I rted this because I genuinely agree that mandatory service shouldn’t be reduced to just “our idols won’t put out music for a couple of years.” It’s a compulsory system that takes a very real mental and physical toll on people, and those conversations deserve to be taken seriously.
At the same time, the more you read about modern Korean history and its security situation, the more you realize how complex this reality actually is. South Korea’s conscription didn’t appear in a vacuum; it’s rooted in an ongoing conflict that has remained under an armistice rather than being formally ended by a peace treaty.
Recognizing the sheer scale of the geopolitical reality behind why this system exists doesn’t mean defending militarism or ignoring abuse within the military. It just means acknowledging that it’s not as simple as people often make it out to be.
And that’s precisely why I don’t think fans are wrong for reacting to DK’s emotions either. Idols don’t exist outside of society. He is one of the young men who has to put his career and everyday life on hold and enter that exact system.
Seeing him cry is, if anything, a reminder of how heavy that obligation can be for an individual.
These conversations don’t have to cancel each other out. You can be critical of conscription, care about systemic trauma, understand the harsh geopolitical context that shaped it, and still have empathy for an individual who is visibly dreading it. Both can be true at once💐
seriously, among all the members, I think I worry the most about dk and seungkwan going to the military. I know they’re grown men and I know they’re more than capable of getting through it, but it’s different when you know their personalities 😭
a man told me women need to stop being so independent because men like to feel needed. i said “then learn how to be useful instead of asking women to become helpless for your self-esteem.” he left me on read. i hope he heals or not
seokhan were discussing jeonghan's enlistment on this day exactly 2 years ago,,,, it's insane that dokyeom is enlisting on the same day 2 years later...