Congressman responds to request to exempt BTS from army service

Article: Congressman gives opinion on "please exempt BTS from army service" request

Source: Sports Kyunghyang via Nate

1. [+1,271, -59] Their name means bulletproof and their fandom name is army, just go with a clean conscience and come back strong!!

2. [+1,192, -81] What a ridiculous request

3. [+982, -65] This is a joke

4. [+58, -23] So why does excelling at ballet get you an exemption but not pop music? I didn't even know until today that winning in a ballet competition granted you an exemption... So why not winning on the Billboard? Is the government assuming it's some easy feat because BTS accomplished it so easily? ㅋ Yeah, I'd love it if BTS went and served but this is just unfair, isn't it??? Ballet performers get exempt but pop stars can't?

5. [+55, -2] Honestly I don't care about BTS and don't even know how many members they have but I do agree with the congressman saying "There needs to be reform to match the new generation of youth. Winning #1 at a ballet concert grants you an exemption but not winning #1 at a b-boy competition. Same goes for theater actors but not movie actors. Not even gaming competition winners." But really, why does ballet get an exemption but not b-boying? Why theater but not movie actors or game players? Honestly Faker should deserve an exemption. I'm not demanding that BTS be granted one but I'm asking for the standards to be fair across the board.

6. [+40, -6] Please don't misunderstand BTS fans, it's not all of us demanding an exemption ㅠㅠ We do believe that BTS should serve their duty to our country and hope that they serve well when the time comes!!!

7. [+31, -4] There's nothing fair about our country.... Winning gold at the Olympics is definitely something to be proud of but I don't know if it's necessary to exempt them from the army on top of the money they're already receiving. Why do ballet performers get exempt but not people who have made prominent contributions to pop music??? I'm not asking for an exemption for BTS, just asking why others are rewarded for their hard work and others aren't... it's not fair, right?

8. [+29, -6] I'm an Army and I think it's best that they serve confidently and proudly while they're young! I know they'll be able to put out albums with new stories after they come back and will gain new male fans too. They'll have an aura that no one will be able to touch then!

9. [+27, -2] All of those rules need to be deleted because they're so outdated. Back then, competing in international competitions was a big deal and these perks were given to encourage participation. Back when our country was poor, the government thought it'd be great morale for the country if we had athletes that could win medals and tried to encourage it by offering these perks. The government shouldn't be considering adding idols to the list but rather getting rid of the whole thing in general.

10. [+25, -0] Get rid of the perks for winning at ballet competitions and whatever. Who even knows those people? Faker and BTS have done a whole lot more at spreading awareness about Korea than those people.

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