Korean members of boy group ONF to start military duty next month

By Dong Sun-hwa

K-pop boy group ONF / Courtesy of WM Entertainment

All the Korean members of K-pop boy group ONF are set to begin their compulsory military service in December, according to their management company WM Entertainment, Wednesday.

“Except for Japanese member U, the five Koreans members ― Hyojin, E-Tion, J-Us, Wyatt and MK ― will join the Army in December,” WM said in a statement.

MK will be the first to enter boot camp Dec. 21, with J-Us and Wyatt following him, Dec. 27. Hyojin and E-Tion will enlist Dec. 28.

WM added that it would not disclose the place and time of their enlistment due to COVID-19 concerns.

In the K-pop scene, it is rare to see bandmates joining the military at the same time. In most cases, when one member starts his duty, the other members continue their careers in a bid to stay in the limelight and, once he returns, they take turns. ONF, however, made a different choice.

“After careful consideration, ONF members made this rare decision to minimize the group's hiatus,” WM explained.

On Tuesday ― one day before WM's announcement ― J-Us and Hyojin delivered the news about their enlistment and left messages for their followers on the group's official fan community.

“We believe we can perform together on the stage for a longer time, if we join the Army together,” J-US said. “Let's make precious memories together until our enlistment next month.”

Hyojin wrote: “I feel sad that I cannot be with you for a year-and-a-half. But I will try to become more mature while I am away. Please stay safe and healthy until the day we reunite.”

Prior to the five members' enlistment, ONF will perform its “ONF 2021 LIVE CONTACT :: CODE #1. [REVERSE]” concerts from Dec. 9 to Dec. 12 at the YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, Seoul.

ONF debuted in 2017 with the track, “ON/OFF” and has put out popular songs, such as, “We Must Love” (2019). With its February release, “Beautiful Beautiful,” the group took first place on SBS MTV's “The Show” for the first time since its debut.