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With only a few months left in 2022, a few South Korean actors from popular K-dramas have to enlist for mandatory military service. In South Korea, all registered male citizens are required to serve in a military branch for almost two years. For years, Korean celebrities, actors, and even K-Pop idols have gone on hiatus to fulfill their duty. Only a short time after Extraordinary Attorney Woo, K-drama actor Kang Tae-oh enlisted in the military, but he is not the only one for 2022.

K-drama actors Kim Min-kyu, Song Kang, and Nam Joo-hyuk.
K-drama actors Kim Min-kyu, Song Kang, and Nam Joo-hyuk | via Netflix

‘Jinxed at First’ K-drama actor Na In-woo will enter mandatory military service

Before 2022 ends, K-drama actor Na In-woo is scheduled to enter the military. The 28-year-old recently gained fame for starring as the male lead, alongside Seohyun, in the fantasy romance Jinxed at First. He played the role of Gong Soo-kwang, a bright college graduate whose life became jinxed. Years later, he meets the woman who made him unlucky.

Na is well known for his other K-drama roles like Mr. Queen, Mystic Pop-Up Bar, and River Where the Moon Rises. The actor currently does not star, nor has he announced a new role in a K-drama.

Got7’s and ‘Yumi’s Cells’ actor Park JinYoung has no problem enlisting

JinYoung made his career as a third-generation idol in the globally famous K-Pop group Got7. His cute yet handsome charm quickly made him a favorite among fans. But beyond being an idol, he started his acting career in 2012. He had his first main role in the fantasy thriller He Is Psychometric. In 2021, he starred alongside Ji Sung in The Devil Judge.

One of his most significant claims to fame as an actor is as the sweet Prince Charming, Yoo Babi in Yumi’s Cells and Yumi’s Cells Season 2. JinYoung is currently 28 years old and reaching the age where he must fulfill his mandatory service. According to Soompi, the K-drama actor and idol said, in 2019, “If you’re a Korean man, I think you have to fulfill your obligations to the country. I’m not worried. I will go when I have to go.” JinYoung has yet to make an official announcement of his enlistment date.

Kim Min-kyu starred as fans’ favorite second-male lead in ‘Business Proposal’

K-drama actor, Kim Min-kyu, was born in 1994 and, by Korean age, will turn 30 next year and must enlist in the military. Kim has yet to make an official announcement about his enlistment or his plans. In 2022, the actor gained fame starring as Cha Sung-hoon in the webtoon K-drama Business Proposal. While playing a second-lead character, fans fell in love with his cute yet sexy demeanor and spicy kiss scene.

Kim is also well known for starring alongside Jung Hae-in and Jisoo in the controversial period drama, Snowdrop. While the actor has not announced his enlistment, he will play Woo Yeon-woo / Rembrary in the 2023 K-drama High Priest Rembrary.

K-drama actor Nam Joo-hyuk is scheduled to enlist in the military in December

One of the hardest military enlistments fans will have to face for the next two years is that of K-drama actor Nam Joo-hyuk. Like other male actors, Nam was born in 1994 and is required to enlist before the end of the year. According to Soompi, his agency explains, “Although he does have to [enlist] in December, the exact date has not been fixed because he has yet to be issued a draft notice.”

Nam has risen to immense fame over the past year thanks to his impressionable role in the coming-of-age K-drama Twenty-Five Twenty-One. He starred as Baek Yi-jin, a young man whose family lost everything during the IMF crisis. Hoping to build up his life, he meets a young fencing prodigy and embarks on a life journey.

Fans have watched Nam since early on in his career as he starred in the sports romance Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo and Cheese in the Trap. He also gained fame for Start-Up and The School Nurse Files.

Song Kang is scheduled to star in ‘Sweet Home’ Season 2 and the third installment

The ‘Son of Netflix’ K-drama actor Song Kang is also on the list to fulfill his mandatory military service. There is no denying that the actor has made an impressionable career on Netflix since starring in the teen romance Love Alarm. The biggest leading roles in his career have since streamed on Netflix, like adult romance Nevertheless and the apocalyptic horror Sweet Home.

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Fans cannot forget the heartwarming webtoon drama Navillera and the romance alongside Park Min-young, Forecasting Love and Weather. In June of 2022, Song Kang and some of the original cast announced Sweet Home Season 2 and Season 3. The new installments have no set premiere date.

But earlier this year, fans took to social media to announce seeing the second season in production. It leads to questioning when Song Kang will enlist in the military or how. He is confirmed to star in Sweet Home Season 3, which will likely film in 2023.