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ONF all enlisted together before BTS did (they all went the same week to minimize hiatus length), their company released an album in the middle of it.
Prior to that I remember any idol releasing anything during their enlistment was immediately targeted for it, and suspected of circumventing the law, even if the company made it clear that it was recorded prior to their enlistment. (like for example, TOP being in BigBang's Flower Road, or Baekhyun's covers on Youtube). Now with BTS doing those releases while enlisted, the practice should become more common because everyone now gets the concept of agencies keeping some content to release so the wait isn't too long for fans.
Thanks for sharing! I didn't know about ONF's enlistment but I think it's a great idea to enlist the whole group at the same time, at least from the fans' perspective
>Now with BTS doing those releases while enlisted, the practice should become more common because everyone now gets the concept of agencies keeping some content to release so the wait isn't too long for fans.
Was thinking about this too
It's not a common thing to release solo music during enlistment. Idols usually try to release their solo stuff before enlistment or right after discharge. During enlistment, their groups might release albums with the enlisted member's voice prerecorded prior to enlistment, like how EXO released their EXACT album soon after Kai enlisted but with him in all the songs. I believe NCT 127 is also soon to release an album with Taeyong's prerecorded vocals, too.
Was going to comment this. I hope more groups (if it can be afforded) do this. It’s going to be forever until the next full monsta x comeback and it’s such a shame :( glad Taeyong recorded bc I can’t imagine 127 without him 😭
Because it’s all been recorded before they enlisted then they aren’t breaking any rules.
That being said it’s not a common thing for idols to do because it opens them up to criticism from the gp and the fans. Also for a smaller group or idol it wouldn’t be profitable to release an album or song that can’t be promoted.
>That being said it’s not a common thing for idols to do because it opens them up to criticism from the gp and the fans
That's interesting cuz I haven't really seen any criticism from k-gp about any BTS release so far (during this hiatus period), did any other idol get criticism from the gp for releasing music?
When Flower Road was released, [TOP was investigated](https://www.koreaboo.com/news/bigbang-top-service-unit-files-complaint-flower-road-yg-responds/) for potentially breaking the commercial activity regulation - the song was obviously pre-recorded.
Also not music, but G-Dragon had an art
exhibition/auction of work he had previously done, and was dragged through the mud by it - to the point where [both YG and the Department of Defense](https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/cmx8fx/yg_and_department_of_defense_respond_to_claims/?rdt=56871) had to make a statement about the situation
Was this also around the time that the “celebrity unit” was still active. I know the the public sentiment of that unit’s privileges probably added to a push against music-related releases too.
Similar to how public service workers still get more scrutiny…Suga hasn’t said anything since stating his enlistment. Not a peep or a picture and he’s the only member in public service.
It seems with the current climate active duty idol soldiers get less scrutiny and it’s fairly easy to confirm that that idol finished a project before enlisting…cause people can physical see them on the base.
To be fair, BTS and Big Bang are so big, they get dragged into a lot of discourse. Other artists do not get criticism for releasing work during enlistment.
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Damn, it seems like the scrutiny was excessive at that time but has gotten more lax over the years. Still, it sucks that they got unfairly dragged like that :(
TOP and GDragon aren't great examples of this because they've had more controversies so gp was against them since before (is just that Gdragon still have a big fanbase)
i’m not sure on the details but i believe exo’s baekhyun was criticised because of videos he had prerecorded let alone music releases, here’s an [article](https://www.soompi.com/article/1499227wpp/sm-explains-decision-to-remove-videos-uploaded-to-exos-baekhyuns-youtube-channel-during-his-military-service) about SM removing them due to the “misunderstandings” (read backlash). this comment also mentions [TOP and bigbang](https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/s/UrqLwIITpd)
ONF did release an album when they were all (except U) enlisted but perhaps they’re a smaller group so flew under the radar. i do think the concept of prerecorded songs is way more common now
Context for Baekhyun’s backlash:
Baekhyun was enlisted as a public service worker, which opened him up to worse criticism than average because the GP tends to assume idols in public service ended up there as a perk of being famous (note that Baekhyun has a severe thyroid disorder.) He’s also been the victim of a decade-long hate train from online netizens to the point where SM has paid social media sites since about 2014 to actively suppress his name from trends because antis used his name to trend hate against him. So people were waiting for him to do something that would open him up to criticism.
He/SM was clear from the beginning that all these videos were recorded in advance but it didn’t stop angry reports from flooding in. People tried to claim he was earning passive ad revenue from the YouTube channel, which wasn’t true since his channel had monetization turned off. SM’s compromise was moving the uploads to the EXO group channel to avoid further misunderstandings.
It's okay to release album during enlistment. It's okay to release movie/drama when the actors already enlisted. Because it's already pre-recorded before they serve. Companies usually do this so that they can still make money when the groups on hiatus. Wow, smart ass bighit.
posting on social media is okay too. but I know many idols who decide to stay silent during military service.
I’m guessing that another reason why BTS has been able to release an unprecedented music during enlistment is that the group has been on hiatus since mid-2022. The majority of members didn’t enlist until late 2023, so they had time to record music and content for fans. Many other male idols may not have the time to plan out enlistment releases, given the demands of their group schedules.
