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| Lee Hong-gi from FTISLAND's sixth mini-album. Courtesy of FNC Entertainment |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Rocker and TV personality Lee Hong-gi will enlist on Sept. 30 to serve in the ROK Army 21st Infantry Division, a general outpost regiment flanking the inter-Korean border in the northern Gangwon Provincial county of Yanggu.
The star's management agency, FNC Entertainment, released the news on Monday. Lee confirmed the news on Instagram later the same day.
Lee, 29, the four-member rock band FTISLAND's front man, is the first from the band to serve mandatory military service. He will begin relatively late as enlisters usually are aged from early to mid-20s.
Situated in a rough mountainous region, the division guards the longest section of the southern inter-Korea border among general outpost regiments.
The division, established near the end of the Korean War in 1953, is nicknamed "Mount Paekdu Platoon" following then-South Korean President Rhee Sing-man's order to South Korean soldiers to "plant taegeukki (the South Korean national flag) on top of Mount Paekdu," a mountain spanning the North Korea-China border.
Lee will begin his two-year service with five weeks of basic training, after which he will join the division.
The star debuted as a child actor in a TV drama on KBS in 2002. He has been active in TV variety shows, movie, musical, radio and song writing. He also became a professional bowler in 2018.
FTISLAND released its seventh mini-album "Zapping" on Sept. 9.
