PHOTOS G-Dragon enlists

Fans wait for G-Dragon to appear in front of South Korea's 3rd Infantry "Skeleton" Division. / Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

K-pop superstar G-Dragon began his 21-month mandatory military service Monday.

G-Dragon ― real name Kwon Ji-yong, 30 ― is serving in the 3rd Infantry “Skeleton” Division stationed in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province. The region in the middle of the Korean Peninsula is near the inter-Korean border. Actors Joo Won and Ji Chang-wook are disciplinary officers with the division.

Leader of one of the most influential boy bands in K-pop history BIGBANG, Kwon’s military service begins with a five week basic training.

G-Dragon will first go through five weeks of basic training. / Yonhap

Unlike other celebrities’ entering a military training center which ― given that the public has been told in advance ― usually attracts crowds of journalists and fans bidding farewell, Kwon kept his entry low-profile and quiet.

“G-Dragon wanted to enter the facility quietly without making an official statement for press or fans,” said his agency YG Entertainment.

Kwon made his military service news official on Feb. 25 when he bade farewell at the opening of YG’s restaurant YG Republique at Jeju Shinhwa World.

G-Dragon, real name Kwon Ji-yong, waits while a South Korean military officer checks his identification documents before entering the training center. / Yonhap

Another star in the five-member band, Taeyang, plans to begin his military service on Mar. 12. With another member, T.O.P, serving as a public officer at Yongsang-gu District Office in Seoul ― a substitution for military service ― the band, as of March, will be left with only two members, Daesung and Seungri.

Rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer and fashion icon, Kwon made his debut in 2006 with the legendary band following six years of training under YG.

His first solo album “Heartbreaker” and its title track, released in 2009, were commercially successful and earned him “Album of the Year” award at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

After G-Dragon entered the training center, fans try to climb to higher ground next to the barbed wire fence surrounding the division to catch a last glimpse of their idol. / Yonhap

His first EP “One of a Kind” (2012) became the best-selling album by a South Korean soloist, breaking his previous record with “Heartbreaker,” and earned the “Record of the Year” award at the 2013 Seoul Music Awards.

In 2013, Kwon began his first worldwide tour as a solo artist, making him the first South Korean soloist to play at major Japanese venues.

He was awarded “Artist of the Year” at the 2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards following the success of his second album “Coup d'Etat (2013).”