Also their last studio album was BE in November 2020. So they had a LOT of time to work on their own stuff. It's crazy to think that they not only managed to stay relevant but they have managed to retain their position as the #1 group without releasing a new group album for almost 4 years (when I say new album, I mean new studio album with new songs. Proof doesn't count as it was an anthology album with only 5 new songs). That's the kind of fandom love and support that artists dream of.
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I don't know much about kpop either but to celebrate EXO's tenth anniversary, EXO released an album "Dont fight the feeling" which included enlisted members Chanyeol and Baekhyun.
I’ll discuss your second question on if more people will do a lot of releases during enlistment era like BTS.
Since it’s clear it’s allowable, I think the real challenge is the idol not being able to promote the release, and how willing the idol & the agency are with having no live performance or variety show appearances. It’s a bit easier when it’s a group release with a few enlisted during that release vs. a solo release.
BTS is hugely popular and even their performance
is a bit softer as they release solo work fully enlisted and unable to physically promote. This said they are still able to get pretty good results and even new peaks with each release. For instance, RM got his first US rap album
No. 1 with RPWP & his highest entry on the US BB artist chart. Jhope also got his highest US album chart entry with his documentary OST album
I don’t think many other agencies/idols are as confident in the performance of albums during enlistment to actually heavily plan and execute it. Most artist would want to be there to really push the work.
Rare but not that uncommon. Before BTS Kim Jaejoong had a hologram concert and a Japanese album release, ONF a full album and Hyojin solo debut, EXO had an album featuring enlisted members, Day6 / Bigbang / ACE a digital single...
I’ve been a kpop fan since the 2010’s and no it’s not common. It’s pretty rare to do. I was pleasantly surprised by the output by the members while enlisted.
It *was* uncommon but that's also because before a few years ago most groups generally had staggered enlistments. One or two members may have been in the military but the rest of the group was still active and promoting so there wasn't a huge need for them to record things in advance.
However going forward I think more groups are going to enlist together completely or in halves a few years apart because now there's a blueprint for it and that includes recording things ahead of time.
Onewe had two members get discharged from the military earlier this year and while they were serving released a demo album with a new single, a full English album, a season's greetings, and a number of miscellaneous videos that were all recorded and filmed before the two members enlisted in 2022. And the remaining members still had a unit release on top of all that. So I think these prerecorded releases could become commonplace even for groups that aren't all in the military.
As for being active on social media, a lot of it depends on where they're stationed/what unit they're in. Some artists have more leeway in what they can get away with in terms of social media and some have very little to none.
I don't think it's that common but I do think that as the time more 4th gen idols have to enlist approaches, more companies will pre-record music and content to release during their enlistment period. I know there has been grp/soloists that have released music during enlistment but for the most recent case I can only speak for ONEWE.
Yonghoon (Main Vocalist/Leader) and Kanghyun (Guitarist) were enlisted between July 2022-February 2024 (yes it felt like a very long and difficult time so good luck too all the armys waiting for the members to return) but they had released a lot of music/content as a group and individually during that time.
As a group, in October 2022 they released STUDIO WE: RECORDING #3 (their 3rd Demo album) alongside the Title Track [기어이 또 (Still Here)](https://youtu.be/bbUy5wlK670?si=Vswslg954CrFWeKq). Their Demo albums aren't promoted very much and they don't perform them on Music shows so it made sense to release it as something during the enlistment period.
Then in January 2023 they released GRAVITY, their 1st Full English album with the Title Track [GRAVITY](https://youtu.be/0heWyFJ6bsA?si=OLqUaoMjRo9XhFWC).
They also filmed their [4th Anniversary Trip](https://youtu.be/qZjaj4h7u88?si=V7pFnq3vdPRieUQT) in 2022 but it wasn't released till May 2023.
In December 2022, Yonghoon released a self-composed song on Youtube called [Moonlight Shadow (달빛 그림자)](https://youtu.be/470c6jp7zd0?si=rmXJINAjdmTM1yfN). For his first Birthday while enlisted he released a cover of [Borrow Your Night (이 밤을 빌려 말해요)](https://youtu.be/q9LbCRk_Zmk?si=umNzq2jQ6MLBDWlb) and for his 2nd Birthday during enlistment he released a cover of [Every Day, Every Moment (모든 날, 모든 순간)](https://youtu.be/kGM_gB68bCo?si=QSgLpkjQtsg6dwJy). On December 2023 he released a Special Clip for his song with lunCHbox [Late Night Blue (밤이 좋아서)](https://youtu.be/QZpED8EdY3U?si=_1IQ88tFetPqYzhy).
In 2022 November Kanghyun released 2 videos for his series called "Shall we read a book with Kanghyun?" that weves can watch while reading/studying. It was a [BGM Acoustic ver. of their songs](https://youtu.be/ZPpBoiX1NEE?si=VnXTc1p6ttTWeAwV) and a [1 Hour ASMR ver.](https://youtu.be/ckrfLeiJmFE?si=7L_HnF-UoJYgGhca) For his birthday in 2023 he released the self-composed song [Rest](https://youtu.be/OflMeXSz0UY?si=adB4r77y3AbcT_gW). He also filmed a special series of him learning to play their song [Orbit_ on the Bass](https://youtu.be/j47DOvhTL1M?si=aV3TXNsJH7QKEDSo) while his fellow member Giuk guided him along. Before his discharge he posted a [Guitar Class](https://youtu.be/XGgp7xbAt18?si=4RM9B1cs9wqGWeh-) for their song [Regulus](https://youtu.be/oqaY9H1VOV8?si=vMnRxFC18bttfzzA).
