The controversy over BTS members' m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ enlistment seems to have ended since the first member of the group performed m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ service. Last December 12 was also a milestone that showed how determined BTS was to ensure they completed their m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ service and maintained their career as artists.

However, in fact, there are still surprising discussions surrounding this issue even when BTS has fully enlisted. In particular, recently a BTS translator refused to translate RM's letter to fans before enlisting for a rather sensitive reason about кσяєα's current m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ enlistment regime.

Quickly, BTS's interpreter's opinion spread on SNS and a number of other influencers also gave similar opinions:

Fans all know that RM and V enlisted in the army last December 11 while Jimin and Jungkook joined the army on December 12. The 7 members of BTS officially entered their period of serving the Fatherland while Temporarily suspend group activities. Facing that moment, RM wrote a long and sincere letter to ARMYs.

In the letter, he talked about happy memories with fans when he was a member of BTS and honestly expressed his fears for the next 18 months. He mentioned: "These 18 months can be long or short, but I trust that it will be a time when we can all gain foreign but new inspiration and learning. Although it may be scary and daunting, is there anything more comforting than the fact that during this uncertain time, there will be soмєтнing to expect and look forward to? It might be my duty, but I think that it is also everyone’s love."

The letter touched hearts, while many fan translators noted how nuanced the original кσяєαn version was, making it almost impossible to translate it accurately into English. Some fans requested Anton Hur, the writer and translator who worked on the English version of BTS’s memoir, Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record Of BTS, for a translation.

Surprisingly, Hur voiced his reluctance to translate the letter in a detailed thread on X, implying that it doesn’t align with his viewpoint on conscription in general, which is “incredibly ambivalent” based on his real-life experiences. He wrote: "I'm not ignoring the (very respectful) requests to translate Namjoon's letter—I just feel incredibly ambivalent about m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ conscription in general because of my own experiences in serving in the кσяєαn army and my own political very non-mainstream beliefs".

He then offered a painful recollection of his time in service, during which he was severely injur3d. A construction äċċïďệńẗ led to two of his vertebrae and all his heel bones being completely destroyed, and according to his doctor, it was a miracle that he survived without suffering more severe physical repercussions. He told that: "While serving, I was injur3d in a construction äċċïďệńẗ that fractured two vertebrae and shattered all my heel bones. To this day I have fused vertebrae and like 1/3 of my feet skeleton is titanium implants. I was made Person of Meritorious Contribution to the State in 2002.

My doctors say it is a miracle I 1) did not ďïệ, 2) did not become parapleg1c, and 3) can walk at all. You can say I am in a very particular position to have an opinion on the matter of conscription. My opinion is, it is romanticized too much, in service of someone else's empire."

Hur then criticized South кσяєαn politicians for not respecting кσяєαn artists and recognizing the country’s real “soft power,” i.e., BTS, and their refusal to exempt the members. He also criticized the government for its constant failure to put an end to the w@r between the North and the South, which entered its 70th year of ceasef1re in 2023. As a result, Hur said, the country’s youth have to pay the price.

He ended the thread by saying he felt too “ashamed and angry at this state of division to translate the letter". He concluded: "I am too ashamed and angry at this state of division to translate the letter. We have failed and continue to fail the younger generations for not ending this w@r. It feels wrong for me to then translate a brave young man's letter of giving comfort to his friends. I am sorry."

The palpable ȟɥȑț and pain in Anton Hur's words resonated with many people, including Jinwoo Park, a кσяєαn-Canadian writer. He posted his response on the subject on TikTok. “I think the conscription system is a load of crap…Everybody thinks on some level that the conscription system is outdated,” Park says in the video, adding that everyone he knows has tried to get out of the mandatory service in one way or another.

He specifically criticized that BTS were not exempted from their services when rich and influential people could easily find their way out of it. Unlike Hur, Park admitted he had no m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ service experience because he attained Canadian citizenship early in life. But that decision was made by his father, a veteran solďïệr with a strong patriotic sense of duty toward his country. Park said that even though his father would rush to help if South кσяєα ever goes to war again, he also recognizes how harmful mandatory m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ service is.

In Park's view, the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ service system was detrimental to кσяєαn society because it hindered the educational and career prospects of young men. In his view, it is an exploitative system that imposes forced labor on youth, even though South кσяєα has the resources to have a standing army with well-paid solďïệrs, people who voluntarily register to work.

While Park acknowledged that there is a need for the country to have armed defense forces, he also called the conscription system a “vestige of the old times,” highlighting how the situation has changed since the кσяєαn W@r, causing the North to lose its edge over the South, and essentially eliminating the root cause behind the necessity of conscription. In the end, Park acknowledged Hur’s position on the conscription debate, emphasizing the need for a re-evaluation in the context of South кσяєα’s current sociopolitical setting.

Though RM’s letter was the catalyst behind this critical discourse about conscription, the idol himself has never expressed any critiquing opinions on it. Even before enlisting, RM and BTS members always expressed positivity and were ready to complete it to return to fans soon. But clearly, fans also acknowledge the views of the two translator and writer above because BTS is not recognized by the Fatherland!