All seven members of BTS are currently enlisted in the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ for their mandatory services, which means that the level of communication between them and fans has reduced drastically. Some fans have relied on The Camp app to get updates about the members, though there are divided sentiments around it.
The Camp is the official kσrєαn m̴i̴l̴i̴t̴a̴r̴y̴ app, which was initially intended to serve as an integrated platform for m̴i̴l̴i̴t̴a̴r̴y̴ communication needs and allow family and friends to send encouraging messages to newly enlisted trainees. But soon, fans started using it to keep up to date with their favorite celebrities during their enlistment, leading the developer company to expand its features with plans to monetize certain services.
Since BTS joined the m̴i̴l̴i̴t̴a̴r̴y̴, the number of users on the app has shot up significantly. According to Enable Daon Soft, the tech firm behind The Camp, their business is expected to surpa̾s̾s its break-even point for the first time since its founding this year, and the CEO gave a lot of the credit to BTS’s fanbase.
However, according to reports on December 23, KST, the BTS members are мιѕѕιиg from a particular segment of the app meant for celebrity sol∂ιєrs. Under the “Sol∂ιєr Registration” section, there is a “Recommended Star Sol∂ιєr” subsection, which lists currently enlisted idols and celebrities separately. Currently, it contains about 30 popular sol∂ιєrs and trainees, including actor Nam Joo Hyuk, WINNER‘s Mino, and vocalist Go Woo Rim. But as of December 22, none of the BTS members were on this specific list.
Jang Cheol Min, the CEO of Enable Daon Soft, said the absence was because BIGHIT MUSIC owns the publicity rights of the BTS members. It implies that only the agency has the right to obtain profits by using their personal identities, such as their portrait and names. Jang said that the company “misunderstood” The Camp’s intentions, presuming that the platform is trying to conduct business through the idols. As a result, the app had to remove all artists under big management companies from the list.
BTS’s Jin was on the list of “Recommended Star Soldíєrs” in May, but currently, all of the BTS members have been removed from it | The Camp
This has been a welcome move among BTS fans, who had expressed concern over possible exploitation of the members by the platform after it announced plans to create a Private Brand using the enlisted celebrities’ Intellectual Property rights (IP) to expand into the e-commerce market. You can read more about The Camp’s proposed business model changes involving monetized services for K-Pop fans here.
Fans react to this news:
-Thanks for sharing. Good to know that the guys are not on this app. It’s so exploitative and outrageous.
- Maybe dumb questions. Does the app work directly with the m̴i̴l̴i̴t̴a̴r̴y̴? I’m wondering how they get the photos in the first place. And if it is for profit who gets the profit the app or the m̴i̴l̴i̴t̴a̴r̴y̴? All of this is so weird I can’t wrap my head around it.
-Oh so, BH awyers made it clear that the app can’t use the members for any activities that would make them money,,,man, this is a good news!!! Let our boys work and finish the duty in peace!!!
-Great news! Let the boys do their duties in peace.
-Maybe Sargent Kim Soekjin had some power here too? To at least contact lawyers from Bł₲ Ⱨł₮ and get this happening? Glad the 7 are being somewhat protected.
- Excellent. That's exactly what it was all about. BTS is to fulfill their SM. The government that sees where it profits now
- oh that might be the reason why jimin and jk were skipped on the individual photos that were posted on the camp app.. you can only see them through group photos but their face were covered..