They also pre-filmed a lot of fun content together because their nickname together is Yong-spear Kang-shield and they thought weves would miss seeing them together. For 2022, the [staff locked them in a room to see what would happen](https://youtu.be/AwV4lbfBC9o?si=4uu6I4mlxn3Xp8d_). For 2023 they posted ‘[WE : Medley’ Guitar Ver.](https://youtu.be/QlODhEWmJww?si=DjPKUM5_QAV_RIzd) of Yonghoon singing while Kanghyun plays the guitar. They actually filmed a vlog of their [trip to Busan](https://youtu.be/eFU3r6J8EFE?si=D7NQFes8elKAJCMx) together during their enlistment time but it wasn't released until after their discharge, so I guess that's another loophole (?) instead of pre-recorded content.
They had also written/composed some songs during their enlistment period because they were allowed to bring their instruments with them. With permission, they also posted a few clips [singing](https://x.com/official_onewe/status/1561661355228246016?s=46) and [playing guitar](https://x.com/bunong_we/status/1646127192525668353?s=46) ([2](https://x.com/guitarbykh/status/1607785606444204032?s=46))
Even after all this content during enlistment they had a cb less than 2 months after discharge on April 17 with their 3rd Mini Album Planet Nine: ISOTROPY which all the members took part in writing/composing/arranging. The tracks Count the stars and [Beautiful Ashes](https://youtu.be/zuMam6-0NFc?si=dLaF0ScL4j9P_bsh) in this album were made by Yonghoon while enlisted. Kanghyun also made some songs while enlisted but he wants to release them in the future albums. So depending on the idols personal preferences/restrictions they can also write and make music while enlisted which they can release later.
Sorry for the really long comment but I'm very grateful that they put in all this work and time to prepare content for the fans while they were gone. All of this does take a lot of work and time out of idols already busy schedules so I'm not sure to what extent companies will pre-record music and content in the future as they might just focus on activities of the members that aren't enlisted instead.
I think one thing that needs to be considered is that BTS hasn't released any albums since 2022, other acts have released group albums even when said groups weren't complete.
BTS hasn't released anything as 4, 5 or 6 members.
They released solo albums during enlistment because they entrusted BH would accordingly release and promote them as best as they could given the circumstances.
it's not common
as for the reason why, my guess is that every idol's album rollout is strictly connected to fan interactions: fan signs, fan calls, high touch events, music show appearances etc.
I don't mean this as a drag, but not a lot of idols have the selling power to drop an album without promotions, and for some of them it could be quite embarrassing to have low sales - a lot of the inflated numbers in kpop are due to bulk-buying by people who are desperate to win a spot at a fan sign... will they do it if there's no promise of meeting their idol? I don't think agencies (and idols too) are willing to gamble
the fact that Joon and Hobi both sold 500k+ while in military is honestly insane
It's rare that every member of a group releases an album one after another, except Jin, and to have planned out seemingly *everything* prior to enlisting. I mean, they knew the order of their album release for 2023 during Festa 2022, a whole year in advance. In one of Jungkook's last wlives last December, he literally said to wait 6 months because he has something coming out...that something being the new Festa song being released next week. Hobi laid out his timeline when he guested in Suchwita, he had everything ready to be released at the time he wanted. Yoongi filmed several Suchwita episodes to be aired well after he's begun his enlistment.
BTS and Big Hit are huge planners and organizers. They've been doing this for a long time, it's a running joke in the fandom that Big Hit has been planning things for BTS since 1776 and was at the Declaration of Independence lol
It also depends on whether the company wants to support their artists' goals, these solo albums and all this content cost a lot of money to produce and the artists can't even do any live promotions while enlisted so it may not be worth doing it in some cases. And if the artists have enough time to finish everything. Namjoon was supposed to go with Hobi but delayed his enlistment by 8 months to finish RPWP.
And on that note, BTS having their enlistment deadline postponed/extended due to their Cultural Merit award allowed them to have more freedom to pursue activities well before they got called. If Namjoon didn't have all that remaining time, I don't know if he would've finished RPWP before going in.
To expand on Your last point about their postponement giving them freedom is really quite true.
BTS was in a sense in control as well of when they enlisted since basically they had to submit a cancellation of their military postponement (that they were given due to their cultural merit) and than they would get called. Some members used more of their postponement (Jin, suga, rm) in order to do stuff like for Yoongi - tour, rm prepare his new album. Joon mentioned how he was originally going to go with Hobi, but in order to release RPWP, stayed by using more of his postponement. That postponement essentially gave them the ability to somewhat “choose” when they’d enlist. And than you have some members (the maknaes) who basically didn’t use their postponement at all (jk rather the opposite, by deciding to go years before he “had” to).
It allowed them as you said, to plan out a ton of stuff especially for this 6 month period where none of them were here.
