--- title: Conscription of G-Dragon of Big Bang Causes Chaos description: Since G-Dragon, leader of the hit K-pop boy band Big Bang, was conscripted on Feb. 27, his battalion has been overrun with fan mail. canonical: https://time.com/5196995/big-bang-g-dragon-conscription-south-korea-taeyang-daesung/ author: Casey Quackenbush article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-13T06:10:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:51:20.999Z og:title: Military Conscription of Big Bang's G-Dragon Causes Chaos og:description: The volume of fan mail is paralyzing operations at the K-pop star's battalion og:url: https://time.com/5196995/big-bang-g-dragon-conscription-south-korea-taeyang-daesung/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb410655c7f1fd3b/69892aa0fb4eac3feb895ffc/gettyimages-857071010.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4921 og:image:height: 2768 og:image:alt: Chanel : Front Row - Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Military Conscription of Big Bang's G-Dragon Causes Chaos twitter:description: The volume of fan mail is paralyzing operations at the K-pop star's battalion twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb410655c7f1fd3b/69892aa0fb4eac3feb895ffc/gettyimages-857071010.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # K-Pop Star G-Dragon of Big Bang Has Started Military Service. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Mar 13, 2018 6:10 AM UTC  G-Dragon attends the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 in Paris, France on October 3, 2017. G-Dragon attends the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 in Paris, France on October 3, 2017. Stephane Cardinale—Corbis/Getty Images by [Casey Quackenbush](https://time.com/author/casey-quackenbush/) ## Casey Quackenbush Mar 13, 2018 6:10 AM UTC In South Korea, two years of military service is obligatory for male citizens ages 18 to 35—even for K-pop superstars. But ever since G-Dragon, leader of the hit K-pop boy band Big Bang, enlisted on Feb. 27, his army unit has been overrun with fan mail, the _Korea Times_ [reports](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2018/03/356%5F245499.html). “G-Dragon is facing difficulties with fans sending too many letters to the unit,” wrote his management company, YG Entertainment, on social media channels. “Please refrain from sending letters and we will appreciate it.” The fan mail has caused difficulties at the military camp where G Dragon is currently undergoing five weeks of basic training, and according to the _Times_ the sheer volume of emails received has shut down the battalion server. “Emails have to be printed out on paper to be distributed to the soldiers, but ink and A4 paper in the battalion have run out and G-Dragon feels sorry for his fellow soldiers there,” YG Entertainment said. “G-Dragon is thankful for his fans’ concern over his military duty. At the same time, he feels sorry he can’t read all the letters sent to him. But again, please consider the tricky situation G-Dragon faces.” G-Dragon is serving in South Korea’s 3rd Infantry “Skeleton” Division stationed in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. Fellow bandmates have also begun their mandatory military service, the _Straits Times_ [reports](http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/k-pop-group-big-bangs-taeyang-and-daesung-start-military-service). Taeyang was conscripted on Monday, and Daesung was drafted on Tuesday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5196995/big-bang-g-dragon-conscription-south-korea-taeyang-daesung/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5196995/big-bang-g-dragon-conscription-south-korea-taeyang-daesung/"},"headline":"K-Pop Star G-Dragon of Big Bang Has Started Military Service. 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