Four BTS Members to Begin S.Korean Military Service Mid-December 

Jungkook of BTS performs on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Jungkook of BTS performs on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Four BTS Members to Begin S.Korean Military Service Mid-December 

Jungkook of BTS performs on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)
Jungkook of BTS performs on NBC's "Today" at Rockefeller Plaza on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

The remaining four members of K-pop supergroup BTS will begin their military service in mid-December, joining the three who are already serving, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing music industry sources.

The seven-member group is on temporary break while members carry out South Korea's mandatory military service.

South Korea has one of the world's largest active armies to defend against North Korea, with all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 required to serve between 18 and 21 months.

There has, however, been public debate over whether BTS members should be given exemptions considering their contributions to the lucrative K-pop industry.

The group's main rapper and leader RM and vocalist V will enlist on Dec. 11, while Jimin and Jung Kook will follow suit the next day, Yonhap reported.

After initial training, the four will serve as active-duty army soldiers for 18 months, according to another report in entertainment media outlet Star News.

BTS' management agency HYBE, which has said the four had begun the process of enlistment, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, Jung Kook announced in a blog post he would serve in the military in December.

Jin, 30, the group's oldest member, is set to be discharged from military service in June.



Stars Strive to Dispel Tariff Gloom at Cannes Film Festival 

Actor Tom Cruise attends a British Film Institute (BFI) event to receive BFI Fellowship, at the BFI Chair's Dinner, at the Rosewood Hotel, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Actor Tom Cruise attends a British Film Institute (BFI) event to receive BFI Fellowship, at the BFI Chair's Dinner, at the Rosewood Hotel, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Stars Strive to Dispel Tariff Gloom at Cannes Film Festival 

Actor Tom Cruise attends a British Film Institute (BFI) event to receive BFI Fellowship, at the BFI Chair's Dinner, at the Rosewood Hotel, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Actor Tom Cruise attends a British Film Institute (BFI) event to receive BFI Fellowship, at the BFI Chair's Dinner, at the Rosewood Hotel, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)

Movie legends from Tom Cruise to Denzel Washington will gather in Cannes this week for the 78th incarnation of its film festival, as the industry tries to shake off worries over dwindling audiences and threatened US tariffs.

Cruise will be launching what is touted as the last in his "Mission: Impossible" franchise and scores of others will be hoping to follow the path that last year's top prize winner "Anora" took to Oscar glory.

Alongside them, Robert De Niro will be getting a lifetime achievement award, and star actors Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Stewart and Harris Dickinson will all be trying their hands as directors with films competing in the smaller categories.

Just a week ago, US President Donald Trump shook the global film industry by announcing a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country - a statement that left many studio executives alarmed and baffled about when such levies might be applied or how they might come into force.

In Cannes, those worries have dominated backroom conversations, but made no dent on the frontline announcements.

"Nobody wants to be talking about tariffs and Trump here," said Scott Roxborough, European bureau chief for The Hollywood Reporter. "In the industry, everybody's going to be talking about it."

OSCAR GLORY

The festival kicks off on Tuesday evening. The decisions of its jury - chaired by France's Juliette Binoche with "Monster's Ball" star Halle Berry with her on the panel - will be closely watched.

"Anora", the winner of Cannes' top prize the Palme d'Or in 2024, went on to take home five Oscars. Cannes' top film in 2023, "Anatomy of a Fall", later won one Academy Award. Its pick in 2019, "Parasite", memorably became the first non-English-language film to win the best picture Oscar.

This year, US director Wes Anderson will be launching his new movie "The Phoenician Scheme," which will be competing against independent films including the likes of Joachim Trier's "Sentimental Value" and Julia Ducournau's "Alpha".

Films screening outside the competition include the new "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning", as well as Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest", starring Denzel Washington.

Hollywood's travails might not be center stage, but world politics has made it into the program.

Three films about the war in Ukraine will be shown as part of a "Ukraine Day" event.

All screenings are sold out for "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk", which follows 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in April, one day after it was announced that the documentary had been chosen for the festival's ACID program.