Kim Jong-in, the member of the South Korean gang of Kpop EXO better known as KAIis news and not precisely because he is going to announce another solo musical release (after the success of the premiere of his third solo EP entitled ‘Rover’ presented in March 2023) but because he will soon join the long list of artists and professionals who have to make an ‘impasse’ in their career to meet the compulsory military service of his country.

As already happened with the Tottenham footballer heung min son or with the members of the well-known group BTS, who also had to do the ‘military’ Despite their busy careers, singer KAI has announced that he will be the next week when you enlist in the Army to fulfill the mandatory military service in force in South Korea.

EXO, one of the most influential bands of the K-pop genre worldwide, was preparing the edition of their next album (the tenth) before KAI, one of the twelve members that make it up, was forced to advance his training for military service. The group’s agency, SM Entertainment, ensures that the date change is due to a recent modification of the Army Human Resources Administration, according to the South Korean agency Yonhap.

On the Kwangya Club platform, which welcomes the K-pop fan community, the agency SM assured that the 29-year-old artist will begin his military training on May 11, with a five-week Army basic training program. After this, he will start training as a social worker.

In a statement collected by the community of fans of the band EXO Global, SM Entertainment has explained that there will be no public enlistment event, following the “wishes” of KAI himself, who has chosen to make it a personal and discreet event. “To respect KAI’s wishes to enlist discreetly, we will not make the location or schedule public and hope that their fans understand that there will be no act on that day,” the agency said.

While military service (or ‘military’) is optional in many countries, such as Spain since 2001, it remains compulsory in many others. This is the case of South Korea, but also that of many other countries, such as Russia, Austria, Greece or Norway, as stated in its annual publication ‘The World Factbook’ by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States. In South Korea, specifically, they are required to serve all the men of between 18 and 35 years for a period minimum of 18 months.

KAI is a singer, dancer, model, actor, and rapper, as well as the first member of EXO, who introduced himself to the public in 2011. In March 2012, he officially debuted along with three other members of the band, Luhan, Chen, and Tao, with the release of the EP ‘Mama’. In addition, his skills in the art of dance have led him to be one of the most acclaimed dancers in the countrybecoming part of the group SuperManother band created by SM Entertainment in association with Capitol Records.

The members of EXO have been traveling to all corners of the planet since their appearance on stage, more than a decade ago, in which the band’s success has been consolidating, with a strong presence at large festivals, massive concerts and with close than six million listeners on Spotify.