What were these Korean stars like during military service? Song Joong-ki apparently stole snacks and G-Dragon made army slippers go viral, while Exo’s D.O lived out his passion for cooking

Nov 3 , 2021

What were Song Joong-ki and Exo’s D.O like in the Korean military? Photos: Blossom Entertainment, Military Manpower Administration

Descendants of the Sun star Song Joong-ki was accused of stealing a snack while K-pop idol Jang Hyun-seung’s shocking transformation grabbed attention on social media

Gangnam Style singer Psy got praise for serving twice, but YG Entertainment had to issue a Facebook statement requesting fans to send less letters to G-Dragon

In Korea, national military service is mandatory. Although there are occasionally special exemptions, most of the male population can’t avoid it – not even celebrities.

Popular Netflix series D.P. and the hit K-drama Descendants of the Sun might give us a peek into the Korean military, but what is it like in real life? Here’s a closer look at a few interesting incidents that took place when these K-pop and K-drama stars served in the military.

G-Dragon got too many fan letters and made military slippers to go viral

Fan love for G-Dragon didn’t end when he was gone for the military. And as the military allows people to upload letters online, which are then printed out and given to their recipients, fans went all out to show their love for the star.

G-Dragon has an ardent army of fans who once even planted a forest in his name on his birthday. So during his service, he received so many fan letters that YG Entertainment had to upload a statement on his Facebook page around two weeks after his enlistment in February 2018, asking his fans to stop sending him letters, as the army training base couldn’t keep up with the amount as paper and ink began running out.

This is just one example of G-Dragon’s fan power. He even made green military slippers go viral after an image of him in the army was shared online. These were just standard slippers available for everyone serving in the military, according to Koreaboo.

Did Song Joong-ki really steal a snack?

A still from hit Korean drama series Descendants of the Sun showing actor Song Joong-ki. Photo: Blossom Entertainment

Song Joong-ki stole the hearts of K-drama fans with his role as a soldier Yoo Si-jin in Descendants of the Sun, which also got people wondering what Song’s military days were like in real life. The following incident about the star was shared online: “No lie, my friend is a military training instructor and he said that Song Joong-ki was caught secretly nabbing a MongShell [Korean chocolate pie snack]. Guess he’s like all of us.”