Once a pop sensation, Yoo Seung Jun made the biggest mistake of his life in 2002. To avoid his military duties in Korea, he became a naturalized US citizen, but as expected, this did not fly with our fellow Koreans. Many felt betrayed and cheated since he promoted himself by consistently stating that “as a healthy male citizen of Korea, I plan to go to the army.” To make the long story short, Mr. Yoo was deported back to the states when he came back to Korea with his spanking new US passport.
A lot has happened since then. Yoo Seung Jun got married, had a child and started his musical career in China. He’s doing okay in China, but it’s obvious that he wants to come back to his motherland and he’s testing the water in various ways. He tried to do his own version of Newlyweds on Mnet, but that fell threw. And his latest strategy is to pour his heart out to the public in an attempt to make them understand why he made the wrong decision. Yoo’s interview was aired on tvN, but the timing couldn’t be any worse. The public is currently disgusted with the special treatment celebs and rich chaebols receive when it comes to military duties as they watch Psy’s investigation unfold, so forgiving Yoo Seung Jun is currently out of the question. But do you think that he should be allowed to come back to Korea?
Yoo Seung Jun’s MV during his heyday
Wow…this is truly interesting to me. Did he ever say why he wants to come back? Other than the obvious thats his homeland. Like I am in no way trying to shake anyones perception of the US but it is not the land of milk and honey as some may think. And dude went back to Asia altogether. I don’t know what military service means. I personally think its a good thing but I’m not a Korean dude so I wouldn’t know the burden of having to go…but he is one of their people and they shouldn’t exile him like that. It really makes you think about where you can call home. You leave to go to another country because of problems in the one you’re in and there are problems everywhere but to not even be excepted back into the land of your birth is scary….
I don’t think so. :/ He broke the law, he broke the law. Sure, he didn’t want to go to the army, but now he can’t even come back to his mother country because of the dumb mistake that he made.
And if the Korean govt. allowed him to come back, then it would be just another example of special treatment among celebrities.
I really feel bad for him though, it was such a mistake for him to do that (and hypocritical, too). ;-;
Make it a condition for him to carry out his military obligation if he wants to return to Korea.
^ I agree with monalisa, the government should make him do military service if he wants to come back. We’ll see how much he wants to return to his “motherland” lol! ^_^
^ Amen.
everyone does understand why he wants to come back to Korea right? its not for some noble idea that he wants to come back to the motherland. read between the lines: he’s nothing and a nobody as a musician without his Korean fanbase, many of which have grown up and moved on to more serious musicians in the past five years. Korean music and entertainment has considerably gotten better and more talented since YSJ.
at the end of the day, its about money. he misses Korean money, not Korea. why is he even attempting music in China? money.
he’s trying to recapture his fanbase and the money and fame that came along with it. its not going to happen. people make mistakes, but his mistake was one that Korea will not forget or forgive any time soon. if he wants to come back to Korea and be an everyday citizen, then let him. if he’s coming back to be a musician with the opportunity to take Koreans’ hard-earned money, forget about it.
He was a coward for sure.
And now that he isn’t doing well…. hes crawling back.
EVEN if Korea accepted him….. is the public going to?
I HIGHLY doubt it.
I agree with kak2gi. he avoided the military duties b/c he didn’t want it to ruin his popularity. so he chose to became a US citizen. He has no right to come back to korea and continue his music career. obviously he just wants his fame and money back.
THinking as a nonkorean it kinda seems harsh and over all im shocked about the rresponse, this may be because i was not brought up in a korean civilisation with the military service thing……
yes he is a coward for doing such thing but the thing is the MS is for 2 years or something liek taht, and you kinda put ur life on hold for 2 years and it just seems like a lot….
sometimes things can get too much but going like taht was not a clever idea…
The RoK should send him for the special forces training upon his return and ensure that other soldiers beat the crap out of him for the duration of his stay there.
Interesting issues this post brings up! Oh man, I remember Yoo Seung Jun in the height of his popularity.
