Entertainment
SHINee star Taemin announces enlistment date in emotional video for fans
SHINee star Taemin has told fans the start date of his military enlistment.
Rather than his company SM Entertainment making the announcement, in a live stream the K-pop star personally revealed he will enlist on May 31.
He said: ‘There is more than a month left, so I didn’t want to spend it already being sad. I wanted to tell you with my own words directly.’
The K-pop star, 27, told fans they still have his online gig on May 2 and a new solo album to look forward to before he goes.
SM Entertainment confirmed to South Korean media that the location and time of the star’s enlistment will not be revealed as he wishes to enlist in privacy.
In the wake of the news his fans have been wishing him well with emotional messages on social media.
‘I never thought i’d live to see the day of taemin going to the military, I thought I was ready, I’ve always had it in the back of my mind but apparently I’m NOT,’ read one reaction.
Another said: ‘I was kinda ok about Taemin’s enlistment because we’ve been through Jinki’s, Kibum’s and Minho’s and it passed in the blink of an eye…but I hate to know that it makes him emotional like this.’
Wrote one distraught Shawol: ‘It just hit me that taemin is enlisting next month. we literally just got shinee back,’ while another posted: ‘I feel like I’ve just been told he’s leaving shinee forever rather than just a hiatus.’
We are unlikely to see the Sherlock singers together as a whole group again until late 2022.
It comes after SHINee returned with their seventh studio album Don’t Call Me after a two year hiatus. They also released repackage album Atlantis, and the title track of the same name, earlier this month.
As a solo artist Taemin has a string of albums under his belt which include songs such as Want, Move and Danger.
He is also part of K-pop ‘super group’ SuperM with EXO stars Baekhyun and Kai, and NCT members Mark, Lucas, Taeyong and Ten.
The Move singer is the last member of SHINee to enlist after band mates Onew, Key and Minho.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men between 18 and 28 are required to serve in the military for around two years.
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