韩国男足在亚运会夺冠后，队长孙兴慜笑容满面，因为除了奖牌，他还收获了一个大礼包---免服兵役，这样他就能继续回英超踢球了。于是，韩国民众开始讨论，同样是为国争光，在流行音乐界取得傲人成绩的防弹少年团（BTS）为什么就不能免服兵役呢？

They may be the pride of South Korea after topping America’s Billboard 200 chart this week for the second time with their new album ‘Love Yourself’ but K-pop boyband BTS could still be cut off in their prime because of mandatory military service.

本周，韩国流行男团防弹少年团凭借最新专辑《爱你自己》再度称霸美国公告牌专辑排行榜。他们或许是韩国的骄傲，但仍可能因为义务兵役制在演艺巅峰期中断演艺事业。

韩联社报道称，迄今为止，一年内两次登上公告牌榜首的歌手只有披头士和猫王等超级巨星。韩国总统府青瓦台和国务总理李洛渊等政界人物也纷纷在推特上发文送上祝贺。

 All able-bodied South Korean men must serve for at least 21 months in the army.

所有身体强健的韩国男性都必须服至少21个月兵役。

However, the phenomenal global success of BTS, who have pulled off the rare feat of reaching No.1 in the US album chart twice in one year, has reignited a debate about who should be exempt from conscription.

然而，韩国男团防弹少年团在全球大获成功，一年内两次登顶美国专辑排行榜，实属罕见。这也引发了关于哪些人可以免服兵役的激辩。

此事一经曝出，随即引发公平性争议。韩国总统府青瓦台国民请愿公告栏相继也出现了关于防弹少年团免服兵役的请愿帖。

Currently elite medal-winning athletes and a select list of classical musicians and ballet dancers can escape the compulsory duty as they are deemed to be raising the national image on a global stage.

按照韩国目前的兵役制度，杰出的获奖运动员、一些古典音乐家和芭蕾舞蹈家可以免服兵役，因为人们认为他们可以提升韩国的国际形象。

The South Korean men’s football team, including Son Heung-min, the Tottenham Hotspur forward, were granted a reprieve last weekend after winning gold at the Asian Games.

而就在上周末，韩国男足在亚运会夺冠后，全体队员也被免除了兵役，其中包括前锋孙兴慜，他效力于托特纳姆热刺足球俱乐部。

赛前，英国媒体《镜报》指出，孙兴慜若想免掉服兵役，最后机会就是亚运会，唯有帮助韩国队拿到金牌，他才可以避开兵役，继续为热刺效力。

孙兴慜服兵役这一热门话题，导致韩国队在很大程度上受到球迷关注，连孙兴慜本人都倍感压力，甚至在队友踢点球时候，背身捂住脸不敢看，万一队友没有踢进点球，那可是赌上了孙兴慜的前程。

 But music fans and politicians argue that the rules are out-of-touch with modern South Korean society and should be updated to benefit celebrities of contemporary pop culture.

但音乐爱好者和政界人士认为，这些规定已经与现代韩国社会脱节，应予以改进，将现代流行文化行业的明星包括进去。

"The general public, including young people, wonder what makes winning on the Billboard chart different from winning in other international competitions? Winning the former is likely to create bigger added value," politician Ha Tae-kyung told the National Defence Committee in July, reported Yonhap.

据韩联社报道，政界人士Ha Tae-kyung7月份对国防委员会表示：“登顶美国专辑排行榜和在其他国际比赛中获胜有何不同？包括年轻人在内的民众对此都很费解。而且前者创造的附加值可能更大。”

"For example, Psy broke the world record with YouTube video hits, which is extremely difficult to achieve. It is the world's No. 1 and has huge influence over people around the world," he continued, referring to the musician who created the addictive dance ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012.

他还说：“比如，鸟叔的音乐视频在油管上的播放量破了纪录，实属罕见。这也是拿到了世界第一，而且对全世界的人影响都很大。”2012年，鸟叔打造的神曲《江南style》风靡全球。

 鸟叔经典“骑马舞”造型

 小德中网现场秀“骑马舞” In response to public disquiet on the issue, Lee Nak-yon, the Prime Minister, instructed the Cabinet on Tuesday to look at reforming the system.