I’m sympathetic but with a limit, and although it’s a credit that he publicly admits it was a mistake, I doubt he’ll be able to come back — at least not to reclaim his former glory. kak2gi hits the nail on the head.
I’d say it’s harsh if the country doesn’t allow him back to live as a normal citizen, but not for purposes of cashing in on his fame. To shelshel: a lot of koreans may agree the military service requirement is a lot to ask of its men, but it’s a part of being a Korean citizen. There are undercurrents of dissatisfaction that divide the men from women in this regard, because men are required to go away for two years while the women don’t have to, which is a social issue in itself. But nobody is excused from trying to cheat the system — I was glad to see people like Song Seung Hun taken to task for attempting cowardice and being forced to go.
Being a celebrity doesn’t exempt a citizen from such a fundamental duty — think of it as a really sucky form of jury duty. People who think they’re above the law shouldn’t be made into martyrs. Too bad Paris Hilton can’t seem to grasp that amongst her self-pity and tears.
Thanks for the post, popseoul!
well these days the military & war (in general) aren’t being taken seriously enough, so why would he want to be enrolled? the military is a harsh kind of lifestyle, therefore it definitely would not appeal to pop star much like himself.
however, using his celebrity status to abdicate any military duty at all is pretty unfair advantage, no?
NO! He completely betrayed his country. And on top of that it’s not fair that other Korean men have to go through their service, while people with money or power, can get out of it. I don’t think they should forgive him, or let him back in, anyway, he left it in the first place. That is his mistake and he’ll just have to accept it. I was a huge fan of his back in the day, but its just plain wrong for him to try coming back. I know people who had to spend 2-3 years, leaving everything behind… college, family, work… but yooseungjun didn’t. SO NO!!!
if he would have just done his duties like won bin and those guys did, he would have been out already…geesh!!!
Well I agree w/everybody about letting him return to live but not to claim back his fame.
I used to admire and like him a lot back in the old school kpop dayz.
When that happen, I didn’t really like him at all. C’mon now I’m a girl, 5′1, 105lbs and I have served in both United States Navy and the United States Army since I was 20 and still am. (Hard-labor) (I didn’t sit behind the desk and do paper work all day)
It’s not that scary really. You just gotta get used to how the military work. The military are different in Korea than USA but it’s still structured somewhat the same.
Well my point is if I volunteer myself to the US Military for longer than the Korea’s obligation for men’s then YSJ should do and could do it to but he choose not to.
I guess when they start drafting people for IRAQ then YSJ will more likely go cuz you’ve got to register w/the selective service in America when you’re a US citizen.
He would have been better serving in Korea.
Big respect to you, jess1tym, for joing the military..
I don’t see many female joing the military in DK.
anyway.. I have mixed view on this subject..
I agree on that, just because one is a celebs one shouldn’t be allowed to escape duties and be treated different, when it comes to law.
- You make a decision, accept the consequent whether you like it or not.
But on the other hand… exile him from being Korean? – If he truly feels bad , shouldn’t he have a second chance? – everyone deserves a second chance.
I just think he needs to proves, that he’s sorry … right?
The thing is, YSJ called others cowards for not going to the military and that he was going to go when the time came. And I remember him saying this many times.
I also think he just wants to go to Korea to become popular again and regain his superstar title. Anyways he sounds like a selfish prick. If he really wants to sing in Korea, he should go do that 2year military service like he told everyone that he was going to do. Otherwise, no one is going to listen to his music because they all remember what he said and done.
Legally speaking, I don’t think that YSJ can join the Korean military with his current US citizenship. In order to join the Korean military, he has to give up his US citizenship and I don’t think he’s going to do that.
YSJ just caused more trouble for himself because he went out of his way to tell the public that he’s going to the army when nobody expected him to go since he had US greencard. And that made Koreans feel so betrayed when he secretly came over to change his citizenship status.
