and masculinity are emphasized in Korea relating to attending the mandatory military service. It is common to expect a boy before military service and a real man after completed the military service. The media in Korea are always enlarging on the positives side and responsibility of attending mandatory services.
The mandatory military service is seen as a very important way in Korean male’s role to grow mature and become masculinity. As for male K-pop stars, they are especially focused and monitored by the media and society on the issues of trying to be excluded from the military service. One of the reasons behind this is that K-pop stars are role models and people want to see them contributing to their country and society. It would be unfair for K-pop artists to spare from the mandatory military service, yet every Korean male is responsible to attend the service. Attending to the military service is a chance for stars to build a good impression, it offers an opportunity to let go the past and the immature acts. But on the other side, trying to avoid it could destroy one’s career since it appeared as betraying. Yoo Seungjun, the singer had been an especially popular pop star since he had shown his loyalty and proudness of being a Korean performing in a foreign land (Yezi 2017:299). He had earned a lot of money and promised to go to the military anyways and viewed as a star who had positive influences. However, he didn’t go to military and abandoned his Korean citizenship, this results in losing his fans and fame.
Military service had risen to be a noble thing to do and people are proud of it. Nevertheless, this also gives chances for cyberbully, K-pop star Tablo was attacked because rumor of he didn’t attend military service (Shim 2014:479). We can see how much Korean society value the military service and it could success and fail a celebrity’s career. Due to the fact, the military service timing is usually in people’s twenties to thirties which is a golden time for people to work hard in their career. Further, some of the stars maybe exempted since they are doing things that are contributing to the country more than the military service (Joohee 2014:455).
Bibliography:
DOOBO, SHIM. “the Cyber Bullying of Pop Star Tablo and South Korean Society : Hegemonic Discourses on Educational Background and Military Service.” Acta Koreana 17, no. 1 (2014): 479-504.
Yeo, Yezi. “The Good, the Bad, and the Forgiven: The Media Spectacle of South Korean Male Celebrities’ Compulsory Military Service.” Media, War & Conflict 10, no. 3 (2017): 293-313.
Kim, Joohee. “Class Reproduction and Korean Male Dancers Receiving Exemption from Military Service through Dance Competitions.” Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science 24, no. 4 (2014): 453-460.
I totally agree with shuwei’s idea that K-pop stars should not be exempted from the military service. Since military service is mandatory in Korean society and every male should complete it, there should be no hesitate for the stars to complete it and show they are representing nationality. As mentioned in the class, some common examples of natural male responsibility and role in Korean society including paying the right amount of taxes, attend to mandatory military service; finish their education and laboring for the nation. They should follow the county’s order and follow the rules. The singer shuwei mentioned reminds me the popular star PSY, he had completed twice of the military service in case to get public’s forgiveness. As a star trying to escape and liberate from the mandatory service, he is also showing the disrespect to the county and nations. As we already known, fans are so important, and they provide the most support to an artist. Without their support and love, an artist cannot be successful, and they can be destroyed in their career pathway. Therefore, there is no point for Korean people still supporting them and letting them earn money. As a star, there is a need to be responsible and show you love the country. While the military service is a main basis for differentiating men and women in Korea, people also feel like the military is a main way to let man become masculine and become a real man. Being in military could be viewed as tough and uncomfortable in our generation, everything compared to home is not that comfortable in military. In the past, people go to military service because it could give them food and a shelter to live instead of starving. But on the other side nowadays we are able to afford goods and foods. Getting used to the comfortable life is a reason for trying to get away from the mandatary military service. But as a Korean citizen, every one of the man has the responsibility to participate and contribute to the society and make it better. K-pop artists shall do the same as others.
