[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Aju News) -- BIGBANG's leader G-Dragon left for a front-line army boot camp Tuesday to start his mandatory military service, his management agency, YG Entertainment, said.
YG planned no public event, but dozens of fans were seen waiting for G-Dragon behind a row of barricades along the road leading to the boot camp about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) away from the demilitarized zone which divides the Korean peninsula.
Fans, from home and abroad, bid farewell to G-Dragon who wore a black jacket and a black mask as the singer silently walked into the boot camp escorted by soldiers. The singer bowed towards fans from time to time to express his appreciation but did not say a word. As G-dragon neared the boot camp gate, some fans rushed up to the barricades and shouted: "We will be waiting for you!"
[Yonhap Photo]
[Yonhap Photo]
G-Dragon has been the subject of controversy over his enrollment at a graduate school program that sparked allegations that he was trying to postpone his military service.
All able-bodied South Korean men aged 18-35 are required to serve in the military for about two years because the Korean peninsula is still technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice with no peace treaty signed between the two Koreas. The military relies heavily on a compulsory service system. Exemptions are rare, with some Olympic gold medalists are not required to serve. Some celebrities use college enrollment and other means to delay military service.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