As much as I feel bad for YSJ, I really don’t think that he has a case to go back to Korea.
hrm. off the top of my head, song seunghoon, won bin, jang hyuk, jisung, so jisup, han jaesuk, yoon kyesang… what do they all have in common? oh yeah, they tried to evade military service too. this was AFTER ysj’s problem came to light. their problems came to light after many a politican’s sons evaded conscription with “health” exemptions. those actors got similar exemptions. after the expose on tv, they all fessed up and did their time. why is the public willing to forgive them? the celebs are sorry only because they got caught. if they didn’t get caught, the public would be none the wiser. guys like psy STILL didn’t learn their lesson and it looks like he has to serve again because there’s controversy over his previous service and he may need to serve again.
so is it really ysj’s fault? we don’t have all the facts. but a lot of you are either too young or too new to understand that at the height of yjs fame, korean entertainment was just taking off. the hallyu movement got its roots back then and is cresting now. so, if you are a celeb in that era, would you risk being out of the public eye for 2 years? that was a gamble all those actors took, ysj included. ysj’s fault was saying in public that he would serve only to gain u.s. citizenship shortly thereafter.
here’s my theory on this: you don’t just “get” u.s. citizenship. its a long process which means ysj probably got the paperwork started several years before his announced intentions to serve. there’s no guarantee you’ll get naturalized either. so he was hedging his bets and he bet wrong. you can lose your u.s. citizenship if you serve in another country’s military. that poses another problem – his family lives in the u.s. he would be barred from living in the states. he would basically become a legal alien resident again and would likely have to go through immigration procedures again. so you see, imho, it was a hard choice to make and ysj made his decision based on a lot of factors NONE of us knows about. i’m just speculating. btw, for all those korean males out there who also became naturalized citizens, i’d advise you check with the korean embassy about your korean citizenship status. if you are still of legal age of conscription, the korean government can prevent you from leaving korea when you visit one day and force you to serve; this actually happened! if you want freedom, you need to give up your korean citizenship fyi.
oops. popseoul beat me to the bit about losing your citizenship if you serve in another country’s military…
iono…personally, i think this is kinda funni..YSJ sayin hes gonna go to the MS and then runs away..wow..
everyone is very into this topic-emotionally…i noe that sum may feel betrayed or wut so ever, but lashing out on him aint doin anithin. so wut…yeah, he made a mistake, but everyone makes mistakes..yeah, he is a disgrace to korea, but hey its the military…cummon..ofcourse i would be scare…
and i feel that YSJ cummin bac to korea for fame n money..iono..i dont feel that way..personally, i think that he jus wants to cum bac…sayin he wants money n fame n glory, (MAYBE).., thats a little too much..yeah KOREA-entertainment is booming, but that doesnt tell u that YSJ wants to have his fame bac…yeah, he may want to start a career-singing, but that doesnt mean he wants KOREAN’S MONEY…
i mean lookin at a different view, that may be the case, but then again u have to considered that he may jus want to cum bac cause he knoe wut he did is wrong or he misses the place or maybe its guilt…n hes tryin to fix it by fixin it he wants to start where he messed up at..n that is n korea…
personally, i think that he should be let bac in, but he must show that he realli wants to cum bac…maybe goin to the MS or do sumthin that the gov. wants him to do…iono..thats my opinion..agree/diagree..i dont realli care..im jus stating my point..
OMG… totalli understand u…yeah..gettin a US citizen isnt easy..it take time and money…so yeah he may file the paper work long time ago..the thing he did wrong was sayin he was gonna serve in MS n didnt…but i agree wit u..all the way
I hope that YSJ will come back! I don’t think that he should be punished anymore seeing as how other celebs try to avoid the service. Come back soon, YSJ!!
it is indeed very sad that this guy cannot go back to his homeland but it has already been 5 yrs almost 6 yrs ago, shouldn’t the citizen of korea just forgive him. Everyone makes mistake and a lot of celebrities try to avoid the military as much as possible and its normal that this guy chickened out. Anyways the song is very catchy. I think i heard it be4. I like it.