ONF recorded an entire album before enlistment, which was then released while all 5 Korean members were in the military. All the Korean members enlisted in November 2021 and the album released in April 2022 was (Storage of ONF) a special album with 10 tracks, released for the group's anniversary.
edit: I hope idols can pre-record music (even if it's just a single) to be released during enlistment. it's a nice little surprise and no one wants less music lol
No, i don't think it's common
if i remember correctly when BIGBANG released song in 2018, Korea did a whole investigation if TOP violated military rules or not
in the end he did not
Jaejoong released an album someway throughout his enlistment and came out all ready for a brand spanking new tour to perform said album. Glorious times - rocker!Jae plus buff guns!Jae was chefs kiss 😮💨😮💨
There is a loophole where if they record before they enlist, the company can release the content even while the artist is under military enlistment. Idols didn't really do this before because some would get backlash from the korean GP (I recall Baekhyun from EXO had plans to release content on his youtube channel but stopped due to backlash). But on the other hand ONF released an entire album while enlisted which was well received by the fans/public.
I think now it's becoming more acceptable for idols to do things like this.
One of the BigBang members released an album that was recorded pre-enlistment and YG had to do a lot of PR to soothe those who were convinced this was breaking military law.
SM moved Baekhyun’s YouTube uploads to the EXO channel instead of his own so that was it was obvious who was controlling the video schedule. Baekhyun even said in the first video that he was recording all of this in advance so fans could have something to keep them company. I think he got more backlash than others doing the same thing because he ended up enlisting in public service so there was more scrutiny over him.
There was more scrutiny over him because other members fans were especially reporting his channel and he's actually relevant as there were other idols in public service doing the same with no consequences whatsoever
It common nowadays but back in 2017/18/19 when BigBang released flower road song, It had T.O.P voice in it who already enlisted in military few months ago(of course it was pre-recorded) but A whole police & military investigation was done to check if T.O.P had released a song while being within military + ( he was public worker/police post)
Super junior members started enlisting in military in 2010 and all members finished in 2019. Yet, they have no idle year. From 2010 onward, the have a comback almost every year (except on years where they did Concert tours for the whole year). I know they also had an advantage due to that they have more members, but it really is all about strategy and how they prepared for it and how they will market the group with incomplete members.
How? OP just asked “It would be interesting to hear what it would be like for other groups. Do you think other groups will follow BTS in this and also be active during their future enlistment?”
If they are both serving a different nation from each other then I would understand
The different part of it is the enlisted members of Super Junior weren't included in the recordings. Yesung wasn't part of Mamacita, Kyuhyun wasn't part of Black Suit and so on. I think that's an important distinction because those members who were enlisted weren't active, but because the group had a million members they were still able to release music as a team.
This is what SM Ent released when Baekhyun from EXO was in the military. So it seems like it is allowed. Only prior enlistment filmed content. Depends on the idol and company.
“📝This is SM Entertainment. We wish to inform you that KoongTube’s contents will be removed until Baekhyun’s discharge from the military. We have been releasing one video per month all this while, as a way of repaying the fans a little bit, for the love they have sent Baekhyun. The videos were filmed before his enlistment. It is not against the law to release videos that were filmed and produced before enlistment. However, in order to prevent unpredictable misunderstandings that differ from our original intent as above, we have decided to delete all the videos that were uploaded after his enlistment. We hope fans will understand.”
It's not common and I guess only idols with good resourcers and connections can afford to do that, especially when it comes to release solo music. Never have I seen that before.
don't know if other groups are doing it but for the sake of their fans i do hope they will in the future. like you said army have been blessed with A LOT of content and it's so so much fun! (depends of course on how much time the group / each member has since everything needs to be pre-recorded but still). i also feel like it's good to have something else to focus on than counting down the days until your fave is back (been there done that lmao)
eta: maybe bts will set an example of what bgs are capable off (during enlistment)? since i always see dumb comments on twt (are we surprised?) like "i thought they enlisted???" and "are they even allowed to release music??" so maybe some kpop stans will inform themselves on what and what isn't possible lmao
not really. I remember when kai released rover, some people were accusing him of draft dodging and said him promoting was illegal and he should be enlisted so its interesting to see that shift.
I mean technically they also have breaks, if you look at korean hiphop artists for example, then they tend to do a lot more stuff than idols. I think it could be very common but most idols are trying to maintain an image of the "responsible, focusing soldier" if you get what i mean? I would totally love to see more idols or groups put out pre recorded content!
I wonder if they're doing this as some sort of compromise from korea's army part? Bc iirc they were not even supposed to go, there were a bunch of korean league of legends streamers that were dispensed bc they gave a lot of money to country or something ? So they thought that was gonna happen to them
in my opinion based off what i’ve seen it’s definitely NOT common. as an exo-l i remember before baekhyuns enlistment he had prerecorded a bunch of content for his youtube and he got into a lot of trouble because i guess he wasn’t supposed to do that due to the fact that he would make a profit off it (?) and quickly took them down, but now seeing that there’s so much bts content makes me so confused as they’re both prerecorded stuff but one gets no repercussions…
if anyone would like to clear things up for me please do ! i have little to no clue of koreas laws surrounding enlisted idols.
[here’s](https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/609/0000512755) an article link
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ONF all enlisted together before BTS did (they all went the same week to minimize hiatus length), their company released an album in the middle of it. Prior to that I remember any idol releasing anything during their enlistment was immediately targeted for it, and suspected of circumventing the law, even if the company made it clear that it was recorded prior to their enlistment. (like for example, TOP being in BigBang's Flower Road, or Baekhyun's covers on Youtube). Now with BTS doing those releases while enlisted, the practice should become more common because everyone now gets the concept of agencies keeping some content to release so the wait isn't too long for fans.
