Complete Military Hiatus Duration for K-Pop Boy Bands

In South Korea, mandatory military service is a well-known reality that all able-bodied men over 18 must fulfill, with service periods ranging from about 18 to 21 months depending on the military branch. For K-pop idols, this means unavoidable breaks from group activities, often leading to lengthy group hiatuses when members enlist, especially if several join around the same time. While many groups try to stay active by promoting individually or with the remaining members, full group comebacks usually get put on hold.

Lately, a list showing exactly how many days some popular K-pop boy groups have been on full hiatus due to military enlistments caught the attention of fans and online communities alike. This compilation sparked quite a bit of chatter, with netizens expressing surprise at just how long some groups have been inactive.

One of the hot topics was how groups with many members, like Seventeen, face longer hiatuses but can stagger enlistments to make the downtime feel shorter. Others pointed out that the age gaps among members also affect the overall hiatus length. Groups with members close in age tend to have shorter staggered breaks, whereas bigger age gaps allow for more promotion opportunities in between.

Fans also noted how some groups took different approaches—like Super Junior who managed to continue releasing albums and touring even when some members were serving. Meanwhile, fans of BTS appreciated their relatively short group hiatus compared to others.

Here are some of the comments from the discussion:

"But if you think about their comeback in the middle, you can’t just go by the number of days. Some groups had overlapping enlistments like one member goes → someone returns → another member goes, so even if it adds up to 1500 days, it feels very different."

"Super Junior is unbeatable."

"Seventeen!!! Even if it takes 10 years, I’ll wait."

"I calculated EXO’s: It’s 2,329 days…"

"Seventeen has 13 members, how are they gonna do this…"

"Super Junior’s first enlistment was just… lol."

"What’s Seventeen gonna do, they’re a 13-member group… It’s just starting now… I’ll still wait."

"BTS served well. That was short."

"More than the number of members, the age gap matters. Even with many members, if their ages are similar, the hiatus is shorter."

"I like that BTS had a short hiatus."

"Wow, ONF had a shorter hiatus than even Chanhyuk’s solo enlistment lol."

"For fans, is it better for everyone to enlist together or go one by one?"

"B1A4’s hiatus seems longer because two members did alternative (public) service. ONF (except their foreign member) all served in the Army, so it was 1.5 years."

"I personally liked that they all went together. I just focused on real life during that time, haha."

"Enlisting together really is the best."

"Going together or at least around the same time is definitely good."

"Still, Seventeen members are pretty close in age, so the hiatus won’t be too long, considering their group size. For DAY6, it was long when you look at the numbers. But Young K worked until the day before enlistment, and Sungjin started interacting right after discharge, even doing radio. That made me forget it was almost 1000 days. If there’s a big age gap, they can still promote in between, but the smaller the age gap, the shorter the hiatus overall."

"I was wondering why MONSTA X wasn’t there, but I guess Changkyun hasn’t enlisted yet."

"2PM isn’t on the list, sigh."

"I’m curious about NCT lol. But Super Junior kept releasing albums and going on tour even while members were enlisted, and those discharged would just rejoin."

With so many opinions about whether groups should enlist all at once or stagger the process, it’s clear this remains a hot topic among fans. Some prefer simultaneous enlistments to get the break over with, while others support one-by-one enlistments so the group can at least promote in some form throughout the hiatus period.

What do you think? Would you rather have your favorite group pause all at once, or carry on with members coming and going? Share your thoughts below!