Err..just because he doesn’t accept US citizenship doesn’t mean he becomes barred from the States. He can still live there as a permanent immigrant. He never had the US citizenship to begin with. If he was going to get the citizenship and not do the military service, then he shouldn’t have mocked other stars who tried to avoid military service when he, himself, was going to do the same.
Yes, the punishment is severe. But he made his choice and that’s the consequence. FYI, Life isn’t fair.
I think if he wants to come back to visit as a citizen, then he should be allowed.
HOWEVER, he shold NOT be granted any type of WORK visa at all.
The only way is if he gives up his US citiezneship and fulfill his duties in the Army.
ilmare:
yeah, life ain’t fair. i never said it was. iana lawyer, but, if you lose your citizenship, you lose your passport no? which means no travel to the u.s. without a travel visa. which is inconvenient to get what with the paperwork, interview process and such you have to go through at the u.s. embassy in korea. and even then, you are limited to a few month’s stay at a time.
i’m not really taking a side cuz i dont’ know all the facts. what i’m saying is, it may be more complicated than what it seems. i was just offering a theory.
I can totally understand why he would want to avoid military service…I mean here in America it’s an option not the only way. I don’t think he got his US passport illegally because he’s rich or famous, he must’ve been able to get one because he lived in the US for a certain amount of time or whatever. Can you get deported for being a naturalized US citizen if you were once a Korean citizen? I have no idea, maybe someone can explain the legal reasons for his deportation.
So legally he should be able to be a US Citizen so why can’t he? No offense ~ having a US passport is much easier, you can get places a lot easier. I think US citizens can serve in the Korean military too no? One of my friends went back to Korea to serve in the military, I think he was a US citizen.
And plus wasn’t YSJ raised in the US, I don’t blame him for not wanting to go into the Korean military. But it’s wrong for him to say that he would go then avoid it later.
Anyways I guess that’s all I have to say. From all the responses here it sounds like this is still a controversial topic.
Wow…what a serious debate here…hm…if I were him, I’d avoid military duties as well…maybe because I was born in the US and we have the choice not to join the military. I agree with Jessica, if he wants to visit as a citizen, they should let him and not allowed any type of work…or then again…if he really needs money, he might as well say “Sorry” and join the military for 2 years…that way he can regain his work as a singer. It can’t be that hard can it? Oh well…every country is different…if Korean won’t let him back in…that sucks for him…he is now an American citizen…besides…didn’t some of the Korean artist mention that they want to evaded into the US market…he might as well start here in the US…no need to go back…that is if any of the Korean artist make it out there. You have a better chance of starting here in the US…you just need to find the right producer and right record label…I believe he speaks good english, so he should have no problem. Wish him luck!
you know how the saying goes, you’re able to understand it but you cant accept it. i think its understandable why he didnt want to go to the military, whatever the reasons. people make it seem so easy; just going to the military for 2 (?) years, and coming back. these men have to train hard for the 2 years that theyre there, and they have to risk their lives if theres a war. i dont think anyone would truly WANT to do their service in the military. and im sure he didnt want to miss the height of his popularity, thats why bands/celebrities like shinhwa didnt go to the military when they were supposed to. taking shinhwa as an example, what if they had to go to the military when they got their daesangs? im speaking hypothetically, but people should try to understand their reasons. im also assuming that YSJ had other reasons as well.
as much as i understand (or at least try) what YSJ did, i dont accept it. im sure its with other people as well. we wont just accept him back in korea with our arms wide open and tell him that its ok, that he shouldnt have done it. if he was chastising other celebrities that payed their way out of the military or whatever, he should fully know the consequences of the reactions of korean citizens. i do agree however, that he should be able to at least come back to his “homeland” as a citizen. by the way, im neither a fan or anti of YSJ, this is the first time ive heard of him. im just basing what i say on this article, what other people have said, and my full opinion.
Well I guess the best thing to do is let him do his military time and yeah celebrities sometimes will get special treatment thats just the way of humans. Still what he did was stupid but its not something that cant be recitified. Obviously with Rain’s and other artist success he now knows that Korea is where its at. Hopefully the people will forgive him and understand he wasnt the only to dodge military duties.