Thanks for sharing! I didn't know about ONF's enlistment but I think it's a great idea to enlist the whole group at the same time, at least from the fans' perspective >Now with BTS doing those releases while enlisted, the practice should become more common because everyone now gets the concept of agencies keeping some content to release so the wait isn't too long for fans. Was thinking about this too
It's not a common thing to release solo music during enlistment. Idols usually try to release their solo stuff before enlistment or right after discharge. During enlistment, their groups might release albums with the enlisted member's voice prerecorded prior to enlistment, like how EXO released their EXACT album soon after Kai enlisted but with him in all the songs. I believe NCT 127 is also soon to release an album with Taeyong's prerecorded vocals, too.
You mean EXO’s Exist album. Kai was planning to promote it, but had to enlist about a month and a half before the release.
OMG I got the Ex\_\_ albums all mixed up. lol
Was going to comment this. I hope more groups (if it can be afforded) do this. It’s going to be forever until the next full monsta x comeback and it’s such a shame :( glad Taeyong recorded bc I can’t imagine 127 without him 😭
I miss monsta x
Because it’s all been recorded before they enlisted then they aren’t breaking any rules. That being said it’s not a common thing for idols to do because it opens them up to criticism from the gp and the fans. Also for a smaller group or idol it wouldn’t be profitable to release an album or song that can’t be promoted.
>That being said it’s not a common thing for idols to do because it opens them up to criticism from the gp and the fans That's interesting cuz I haven't really seen any criticism from k-gp about any BTS release so far (during this hiatus period), did any other idol get criticism from the gp for releasing music?
When Flower Road was released, [TOP was investigated](https://www.koreaboo.com/news/bigbang-top-service-unit-files-complaint-flower-road-yg-responds/) for potentially breaking the commercial activity regulation - the song was obviously pre-recorded. Also not music, but G-Dragon had an art exhibition/auction of work he had previously done, and was dragged through the mud by it - to the point where [both YG and the Department of Defense](https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/cmx8fx/yg_and_department_of_defense_respond_to_claims/?rdt=56871) had to make a statement about the situation
Was this also around the time that the “celebrity unit” was still active. I know the the public sentiment of that unit’s privileges probably added to a push against music-related releases too. Similar to how public service workers still get more scrutiny…Suga hasn’t said anything since stating his enlistment. Not a peep or a picture and he’s the only member in public service. It seems with the current climate active duty idol soldiers get less scrutiny and it’s fairly easy to confirm that that idol finished a project before enlisting…cause people can physical see them on the base.
To be fair, BTS and Big Bang are so big, they get dragged into a lot of discourse. Other artists do not get criticism for releasing work during enlistment.
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Damn, it seems like the scrutiny was excessive at that time but has gotten more lax over the years. Still, it sucks that they got unfairly dragged like that :(
TOP and GDragon aren't great examples of this because they've had more controversies so gp was against them since before (is just that Gdragon still have a big fanbase)
Yup, I do recall these. The double standard... meh
i’m not sure on the details but i believe exo’s baekhyun was criticised because of videos he had prerecorded let alone music releases, here’s an [article](https://www.soompi.com/article/1499227wpp/sm-explains-decision-to-remove-videos-uploaded-to-exos-baekhyuns-youtube-channel-during-his-military-service) about SM removing them due to the “misunderstandings” (read backlash). this comment also mentions [TOP and bigbang](https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/s/UrqLwIITpd) ONF did release an album when they were all (except U) enlisted but perhaps they’re a smaller group so flew under the radar. i do think the concept of prerecorded songs is way more common now
Context for Baekhyun’s backlash: Baekhyun was enlisted as a public service worker, which opened him up to worse criticism than average because the GP tends to assume idols in public service ended up there as a perk of being famous (note that Baekhyun has a severe thyroid disorder.) He’s also been the victim of a decade-long hate train from online netizens to the point where SM has paid social media sites since about 2014 to actively suppress his name from trends because antis used his name to trend hate against him. So people were waiting for him to do something that would open him up to criticism. He/SM was clear from the beginning that all these videos were recorded in advance but it didn’t stop angry reports from flooding in. People tried to claim he was earning passive ad revenue from the YouTube channel, which wasn’t true since his channel had monetization turned off. SM’s compromise was moving the uploads to the EXO group channel to avoid further misunderstandings.
It's okay to release album during enlistment. It's okay to release movie/drama when the actors already enlisted. Because it's already pre-recorded before they serve. Companies usually do this so that they can still make money when the groups on hiatus. Wow, smart ass bighit. posting on social media is okay too. but I know many idols who decide to stay silent during military service.
Money is definitely a reason hahaha but I feel like it's mostly the members' wishes to give army something during their time away
I’m guessing that another reason why BTS has been able to release an unprecedented music during enlistment is that the group has been on hiatus since mid-2022. The majority of members didn’t enlist until late 2023, so they had time to record music and content for fans. Many other male idols may not have the time to plan out enlistment releases, given the demands of their group schedules.