If this question is asking about whether the pop stars in other countries can be exempted from the mandatory military services, I would definitely agree that they can be exempted. As a market participant in such a fast-changing industry, be able to generate as much heat as possible when they are enjoying the massive exposure to the public is crucial for them to maintain their popularity for as long as possible. Spending two years in a restricted environment can be devastating for the pop stars since their image maybe weaken and some of their fans may switch their preferences to other newcomers in the pop industry. However, under the overall social norm of South Korea, it is quite difficult for the K-pop stars to be exempted because the society believes participating in the mandatory military service is a way for a boy to grow, like a coming-to-age ceremony. Moreover, the experience of going through the military service enables them to provide their male audiences a feeling of brotherhood because people are more likely to bond with each other when they all have been through the same unforgettable and challenging situation. Additionally, as the people whose success are highly dependent on the attitude of the public towards them, following the social norm and maintain a positive public image is crucial for them to keep participating in the industry. As the consequences of avoiding the military service, we can refer to the former famous singer Yoo Seungjun, who avoided the military service and abandoned the Korea citizenship, resulted him being totally banned by the Korean society and his apologies will never be accepted. Although Yoo took this act to an extreme by both avoiding the military service and abandoning the Korea citizenship, however, the consequences for Yoo are a good illustration of how serious the Korean society is towards participation in the mandatory military service. I understand that some people may say for the K-pop stars who have an influential image on the international level should be exempted from the mandatory military service just like those athletes who have won the international level games. I would say, even if in the future, the government did allow influential K-pop stars to be exempted from the military service, they should still enlist themselves in just to maintain their public image, although they may lose some fans during the time it is still better than taking the risk of jeopardizing their future possible career path.
I agree with Shuwei that Korean idols should not be exempted from military service because this is their responsibility and obligation as a Korean citizen. At the same time, they are also role models for the ordinary Koreans. However, I think that the time period for Korean idols to perform military service should be reasonably shortened. As we all know, the changes in the Korean entertainment industry are unpredictable. At present, the strength of Kpop in Asia is not to be underestimated. Not only are there a large number of music and TV dramas every year, but many Korean idols have also begun to tour around the world, allowing fans all over the world to further understand them, so this has led many Korean idols to carry out their activities at the peak of their careers. Many Korean artists such as Kim Soo Hyun, Song Chung-kee and EXO are very popular in the Asian region. However, if they disappear for two years, what will happen? They will soon be replaced by new fresh idols.
Take the top Korean superstar, Rain, as an example. In fact, before the military service, Rain’s popularity is the most powerful one among solo male singers. JYP Entertainment has helped him to grow into a Korean male first-line artist. However, in recent years, Rain’s influence is generally getting smaller, which has a lot to do with Rain’s two years in the army. We should know that during his two years in the army, many male Solo singers emerged in Korean singing circles. Kwon Chi-long and Kim Hyun-jong captured the hearts of fans. So, look at Rain now, in fact, he lost a lot of entertainment resources during his two years in the army. After his retirement, he also played in the Korean drama, but the audience rating is far less than that year’s “romantic house”.
Moreover, hard barracks are harmful to their faces. Apart from the two-year performance gap, the unknown mental and health conditions of Korean idols during military service are the concerns of their entertainment companies. Bullying scandals in the Korean army are almost normalized. So military service is really a big hole for entertainers and companies. For entertainment circles, military service is a kind of poison that they have to take.
So I think that the two-year military service is too long for Korean idols. The time period for Korean idols to perform military service should be reasonably shortened.
This is pretty well done, except for the citations (one uses the given name instead of family name) and the bibliography (many problems). Remember, the bibliography is 20% of the final exam grade and it includes making a bibliography for ALL the required readings for the class. If I graded your bibliography above I would take off 5 points, all for simple little things that you could easily fix. Why don’t you fix them now before the TAs come to grade the essay?
Thank you so much for pointing out the bibliography’s problem, It has been fixed.