I was also wondering…I wonder if Tim and Brian and some other American born korean pop stars are going to the do the military. I remember Brian saying that he was planning to go into the military…but is it really necessary?
I know a lot of people say that he should serve the country that he’s making all his money from but I find that a little harsh. If he legally doesn’t have to serve, why should he? I understand Korean nationalism but I think it’s a little too much. If the people really care that much whether or not they serve shouldn’t they make them serve before they start their careers? O.o makes no sense to me – why the big fuss. I bet tons of Korean men try to avoid military service, it’s not about not loving your country, it’s about your own life, who wants to leave their life behind for a few years?
In America, I feel like most people that join the military are trying to run away from something. Maybe that’s just the case with the people I know, but all my friends that are in the military have serious family problems and they just go to get away from their parents, or their life in general. Or they have family members in the military and it’s a tradition in their family to serve the military. But obviously there are people that join for the benefits, or actual love for their country (I find that VERY rare though).
IMO, he has to pay his dues in some way or another. Be it to serve in the army again even in some form of light duties, to be fair to other civilians.
In fact, I’m waiting for Rain to be enlisted and be done with his army stint, than having it weigh over his concert and movie and future plans… though not being able to see him in the meantime… ㅠㅠ
I’m from Singapore, and when there was a pianist who ditched the “National Service” (= army) for his music and came back to be a judge and a once-off performance, it sparked off enough controversy. That said, for males who leave overseas for studies/etc, their parents have to put down a large sum of money to ‘guarantee’ the return of the child for NS.
I don’t think he should be able to come back to Korea. He shouldn’t have promote himself of how he will go to the Korean Military. Also the suggestion how the Korean goverment should allow him to come back if he were to go to the military. well he can’t join the korean army since he is american citizen. if he were to do that than his american citenship would be void.
well, if he wants to return to Korea then he has to immediately go to the Korean army for two years.
To OMG
He didn’t have a US passport to begin with. He was moving back n forth from Korea as a Korean citizen with a Korean passport. So you wouldn’t lose something you didn’t have in the first place. I know it’s more complicated than we assume it to be, however, inconvenience is a lame excuse. Isn’t it also an inconvenience to even fill out the paperwork for US citizenship and wait for many years for a response??
What I find annoying is that YSJ was all high and mighty when he rebuked others when he, himself, was going to do the same. I’m sure when he had to make the decision, it was a hard and complicated one…but he has disappointed alot of his Korean fans. If you have been to Korea, alot of the Koreans are very KP. So the punishment that YSJ received reflects their “Korean-prideness” and how much betrayal the general public felt.
I read somewhere that Lee Byung-hun did his MS although he exempted from serving. Think I also read that Cha In-pyo held US citizenship but returned to Korea to perform his MS. If true, both of them are really patriotic.
Brian won’t do any military service because he was born in the US. he doesn’t need to do it. YSJ was born in Korea but was raised in the States.
i remember when he was huge in Korea, i used to see him in K-town with his groupies calling him oppa wherever he went. he loved the attention and respect he got from his fans and from the club managers, bouncers, etc.
he just needs to accept that his life is no longer in Korea. he married a girl here in the States and he has kids now. his family is here, so why does he need Korea?
like i stated before, its an attempt to recapture his fame and fortune he had in Korea. and you can forget about him doing any military service, even if he wanted to. he’s not stupid. anyone really think they’ll treat him fairly? if anything, they’d make his life hell everyday for two years…and deservedly so.
fame and fortune as a celebrity is not a birth-right…its a priviledge. there’s a saying that a man is a sum of his parts, and his actions showed what he was about.
think any celebrity in their right mind wants to take a two year hiatus in the middle of their fame? but they go, preferential treatment or not, because they are obligated to go like every man in Korea, and all the more because they owe their country because their country gave them a life of priviledge.
he’s done son!