为回应公众热议，韩国国务总理李洛渊本周二指示内阁考虑改革这一制度。

However, any changes will come too late for K-pop sensation Big Bang, which lost several members, including leader singer G-Dragon, to military service earlier this year.

然而对韩国流行男团Big Bang来说，所有改变都将为时已晚。今年早些时候，主唱权志龙在内的几位成员已相继入伍。

G-Dragon had to issue a plea to distraught fans to stop sending so many messages to his barracks as the office printer ran out of ink.

权志龙入伍后还给狂热的粉丝们发信，请求他们不要再给其所在部队发送邮件和慰问函，部队办公室的打印机的墨都用光了。

因为信件量过大，权志龙所在部队的货物供给受到阻碍，特别是其他新兵无法如期收到家人或朋友寄送的慰问信，除了打印机墨水大量消耗，A4纸也快用光。

The timing of conscription can be career-breaking. Historically, several entertainers have been accused of moving abroad, faking health conditions or even submitting tainted urine samples to medical examinations in order to avoid serving in the army.

服兵役的时间可能会打断事业发展。之前，有数名韩国演艺人士被指控移居他国、健康状况造假甚至在体检时提交受污染尿样以避免服役。

2002年，为躲避兵役，韩国明星刘承俊加入美国籍放弃韩国籍，这一举动触怒了韩国政府，刘承俊被驱逐出韩国，并永生不得踏入韩国领土。多年之后，刘承俊公开向韩国民众道歉并下跪。但是依然没有得到韩国民众的原谅，刘承俊也就悲催的再也无法踏入韩国半步。

 对明星而言，服兵役就像是一个魔咒，离开荧屏的几年很有可能就此被观众们忘记，而被层出不穷的新人所取代。但除了客观原因，明星服兵役期间的丑闻也会造成回归后粉丝大量流失。

2011年10月至2013年7月，Rain以“文艺兵”身份在韩国军队服役，在服役期间他被举报休假过多。2013年1月，Rain又被曝秘密恋上女星金泰熙，趁假期外出拍拖，更被揭曾多次外宿。随后，Rain遭部队纪律处分，在兵营里关禁闭7天。这些负面新闻不仅使Rain的粉丝大量流失，也给他的回归之路带来不少障碍。

但服兵役并不是一定会毁掉明星的事业。比如宋仲基在退伍后接演了人生之作《太阳的后裔》，这部剧不仅把他推向了亚洲巨星的宝座，还让他娶到了韩国第一美女宋慧乔。

 《太阳的后裔》剧照 玄彬于2011年入伍，他放弃轻松的文艺兵，坚持到环境艰苦的海军陆战队服役，当时立刻赢得了韩国军方和民众的好评。不少粉丝赞玄彬是“真男人”。于是，2012年底，完美退役的玄彬立刻成为各大广告商疯抢的对象。

On the other hand, some believe that the exemption policy should be abandoned altogether, given the subjective nature of determining who has raised Korea’s profile sufficiently internationally. More than 85% of South Koreans think that the current law governing exemption from military service needs to be overhauled to ensure fairness, according to a government survey conducted in 2015.

另一方面，也有一些人认为应彻底取消免服兵役制度，因为要评判哪些人在很大程度上提升了韩国的国际形象是非常主观的事。根据韩国政府2015年开展的一项调查。超过85%的韩国人认为目前的免服兵役法规应全面修订，以确保公平性。

“Some people are born with artistic or athletic abilities, but a large part of that is determined by their parents’ financial status, so I find it unfair that conscription is applied selectively,” said Park Hyung-jun, a 24-year-old male in Seoul.

首尔一位24岁的男子Park Hyung-jun说：“一些人生来就有艺术和体育天分，但大部分还得靠家长的财力去培养挖掘，所以我觉得有些人因此免服兵役，并不公平。”