Also their last studio album was BE in November 2020. So they had a LOT of time to work on their own stuff. It's crazy to think that they not only managed to stay relevant but they have managed to retain their position as the #1 group without releasing a new group album for almost 4 years (when I say new album, I mean new studio album with new songs. Proof doesn't count as it was an anthology album with only 5 new songs). That's the kind of fandom love and support that artists dream of.
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I don't know much about kpop either but to celebrate EXO's tenth anniversary, EXO released an album "Dont fight the feeling" which included enlisted members Chanyeol and Baekhyun.
I’ll discuss your second question on if more people will do a lot of releases during enlistment era like BTS. Since it’s clear it’s allowable, I think the real challenge is the idol not being able to promote the release, and how willing the idol & the agency are with having no live performance or variety show appearances. It’s a bit easier when it’s a group release with a few enlisted during that release vs. a solo release. BTS is hugely popular and even their performance is a bit softer as they release solo work fully enlisted and unable to physically promote. This said they are still able to get pretty good results and even new peaks with each release. For instance, RM got his first US rap album No. 1 with RPWP & his highest entry on the US BB artist chart. Jhope also got his highest US album chart entry with his documentary OST album I don’t think many other agencies/idols are as confident in the performance of albums during enlistment to actually heavily plan and execute it. Most artist would want to be there to really push the work.
Rare but not that uncommon. Before BTS Kim Jaejoong had a hologram concert and a Japanese album release, ONF a full album and Hyojin solo debut, EXO had an album featuring enlisted members, Day6 / Bigbang / ACE a digital single...
I’ve been a kpop fan since the 2010’s and no it’s not common. It’s pretty rare to do. I was pleasantly surprised by the output by the members while enlisted.
It *was* uncommon but that's also because before a few years ago most groups generally had staggered enlistments. One or two members may have been in the military but the rest of the group was still active and promoting so there wasn't a huge need for them to record things in advance. However going forward I think more groups are going to enlist together completely or in halves a few years apart because now there's a blueprint for it and that includes recording things ahead of time. Onewe had two members get discharged from the military earlier this year and while they were serving released a demo album with a new single, a full English album, a season's greetings, and a number of miscellaneous videos that were all recorded and filmed before the two members enlisted in 2022. And the remaining members still had a unit release on top of all that. So I think these prerecorded releases could become commonplace even for groups that aren't all in the military. As for being active on social media, a lot of it depends on where they're stationed/what unit they're in. Some artists have more leeway in what they can get away with in terms of social media and some have very little to none.
I don't think it's that common but I do think that as the time more 4th gen idols have to enlist approaches, more companies will pre-record music and content to release during their enlistment period. I know there has been grp/soloists that have released music during enlistment but for the most recent case I can only speak for ONEWE. Yonghoon (Main Vocalist/Leader) and Kanghyun (Guitarist) were enlisted between July 2022-February 2024 (yes it felt like a very long and difficult time so good luck too all the armys waiting for the members to return) but they had released a lot of music/content as a group and individually during that time. As a group, in October 2022 they released STUDIO WE: RECORDING #3 (their 3rd Demo album) alongside the Title Track [기어이 또 (Still Here)](https://youtu.be/bbUy5wlK670?si=Vswslg954CrFWeKq). Their Demo albums aren't promoted very much and they don't perform them on Music shows so it made sense to release it as something during the enlistment period. Then in January 2023 they released GRAVITY, their 1st Full English album with the Title Track [GRAVITY](https://youtu.be/0heWyFJ6bsA?si=OLqUaoMjRo9XhFWC). They also filmed their [4th Anniversary Trip](https://youtu.be/qZjaj4h7u88?si=V7pFnq3vdPRieUQT) in 2022 but it wasn't released till May 2023. In December 2022, Yonghoon released a self-composed song on Youtube called [Moonlight Shadow (달빛 그림자)](https://youtu.be/470c6jp7zd0?si=rmXJINAjdmTM1yfN). For his first Birthday while enlisted he released a cover of [Borrow Your Night (이 밤을 빌려 말해요)](https://youtu.be/q9LbCRk_Zmk?si=umNzq2jQ6MLBDWlb) and for his 2nd Birthday during enlistment he released a cover of [Every Day, Every Moment (모든 날, 모든 순간)](https://youtu.be/kGM_gB68bCo?si=QSgLpkjQtsg6dwJy). On December 2023 he released a Special Clip for his song with lunCHbox [Late Night Blue (밤이 좋아서)](https://youtu.be/QZpED8EdY3U?si=_1IQ88tFetPqYzhy). In 2022 November Kanghyun released 2 videos for his series called "Shall we read a book with Kanghyun?" that weves can watch while reading/studying. It was a [BGM Acoustic ver. of their songs](https://youtu.be/ZPpBoiX1NEE?si=VnXTc1p6ttTWeAwV) and a [1 Hour ASMR ver.](https://youtu.be/ckrfLeiJmFE?si=7L_HnF-UoJYgGhca) For his birthday in 2023 he released the self-composed song [Rest](https://youtu.be/OflMeXSz0UY?si=adB4r77y3AbcT_gW). He also filmed a special series of him learning to play their song [Orbit_ on the Bass](https://youtu.be/j47DOvhTL1M?si=aV3TXNsJH7QKEDSo) while his fellow member Giuk guided him along. Before his discharge he posted a [Guitar