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BTS phenomenon Kim Taehyung, who is known by his stage name V, made waves again after being spotted patrolling at the Chuncheon 2024 Veteran Cultural Festival wearing his Special Duty Team (SDT) uniform. The Love Me Again singer-songwriter appeared in an all-black uniform with a cap and baton and was seen conversing with veteran singer Lee Ji-young from Big Mama. The clip went viral on social media on June 9, 2024.
Within less than an hour, the South Korean musician's hashtag trended worldwide on X with over 30,000 retweets and posts. The musician enlisted in the Republic of Korea Army, aka the ROK Army, on December 11, 2023, alongside BTS leader and bandmate Kim Namjoon (RM). Fans were enamored to see V in his uniform and on duty. One fan even tweeted on X,
"CAPTAIN KIM TAEHYUNG"
Trending
On June 9, fans were delighted to see the Blue singer-songwriter carrying out his active military duty and their reactions flooded X.
"Taehyung has gotten so buff and handsome :( but his cute smile has remained the same. My BIG BABY." — an X user wrote.
"There is already a post for kim Taehyung trending on TheQoo with over 32k views. Captain Taehyung is so loved!" — an X user wrote.
"So snappy, so manly and such a gentleman! Gosh Ladies must be having palpitations rn bec baby is really the hottest! This SDT military uniform just enhances how oozing hot Taehyung is! Others can only wish, but there is only one Kim Taehyung!" — an X user wrote.
"Lee-Ji young famous Korean singer from Big Mama who was having a performance at military event in Chuncheon has met Taehyung. He looks so good and glowing with the SDT uniform on. The way He is greeting her with much respect. KIM TAEHYUNG is the EPITOME of the PERFECT GENTLEMAN." — an X user wrote.
BTS fans (ARMY) exulted and praised V for going through extremely hard training to earn his SDT uniform, considering that it is immensely difficult to get enlisted in the special forces unit. For the unversed, the Special Duty Team (SDT) is a special force division of the South Korean military similar to the USA's SWAT team.
"Kim Taehyung born to be loved and an overachiever in everything that he does. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU CAPTAIN." — an X user wrote.
"I'm so proud of Kim Taehyung! Every day my heart grows bigger because of him. What an honor to be his fan! P.S. Special 'thank you' to his family. They raised their son and granson well." — an X user wrote.
"Taehyung is wearing the famous SDT uniform called "black uniform" !!! He worked so hard to get in, trained the hardest with his squad and got scars of glory and now he's serving (literally and figuratively)! So proud of you Tae!" — an X user wrote.
"He's so hot in the black SDT uniform omg my Taetae. The sunglass, his watch the way he stands, his kindness, his politeness so TAEHYUNG." — an X user wrote.
BTS Taehyung leaves fans proud with his latest on-duty military clips
In January 2024, both Namjoon and V graduated at the top of their class and were one of the four Elite Soldiers in a batch of 200 recruits. After that, BTS V was deployed to the II Corps (nicknamed "Double Dragons") of the Special Duty Team (SDT) unit.
SDT is a special forces division under the direct supervision of the South Korean President. The division tackles terrorism and smuggling crises and has an intensive combat routine integrated into its system.
It is important to note that only V from BTS voluntarily applied to get enlisted in the Special Duty Team and went through an additional two-week training period for it in January 2024. The intensive training included rappelling, hand-to-hand close-range combat, and more.
Meanwhile, on June 9, the Slow Dancing singer-songwriter was the one to initiate a conversation with Lee Ji-young and introduce himself. She was quick to recognize him and praise his look as that of a soldier. V then informs the veteran singer that he is on a military police patrol with his comrades and will have to leave. He bowed down to her, shook her hand, and saluted before leaving.
"I’m BTS V. We’re on a military police patrol right now. We have to go on patrol now, see you next time," he said.
BTS' eldest member, Kim Seokjin, will be discharged from the military on June 12, 2024. He was the first from the band to enlist on December 13, 2022. The Abyss singer-songwriter will meet 1,000 fans at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium on June 13, 2024, to celebrate BTS' 11th anniversary with them.
The remaining six members are presently enlisted in the armed forces. J-Hope enrolled in April 2023; thus, he will return in October 2024. After returning from their service in June 2025, the remaining five members will begin group activities alongside Jin and J-Hope in late 2025.
All physically capable males between 18 and 30 are required to serve in the South Korean military (Army, Marines, and Air Force) as per the nation's law. A few exceptions are permitted under the existing system for exceptional cases, such as Kim Woo-bin being exempted due to his cancer diagnosis and South Korean football player Son Heung-min for winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
