Astro member and actor Cha Eun-woo is applying to the Army Band, drawing renewed attention to the ‘celebrity lineage of military bands’.

Currently, the Army Band is serving with a lineup of K -pop stars that is reminiscent of an awards ceremony lineup.In addition to BTS member RM, who is scheduled to be discharged in June, WOOZ(Cho Seung Youn), who is called the ‘WOOZ star raised by the military band’, is scheduled to be discharged in July.Additionally, NCT member Jaehyun and singer Yoo Seung Woo are in the Army Band.

BTS’s RM, who is about to be discharged, is playing the saxophone here and participating in various official military events.The example he set as a representative K-pop player continues in his military life.For example, he won an award of encouragement at the ‘1st Mental Power Enhancement Military Music Content Competition’ held at Army Headquarters in May last year.

Before Cha Eun-woo applied for enlistment, Woozi was considered a model soldier who made the ‘Army Band’ known to the public.He performed his song ‘Drowning’ passionately at the ‘Armed Forces Day’ event in October of last year, which led to an explosive response from the fandom and the recent upset of taking first place on a ‘TV music show’.In line with this, he also became the new protagonist of the ‘reverse run myth’, which refers to a case where a singer receives love late in life and enters various popularity charts.


The activities of the so-called ‘Military Avengers’, a combination of the military band and the Avengers, are also prominent on the global video platform YouTube.The song ‘Youth Cartoon’ by singer Lee Moo-jin, sung by a band of soldiers belonging to the military band, including NCT Jaehyun and Yoo Seung-woo, the main characters of the ‘reverse running myth’, was released on the Republic of Korea Army channel early this month, and has shown off its prowess by surpassing 1 million cumulative views in just 2 weeks.

The military band is a place where celebrities can show off their talents and show their patriotism, and as seen in the case of Cha Eun-woo, the scope of support is gradually expanding.The enlistment of a favorite star in the military band is also receiving a great response from fans, who are known as ‘bear gods’.The biggest reason is that the Army Band’s content is being opened to the public, which can somewhat relieve the regret of their favorite star’s ‘military service’.

Meanwhile, Cha Eun-woo is said to be preparing for his enlistment after recently wrapping up filming the Netflix series ‘The Wonderfull’ and the movie ‘First Ride’.According to his agency Fantagio, Cha Eun-woo completed his interview for the Army Band on the 9th.The results will be announced on the Military Manpower Administration website on the 29th.If he is finally accepted, Cha Eun-woo will enlist in the training camp in July, complete basic military training, and begin his military service as a member of the military band.


Reporter Yang Ju- juyeon@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.