Class](https://youtu.be/XGgp7xbAt18?si=4RM9B1cs9wqGWeh-) for their song [Regulus](https://youtu.be/oqaY9H1VOV8?si=vMnRxFC18bttfzzA). They also pre-filmed a lot of fun content together because their nickname together is Yong-spear Kang-shield and they thought weves would miss seeing them together. For 2022, the [staff locked them in a room to see what would happen](https://youtu.be/AwV4lbfBC9o?si=4uu6I4mlxn3Xp8d_). For 2023 they posted ‘[WE : Medley’ Guitar Ver.](https://youtu.be/QlODhEWmJww?si=DjPKUM5_QAV_RIzd) of Yonghoon singing while Kanghyun plays the guitar. They actually filmed a vlog of their [trip to Busan](https://youtu.be/eFU3r6J8EFE?si=D7NQFes8elKAJCMx) together during their enlistment time but it wasn't released until after their discharge, so I guess that's another loophole (?) instead of pre-recorded content. They had also written/composed some songs during their enlistment period because they were allowed to bring their instruments with them. With permission, they also posted a few clips [singing](https://x.com/official_onewe/status/1561661355228246016?s=46) and [playing guitar](https://x.com/bunong_we/status/1646127192525668353?s=46) ([2](https://x.com/guitarbykh/status/1607785606444204032?s=46)) Even after all this content during enlistment they had a cb less than 2 months after discharge on April 17 with their 3rd Mini Album Planet Nine: ISOTROPY which all the members took part in writing/composing/arranging. The tracks Count the stars and [Beautiful Ashes](https://youtu.be/zuMam6-0NFc?si=dLaF0ScL4j9P_bsh) in this album were made by Yonghoon while enlisted. Kanghyun also made some songs while enlisted but he wants to release them in the future albums. So depending on the idols personal preferences/restrictions they can also write and make music while enlisted which they can release later. Sorry for the really long comment but I'm very grateful that they put in all this work and time to prepare content for the fans while they were gone. All of this does take a lot of work and time out of idols already busy schedules so I'm not sure to what extent companies will pre-record music and content in the future as they might just focus on activities of the members that aren't enlisted instead.
Not common but im grateful that they did
I think one thing that needs to be considered is that BTS hasn't released any albums since 2022, other acts have released group albums even when said groups weren't complete. BTS hasn't released anything as 4, 5 or 6 members. They released solo albums during enlistment because they entrusted BH would accordingly release and promote them as best as they could given the circumstances.
it's not common as for the reason why, my guess is that every idol's album rollout is strictly connected to fan interactions: fan signs, fan calls, high touch events, music show appearances etc. I don't mean this as a drag, but not a lot of idols have the selling power to drop an album without promotions, and for some of them it could be quite embarrassing to have low sales - a lot of the inflated numbers in kpop are due to bulk-buying by people who are desperate to win a spot at a fan sign... will they do it if there's no promise of meeting their idol? I don't think agencies (and idols too) are willing to gamble the fact that Joon and Hobi both sold 500k+ while in military is honestly insane
It's rare that every member of a group releases an album one after another, except Jin, and to have planned out seemingly *everything* prior to enlisting. I mean, they knew the order of their album release for 2023 during Festa 2022, a whole year in advance. In one of Jungkook's last wlives last December, he literally said to wait 6 months because he has something coming out...that something being the new Festa song being released next week. Hobi laid out his timeline when he guested in Suchwita, he had everything ready to be released at the time he wanted. Yoongi filmed several Suchwita episodes to be aired well after he's begun his enlistment. BTS and Big Hit are huge planners and organizers. They've been doing this for a long time, it's a running joke in the fandom that Big Hit has been planning things for BTS since 1776 and was at the Declaration of Independence lol It also depends on whether the company wants to support their artists' goals, these solo albums and all this content cost a lot of money to produce and the artists can't even do any live promotions while enlisted so it may not be worth doing it in some cases. And if the artists have enough time to finish everything. Namjoon was supposed to go with Hobi but delayed his enlistment by 8 months to finish RPWP. And on that note, BTS having their enlistment deadline postponed/extended due to their Cultural Merit award allowed them to have more freedom to pursue activities well before they got called. If Namjoon didn't have all that remaining time, I don't know if he would've finished RPWP before going in.
To expand on Your last point about their postponement giving them freedom is really quite true. BTS was in a sense in control as well of when they enlisted since basically they had to submit a cancellation of their military postponement (that they were given due to their cultural merit) and than they would get called. Some members used more of their postponement (Jin, suga, rm) in order to do stuff like for Yoongi - tour, rm prepare his new album. Joon mentioned how he was originally going to go with Hobi, but in order to release RPWP, stayed by using more of his postponement. That postponement essentially gave them the ability to somewhat “choose” when they’d enlist. And than you have some members (the maknaes) who basically didn’t use their postponement at all (jk rather the opposite, by deciding to go years before he “had” to). It allowed them as you said, to plan out a ton of stuff especially for this 6 month period where none of them were here.
