Song Kang reveals special military connection with BTS member V
A scene from YouTube channel TEO’s Salon Drip / Captured from YouTube
Actor Song Kang has opened up about his experiences during his mandatory military service, including how he became close with BTS member V while serving.
During the 154th episode of TEO’s Salon Drip, uploaded on YouTube on Aug. 25, Song looked back on his time in the military and shared several anecdotes. He was discharged after completing his mandatory service on Oct. 1, 2025.
“Military life was actually a lot of fun,” Song said. “Even though there was a 10-year age difference, our sense of humor and things like that matched really well, so we often went out together. We even made plans to meet again next week.”
He also talked about whether his fellow soldiers treated him differently because he was a celebrity.
“You can feel it at first, but when you sleep in the same place together all the time, they eventually just think of you as an older guy from the neighborhood,” he said.
Song also described how he and his fellow soldiers spent their time when they were allowed to go out.
“We made the most of our outings,” he said. “If we went out at 8 a.m., the first thing we’d do was go to an internet cafe. We’d have lunch there. I would usually get a pork cutlet on rice and a bowl of ramen.”
After lunch, they would go bowling, have dinner and finish the day with a visit to a sauna.
“I paid when the bill got pretty expensive,” Song said.
When host Jang Do-yeon jokingly asked whether he could simply pay for everything, Song replied, “Do I really have to pay for everything?” drawing laughter from the studio.
“But I did buy them a lot of meals,” he added. “I bought them a lot of beef, too.”
Actor Song Kang / Captured from YouTube
Song also drew attention by mentioning his friendship with BTS’ V. The two previously made headlines after taking a photo together.
“We were in the same unit, but our roles were different,” Song explained. “He was in the SDT, the Special Duty Team, while I was just a regular soldier. I happened to have a mutual acquaintance, so we got in touch and coordinated our weekday outings to meet up and have a meal together.”
“We also went to internet cafes together quite often,” he added. “His five team members and five soldiers from my team would get together and play group games.”
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.