SEVENTEEN have unveiled their plans for the future as majority of the group’s members prepare for their mandatory South Korean military service.
Nine of the group’s 13 members will have to serve in the military – two of whom (Jeonghan and Wonwoo) have already enlisted. As the seven remaining eligible members inch closer to their enlistment, SEVENTEEN have revealed some of their plans in a new profile for The Hollywood Reporter.
Hot off the release of their latest album ‘Happy Burstday’, SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi told THR: “This is something that has been inevitable for us all along. We have been prepared. We have a lot of projects that we have discussed with [HYBE] very thoroughly up until now.”
“We are ready to reinvent ourselves,” said SEVENTEEN’s “leader” S.Coups. “We are standing at a new starting line, preparing for a new path ahead and ready to blaze a new trail.” Hoshi added: “Most of the members are going to enlist in the military soon. Up until now, we’ve mostly focused on our group promotions.”
The group went on to confirm that individual members will remain active through solo material, and that the entire group will reconvene once everyone’s done with their two-year service.
“We would like to show more of our individualities, each of the members’ personalities and capabilities, so that when the time comes and we get back together again as a group, we‘ll be able to showcase ourselves as a better Seventeen,” Hoshi continued.
As for the four members who won’t be serving – S.Coups is exempt due to an ACL injury while The8 and Jun are Chinese citizens and Joshua’s a US citizen – they plan to “stick together and make something great to showcase to the fans.”
“It can also be a great time for members who have been mentally or physically exhausted to recharge themselves,” they added.
In a three-star review of ‘Happy Burstday’, Gladys Yeo wrote for NME: “‘Happy Burstday’ might not be SEVENTEEN’s most cohesive release, but it succeeds at showcasing the group’s transformation over the last 10 years. The record’s focus on solo songs exposes each member’s strengths and weaknesses when they stand alone, but its group tracks are a self-assured testament to their chemistry and magnetism as a whole.”