As Shuwei written in her leading essay, I agree with her point and also think that K-pop stars should not be exemption from the mandatory military service. First, K-pop as such a huge industry in Korea, there are numerous trainees and idols. If each of them or most of them are allowed to exempted form military service with no other specialism, it will not be fair to other industry. Secondly, as Shuwei has already mentioned, the ‘real man’ and masculinity image. Not only the government, the Korean audience also value the experience of military service quite much. I have noticed that there are much more military elements in Korean TV series show than other countries. For instance, the most famous one, . This TV series came out in 2016, and it did sweeping the whole Asia. Despite of that, there are also many not so famous series shows, I can name quiet a lot of them——, and etc. This kinds of military theme series keep coming out, must because there are considerable audience who loved watching them, and the TV station could make money from it. Audience commend these kinds of sieves show as ‘not like other soap operas’, ‘feels more like realistic romance.’ Since it did set up a storm through asian girls, many girls dream of being in this kind of romantic relationships. With inclination towards military love, Korean males would be more encouraged and more willing to attend the military service. The one who still not willing to attend the military service will have less popularity and might be considered not ‘man enough.’ Thus, through the 2 perspectives, I do agree that K-pop stars should not be exempted from the military services. As a country which do not have enough population, mandatory military service is a solution to enhance military force. The man can be exempted, should be the ones who made contribution in the name of Korea like increasing Korean’s nation image and popularity —— like phd. and researchers in specific domains, or athletes wining gold medal in international olympic games.
Shuwei and other group members has provided strong supporting reasons why k-pop stars should not be exempted from mandatory military service. As in Korean culture, military service is regard as a journey in which boys grow up into men and serve their motherland. Also, as Stephen mentioned, mandatory military service can lead to drawback for k-pop star’s career with no public performance and decreasing exposure rate.
However, in my perspective, the military service-related regulations are not totally arbitrary and negative for k-pop star’s development. Korean males are required to join the army between 20 and 30 years old and male K-pop stars can choose a time to serve in the army in this range. This policy is highly helpful for idols arrange their career better and avoid losing popularity during military service. For example, when the idol enters transitional period or period of stagnation, it is a good chance to enlist in the army to adjust their planning. Or for male idols groups, having some members in the army while the others are not can effectively help the group to keep some popularity among fans. Additionally, as military service is tightly linked to manhood, it also can be used as a strategy to build patriotic, conscientious characteristic before audiences. Idol’s brokerage company will also help them to find the balance between competitiveness with same types of artists and cohesion& loyalty of fans to decide the best time point the join the army. Base on the reasons, I don’t think the military service is so devastating for k-pop idols’ career that need to be exempted.
Many k-pop stars are idols and ‘idol’ means they should bring positive influence to the society since their action might be imitated by large number of fans. It is a part of their job to do the right things. Taking equal responsibilities in serving the army and protecting their country is the job even for every normal Korean man. So, at the same time of enjoying popularity, fame and supports from audiences, it is fair for Korean public to be very angry at the ones who are irresponsible for the military service.
Shuwei has made a fair point about K-pop stars being role models and ideal images in the eyes of the Korean audience. Such expectations often tie them to many nationalistic obligations and therefore makes military service exemptions unacceptable for their supporters. As discussed in class, military service is not only an examination and opportunity of nationalism in individuals, but it is also perceived as a necessary transition event for boys to enter manhood. Despite that many K-pop male idols appear to be young and boyish looking, they would eventually have to undergo such transition. Their occupation as the nation’s cultural representatives makes military service even more necessary because their supporters in Korea will not like the fact that their idols are exempt from this nationalistic and growth-oriented experience because of their roles as stars. However, it is also important to consider how military service would negatively impact their future career pursuit, because unlike other jobs, K-pop stars face great competition and quick changes in the market. One or two years of not being able to be in public eye can severely impede their careers, since there are new groups debuting every month in Korea’s somewhat saturated market. Military service exemption, from this point of view, is quite reasonable a proposal because it considers the competition and short-lived opportunities in the industry of K-pop, and how being in the military can negatively affect the career development of male stars. However, given current social perception and expectations for K-pop star, such exemption is simply impossible. It would be more permissible if the proposal is about making adjustment on the regulations of stars in the military. For example, allowing them to have exposure once every two or three months instead of completely staying away from their audiences. A balance should be found between nationalistic expectations and career considerations for the stars because public exposure is vital to the prosperity of this industry. Fans should also become more tolerant if their idols are in non-intensive departments of the military. Being a K-pop star is a challenging and stressful occupation. They should receive more understanding and support instead of strict scrutiny.