The dramatic gold-medal victory over arch-rivals נαραи at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was supposed to be a historic milestone, marking South кσяєα men’s football team’s record fourth consecutive championship. However, the celebratory atmosphere was completely turned upside down just hours after the final.
A fierce wave of public outrage erupted over a series of thoughtless remarks and actions by the young national team players—from Yang Min-hyuk’s statement that they “played only for the single goal of being exempted from military service,” to captain Lee Ki-hyuk’s celebration of "I'm not going to the military!" and Park Seung-soo’s highly inappropriate social media photo of himself wearing a “demobilization cap.”
Although the players repeatedly apologized and the кσяєα Football Association (KFA) also issued a formal public apology, the controversy showed no signs of dying down. Instead, it spilled into the political sphere, with harsh criticism such as "Even BTS, who enhanced national prestige on the global stage more than anyone else, fulfilled their military duty," and “Is the military really such a нσяяιвℓє place?”, further fueling calls to reconsider the entire system of special military treatment for Asian Games gold medalists.
Amid this controversy, a past story shared by BTS members Jimin and Jungkook around the time they were discharged from the military υиєχρє¢тє∂ly went viral again, drawing attention from netizens.
It came from a scene in the travel reality show Are You Sure?! Season 2 featuring BTS’ youngest duo. While chatting during filming, Jimin jokingly recalled that, because of the conditions at their military base, they were unable to shower for more than five days. When they finally had the chance to wash themselves, he said they scrubbed their bo∂ιєs extremely hard. Jungkook then humorously added to the story, further backing up what Jimin had said.
When the clip originally aired, both Jimin and Jungkook laughed and joked while looking back on what they had gone through. Still, fans were ѕнσ¢кed and saddened to learn that the two idols had endured such difficult conditions during their military service.
Even for an ordinary person, going without a shower for several days would already be a challenge—let alone idols, who have to pay constant attention to their appearance and personal hygiene. On top of that, the harsh nature of military life can quickly leave the body covered in sweat, dust, mud, or smoke after just one day. The thought of going five days without being able to shower or change clothes left fans horrified.
Beyond sol∂ιєrs being unable to shower for nearly a week, some South кσяєαn military bases have also been reported to have poor and unfair working conditions, with some even raising human rights concerns. At RM’s base, there were reportedly not enough mattresses for sol∂ιєrs during the winter. Meanwhile, at least Taemin of SHINee, G-Dragon of BIGBANG, Lee Seung-gi, and Eric of Shinhwa have also expressed concerns about inadequate facilities combined with demanding schedules during their military service.
Now that the military service controversy has once again intensified and the clip has gone viral again, some netizens have also admitted that such shortcomings in the military are part of the reason why many young men ∂яєα∂ enlistment. While the actions of the South кσяєαn national football players deserve criticism and the military exemption system may be due for reconsideration, the South кσяєαn government also needs to look at how it can properly support and improve conditions within the military.
At the same time, the incident has once again prompted netizens and politicians to hold up BTS as an example. Everyone—including Jimin, Jungkook, and BTS as a whole—knew that military life would be far more difficult than life outside the barracks, yet they still enlisted and completed their service without asking for any special treatment, despite spending years bringing honor to their country on the international stage while directly contributing to South кσяєα’s economy and diplomacy. If even BTS had to serve, then who could possibly be more deserving than them of a military exemption?
