Every year, many famous K-Pop idols enlist in the army and during their service, these idols face many difficulties in interacting with fans due to strict regulations. The only way for fans to get information about their idols as well as send them letters of comfort is through the application "The Camp".

However, since BTS joined the army and the number of people wishing to use this application skyrocketed, the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ began to think about a plan to upgrade the features of this application for a fee. Not only that, they also admitted that developing The Camp's features for fans when famous idols enlist will help them earn a large amount of profit to serve other purposes.

Here's what netizens are talking about about the new m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ reform:

We all know that kσrєαn men are forced to enlist in the army, and that's no exception for the world's top idols like BTS. During their service, idols were also limited in communicating with fans due to the use of cell phones being restricted in the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷. In such conditions, most fans use The Camp app to get updates about their favorite stars while finishing their service.

This application was launched by technology company EnableOnSoft in 2018 as an integrated platform to meet m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ communication needs - from pre-enlistment to discharge. Its main feature allows family and friends to send letters of encouragement to practitioners. The total number of encouraging letters sent through The Camp up to now is about 55 million letters. In addition to letters of comfort, it also provides information about the duties of the conscript unit and life in the barracks, and operates a community where families and acquaintances of kσrєαn sol∂ιєrs can communicate.

However, since famous Kpop idols joined the army, typically Jin, it has attracted a large number of Kpop fans to visit. According to EnableOnSoft, Jin received a staggering 320,000 letters from fans on the app in the past 10 months of his enlistment. Fans also have a high demand for sending letters to their idols, especially the limitation of 1500 characters in each letter is not enough for them. Therefore, when seeing these potentials, the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ was determined to take advantage of it to expand its business.

Recent reports from the venture capital industry reveal that Enable Daon Soft, the technology company behind The Camp, is planning to specifically target the K-Pop community to diversify its revenue. One of the strategies of this app includes monetizing services related to K-Pop idols. Here are some related strategies they plan to adopt:

Encouragement Messages:
Right now, the feature of sending encouraging messages to trainees is limited to 1,500 characters. However, the app will soon allow paid users to send messages without any character limits.

Messaging After Deployment:
Currently, users can only send letters to trainees. Once they are deployed, these messages cannot be sent to them. But by February next year, The Camp will expand the service to allow sol∂ιєrs to send and receive messages even after being a̾s̾signed to a unit.

The “Weverse of Sol∂ιєr Idols”:
The previous changes in its existing services will facilitate a new feature on the app, which is a dedicated channel for enlisted idols to communicate with fans. The kσrєαn media reported on this by drawing a comparison with the popular fan communication app Weverse, implying that The Camp could soon become the “Weverse of Sol∂ιєr Idols.”

Creating a PB (Private Brand):
With new investment funds, Enable Daon Soft plans to expand its e-commerce business through m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷-related products. The goal is to build a PB and produce goods like m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ uniforms, cosmetics, and figurines, along with other products, using the Intellectual Property rights (IP) of the idols who enlist.

While these strategies can be profitable for the company, the risk of backlash from the K-Pop community is also worth considering. After this project was revealed, netizens expressed their anger when they learned that the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ was taking advantage of the limited interaction of idols and fans when enlisting to make a profit. That's no different from using an idol's reputation unethically:

- i don't think this is a good idea tho, i mean we should keep in mind that idols already had more on their plate when they entered the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷, plus we're putting more pressure on them if this is going to happen, we should consider their well-being too

- Feels a little problematic, considering idols can't profit from active income in m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷. So if they force them to use that to entertain fans (hence work as idols actively) + not pay them, its prolly illєgαl. If they pay them, non idol sol∂ιєrs will be pissed too

- This means they are still working which means they shouldn't even be in the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷. Idols already go through h3ll when they are in the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ and now we are giving them the pressure to make their fans happy…

- Profiting from the love of the fans seems a bit unfair to me.

- sk inventing new forms of monetizing every little aspect of someones life :

- That is so sick, they serve the country and them these companies try to make money out of it. Let them be

- This is literally “milking the cow” moment.

- This will not gonna benefit our boys so I say no to this. I'd rather send non-stop letters in weverse and wait for them to fulfil their duty in peace Then spend a penny that will not go directly to our boy's pockets.

- This is not right. Theyre supposed to be private cutizens while serving. No. It doesnt work that way already. But thus is crossing several lines.

- oh now the OKB tryna to monetize the m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ services. imagine you do your duty as a korean citizen but still have to work and update “oppa is tired” bruu this is sick

- I feel disgusted as hell, absolutely NO! Please boycott this outrageous tentative to keep exploring the idols!!!

- This is a ̾h̾o̾r̾r̾i̾b̾l̾e ̾ idea. These idols should just do their service in peace. If people are вítching over their favs not being so actively on Bubble and Weverse then they're fr gonna be вítching when idols aren't as active on this new platform.