The seven members of the South Korean boy band BTS will soon be in the army. They are taking a break from music to do two years of military service. All able-bodied men in Korea aged between 18 and 28 must serve about two years. South Korea is technically still at war with North Korea. The two nations didn't sign a peace treaty after the Korean War ended in 1953. A spokesperson said BTS wanted to do their duty, and "are honoured to serve".
Many Koreans do not want BTS to do military service. They think the band is a national treasure. Korea's government said BTS could delay their military service until they are 30 years old. BTS have brought a lot of global attention to Korea. They also received praise for speaking about mental health issues. The government said: "There could be a way to give them a chance to practice and perform together."
Try the same news story at these levels:
Military Service - Level 0, Military Service - Level 2 or Military Service - Level 3
Sources- https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/oct/17/bts-k-pop-members-military-service-south-korea
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63282589
- https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20221017000727
Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)