New Korean Military Enlistment Laws Change the Face of Hallyu

The Korean government recently passed two shocking changes to their military enlistment laws!  Two (possibly three) major new laws will change which favorite actors we see in Kdramas and Kpop for the next few years.

Law 1: Korean Enlistment Age Dropped from 30 to 28

The Korean Government announced that as of August 1, 2018 the required enlistment age will drop from 30 down to 28.  Many favorite Korean celebrities born in 1989 and 1990 will now be forced to enlist much earlier than they’d planned.

Already many Korean stars have been affected by the change.  At his Japan fan meeting on August 18, Lee Jong Suk announced that he will be enlisting soon.  Also, BTOB’s Eunkwang has had to cut his planned overseas tour in September due to his enlistment on August 21.  We will probably hear from more stars very soon.

Additionally, up to now Korean men could postpone enlistment for a number of reasons, including graduate school, a sibling currently serving, or promotion activities.  All these reasons have now been ruled invalid.

Law 1 part 2: Overseas travel Reduced for Men Between 25-27

As part of the drop in enlistment age, the government has also reduced the amount of time that Korean men may spend traveling abroad between the ages of 25 and 27.  This may affect many idols’ touring plans since they won’t be able to travel as freely as they did before.  They will be “permitted five international travels, each travel with a maximum traveling period of 6 months.” [Source]

Law 2: Length of Korean Military Enlistment Reduced

On the bright side, a second law is set to take affect soon which reduces the amount of time Korean men will serve. The Army and Marines will be shortened from 21 months to 18 months; The Navy from 23 months to 20 months, and the Air Force from 24 months to 22 months. [Source]

Starting October 1, enlistment terms will be cut by one day each week until 2022 when they will be shortened the full amount.

Possible Law 3: Korean Celebrities Exempt from Military Service

(We think) brilliant politican Ha Tae Kyung recently called for an amendment to the current military enlistment laws. He believes that globally recognized Korean stars should be exempt from military service.

The precedent is already in place for the law.  Korean “classical musicians and dancers, and world-class athletes” are already exempt from service.  [Source]  Ha Tae Kyung reasons that because Korean enlistment laws were created before KDrama and KPop became global trends, the laws only protect the entertainers who were globally recognized back then.  However, since Hallyu has become important to the financial and international success of South Korea, it only makes sense for the laws to change as well.  [Source]

“…the things that encourage our whole nation to dream and give inspiration to young people are not on [the military service exemption list],” said Ha Tae Kyung. [Source]

Sadly, no changes have been made yet.  But talks are continuing.

What do you think?  Were any of your favorite Kdrama actors affected by the new laws?  Do you think that Ha Tae Kyung will be successful in changing the Korean enlistment requirements?

[Sources: Billboard, Allkpop, SBSAsia, Hani News, Huffington Post Korea, Soompi]

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