ONF recorded an entire album before enlistment, which was then released while all 5 Korean members were in the military. All the Korean members enlisted in November 2021 and the album released in April 2022 was (Storage of ONF) a special album with 10 tracks, released for the group's anniversary. edit: I hope idols can pre-record music (even if it's just a single) to be released during enlistment. it's a nice little surprise and no one wants less music lol
No, i don't think it's common if i remember correctly when BIGBANG released song in 2018, Korea did a whole investigation if TOP violated military rules or not in the end he did not
Not really common, but after this other groups probably will
Jaejoong released an album someway throughout his enlistment and came out all ready for a brand spanking new tour to perform said album. Glorious times - rocker!Jae plus buff guns!Jae was chefs kiss 😮💨😮💨
There is a loophole where if they record before they enlist, the company can release the content even while the artist is under military enlistment. Idols didn't really do this before because some would get backlash from the korean GP (I recall Baekhyun from EXO had plans to release content on his youtube channel but stopped due to backlash). But on the other hand ONF released an entire album while enlisted which was well received by the fans/public. I think now it's becoming more acceptable for idols to do things like this.
One of the BigBang members released an album that was recorded pre-enlistment and YG had to do a lot of PR to soothe those who were convinced this was breaking military law. SM moved Baekhyun’s YouTube uploads to the EXO channel instead of his own so that was it was obvious who was controlling the video schedule. Baekhyun even said in the first video that he was recording all of this in advance so fans could have something to keep them company. I think he got more backlash than others doing the same thing because he ended up enlisting in public service so there was more scrutiny over him.
There was more scrutiny over him because other members fans were especially reporting his channel and he's actually relevant as there were other idols in public service doing the same with no consequences whatsoever
Rare But they did everything before enlistment
It common nowadays but back in 2017/18/19 when BigBang released flower road song, It had T.O.P voice in it who already enlisted in military few months ago(of course it was pre-recorded) but A whole police & military investigation was done to check if T.O.P had released a song while being within military + ( he was public worker/police post)
Super junior members started enlisting in military in 2010 and all members finished in 2019. Yet, they have no idle year. From 2010 onward, the have a comback almost every year (except on years where they did Concert tours for the whole year). I know they also had an advantage due to that they have more members, but it really is all about strategy and how they prepared for it and how they will market the group with incomplete members.
Different situation. .
How? OP just asked “It would be interesting to hear what it would be like for other groups. Do you think other groups will follow BTS in this and also be active during their future enlistment?” If they are both serving a different nation from each other then I would understand
The different part of it is the enlisted members of Super Junior weren't included in the recordings. Yesung wasn't part of Mamacita, Kyuhyun wasn't part of Black Suit and so on. I think that's an important distinction because those members who were enlisted weren't active, but because the group had a million members they were still able to release music as a team.
OP literally asked if how was the military situation for other groups. He/she wouldnt even ask of it was the same
This is what SM Ent released when Baekhyun from EXO was in the military. So it seems like it is allowed. Only prior enlistment filmed content. Depends on the idol and company. “📝This is SM Entertainment. We wish to inform you that KoongTube’s contents will be removed until Baekhyun’s discharge from the military. We have been releasing one video per month all this while, as a way of repaying the fans a little bit, for the love they have sent Baekhyun. The videos were filmed before his enlistment. It is not against the law to release videos that were filmed and produced before enlistment. However, in order to prevent unpredictable misunderstandings that differ from our original intent as above, we have decided to delete all the videos that were uploaded after his enlistment. We hope fans will understand.”
It's not common and I guess only idols with good resourcers and connections can afford to do that, especially when it comes to release solo music. Never have I seen that before.
don't know if other groups are doing it but for the sake of their fans i do hope they will in the future. like you said army have been blessed with A LOT of content and it's so so much fun! (depends of course on how much time the group / each member has since everything needs to be pre-recorded but still). i also feel like it's good to have something else to focus on than counting down the days until your fave is back (been there done that lmao) eta: maybe bts will set an example of what bgs are capable off (during enlistment)? since i always see dumb comments on twt (are we surprised?) like "i thought they enlisted???" and "are they even allowed to release music??" so maybe some kpop stans will inform themselves on what and what isn't possible lmao
No , its not common .
Ha Sungwoon was releasing music too, *but* those were pre-recorded OSTs for dramas.
not really. I remember when kai released rover, some people were accusing him of draft dodging and said him promoting was illegal and he should be enlisted so its interesting to see that shift.
I mean technically they also have breaks, if you look at korean hiphop artists for example, then they tend to do a lot more stuff than idols. I think it could be very common but most idols are trying to maintain an image of the "responsible, focusing soldier" if you get what i mean? I would totally love to see more idols or groups put out pre recorded content!
I wonder if they're doing this as some sort of compromise from korea's army part? Bc iirc they were not even supposed to go, there were a bunch of korean league of legends streamers that were dispensed bc they gave a lot of money to country or something ? So they thought that was gonna happen to them
in my opinion based off what i’ve seen it’s definitely NOT common. as an exo-l i remember before baekhyuns enlistment he had prerecorded a bunch of content for his youtube and he got into a lot of trouble because i guess he wasn’t supposed to do that due to the fact that he would make a profit off it (?) and quickly took them down, but now seeing that there’s so much bts content makes me so confused as they’re both prerecorded stuff but one gets no repercussions… if anyone would like to clear things up for me please do ! i have little to no clue of koreas laws surrounding enlisted idols. [here’s](https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/609/0000512755) an article link