So if YSJ is a korean citizen and got a US citizenship that means he got dual citizenship. Which is legal by the way to hold citizenship in two different countries. So does that mean he’s still obligated to still serve in the Korean Army?
Just wondering?
Also I don’t know about S. Korea but here in the US, you can be a citizen of another country and could still serve in the US military while holding a green card and social sec #.
Wow this is kind of a tough issue!
They should just accept him back into Korea and let him learn his lessons there. Surely, no one would support him even if he does go back or at least. He should face the crowds back in Korea and if he can’t handle, then let him run back to U.S since that’s what he’s good at in the beginning.
FYI, it’s illegal to hold dual citizenship in Korea. I don’t think it’s the best policy out there, but that’s what they enforce since Korea is still technically in a war.
In addition, the military service issue is just too sensitive to play around with. How would you feel if you are a regular male in Korea who had to go to the army, spend 2 years training while some singer gets to avoid that kind of responsibility?
Mandatory military service is against human rights and he’s lucky to have escaped it. It’s sad that only the rich have the means to escape it, but that’s the way it is. He may have broke Korean law, but Korean law breaks international human rights. You cannot force anyone into military service and not breach human rights. It’s a relic of a different era. I say we should all forgive him and he should be allowed back.
James,
As a lawyer I am going to have to ask you to back up this claim:
“Mandatory military service is against human rights and he’s lucky to have escaped it…. He may have broke Korean law, but Korean law breaks international human rights. You cannot force anyone into military service and not breach human rights.”
And we haven’t even gotten to the prudential necessity of having a draft when there is a hostile, million-men army facing you across the border.
Or do you, like his excellency Kim Dae Jung and his lunatic cronies, Kim Jongil is a misunderstood Santa?
OK so he made a mistake, yes we ALL make mistakes, but he pigeonholed himself. By calling other ppl out for not serving only to not serve himself was a very cowardly thing to do. I’m sure there are some other Korean males that would rather not serve, but that is the law of the land, no exceptions.
He could very well be trying to visit a family member/friend in Korea, but for some reason I smell a comeback attempt on his part. Probably thought everything was forgiven or forgotten and was on his way to meet with a record company. Sure he could try to build a career in the USA, but if it was so easy, why didn’t he do that in the first place if he already lived here? Let’s face it, his chances of being as popular in the USA right now as he was in Korea are way slimmer, unless he just happens to find the right ppl and connections. He’s used to a certain type of fame, and anything less would probably be insulting to him at this point.
If he wants to come back to the country, he should serve like everyone else has to, but I doubt that he will seeing as though he has his own family and mouths to feed.
Since somebody before this post mentioned Shinhwa…I thought about these two members from Shinhwa and their military obligations.
I wanted to ask why would two of their members with US Citizenships to begin with, volunteer to give them up ?
Can they not work in Korea if they don’t serve in the army? OR not work long term if they have US Citizenship? You surely can have work visas, I believe. Will they be up for ridicule of some sort if they hold US citizenships and wants to work (Cash on fame and fortune) in Korea, which is their birth countries?
I don’t understand why they made their decisions to give up their US Citizenships when nobody is making them. They can choose not to serve, work in the Korean entertainment business and yet they chose to give it up. Why is that? It is even more puzzling to see them give up their citizenships when people are running away to get citizenship from another country.
following up the side-note about cha in-pyo: dude did Hanbando. that’s KP enough i’m sure!!
i met him once, and he performed at a church in phoenix. he’s really nice
I used to love YSJ back then when he was still a hot performer. Didn’t know all this stuff happened to him. If he can handle all the ridicule then just let him go back to Korea.
sure he can come back…he just won’t be so warmly welcomed thats all ^^ … he’ll just have to deal with the consenquences of his actions…avoiding the military? -_-;; oi.
Thanks for answering popseoul. I didn’t know that it was illegal in S. Korea to hold dual citizenship.
I think everybody is right about people doing their duty in the military regardless of their status.
Everyone need to do their share. I’m doing mine except for miine is not Mandatory.