BTS Fans Plan to Boycott K-Pop Merchandise While Group Serves Military Time

South Korean K-Pop group BTS announced on Monday that they plan to begin their mandatory military service after years of government debate, and some fans are planning to boycott K-Pop and Korean merchandise in the meantime.

After years of speculation that the group would be granted government exemption, Big Hit Music, the entertainment company which founded and manages BTS, confirmed the group has decided to begin preparations for their conscription.

"BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service. After the phenomenal concert to support Busan's bid for the World Expo 2030, and as each individual embarks on solo endeavors, it's the perfect time and the members of BTS are honored to serve," the music company wrote in a statement.

"As part of the HYBE family, we support and encourage our artists and are beyond proud that they will each now have time to explore their unique interests and do their duty by being of service to the country they call home," it continued.

BTS's oldest member, Jin, will start making preparations next month to begin his two-year stint in the military, with the other members—Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook—to follow "based on their own individual plans." The group plans to reconvene around 2025.

The news came on Monday as a shock but not quite a surprise, as South Korean government officials have been debating BTS's conscription for several years now. However, the BTS fanbase, known as ARMY—an acronym that stands for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth—had mixed emotions.

While some mourned and others called for guarantees of the members' safety, others began calling for boycotts of K-Pop and Korean merchandise.

"To be honest, I don't want i-army [I-ARMY refers to international fans of the group] to buy Korean products and consume kpop until our boys finish their military service. I am Korean but I am not a fan of kpop, I am a fan of bts and I am not a fan of the Korean government. They must realize what they have done," said Twitter user @KkongGun.

"Don't worry," one user replied, "I already canceled my plans we was having a family trip there was going to be 18 of us traveling to sk for 2 weeks and planned on doing alot of things out there I wait until 2025 when BTS comes back."

"i won't buy anything until the boys are back," tweeted another.

Much of some of the ARMY's frustration comes from the fact that the conscription was mandatory, as South Korea has required military service for all able-bodied men in the Republic of Korea between the ages of 18 and 35, regardless of the fact that BTS's decision to enlist was their own.

Many other fans thought that the calls to boycott were "ridiculous." One user wrote, "the whole boycott sk approach is so weird to me why are people suddenly saying they dont want to go there anymore or buy their products what did the country itself do to you u know that 99.9 percent of the people there had nothing to do w whats happening rn."

Regardless of fans attempting to boycott the entire country, the discussion of what South Korea stands to lose now that BTS will be in the military is an interesting one, considering the stock of HYBE management company fell to the lowest it had been since going public two years ago when BTS announced they were taking a hiatus in June.

The K-Pop group has undoubtedly contributed a large amount to the country's economy in the nearly 10 years since they debuted. In 2018, Hyundai Research Institute reported that BTS was contributing more than $3.6 billion to the South Korean economy every year. Analysts have projected that between 2014 and 2023, BTS would have contributed $29.1 trillion to the country's economy.

"South Korea had an amazing example of what will happen, when the kpop stock market crashed following BTS' 'hiatus' headlines only," tweeted one fan. "The government took so long that they willingly gave up 15 billion dollars of 3 years worth BTS' inactivity. They didn't recognize BTS, they will pay."

Another wrote, "What BTS did in Busan was as obvious as it could get, that no one in South Korea, not in the music and entertainment industry, not in the sports industry, not in the film industry, are remotely capable to what they can do in one day for their economy and culture."

"For their concert alone, everything around them reap the benefits. BTS are responsible for a lot of good things that cannot be replicated," the user added.

On Saturday, BTS put on a massive, free concert in the city of Busan in support of Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The concert in the southeast port city drew in over 55,000 fans and millions more watched the show online.

"Although it's so sad that the concert is ending already, it's not like we only have today. We will continue for 30 years ... and even perform when we are 70 years old," BTS member Jimin said onstage during the group's performance.

Newsweek reached out to a representative for BTS for additional comment.