JYJ singer and actor Park Yoo Chun spoke with the Korean media outlet Naver TV only hours before he was due to report for his mandatory military duty.
The admission ceremony will be private, said a representative for his agency C-JeS Entertainment. "We would like to ask for your kind understanding for the private event. We have made the decision according to the singer's wishes, and the military training center also stated difficulties regarding a press event."
Naver TV asked Park if he was worried about serving his military duty.
"Actually, I am worried. It'll be much different than the environment I've been used to for the past 10 years. Actor Go Soo told me that the process of becoming a 'normal' person was quite unusual and hard for him when he went to the military. I've always said I wanted to live a normal life but never actually tried to."
Park wanted to enlist earlier but had to work. His most recent projects include the drama "The Girl Who Sees Smells" with Shin Se Kyung and the award-winning film "Sea Fog." He narrated a documentary about a visually impaired pianist, and appeared in the upcoming film "Lucid Dream."
"I had to earn some money for my company and for myself, haha," said Park.
Originally the plan was for all three members of JYJ to enlist at the same time. In an earlier interview with the outlet joins.com, Park said that their individual activities changed the plan.
"At first, we thought about enlisting together, but we decided that's not what we wanted to do. It seemed like a good idea, but after thinking about it, we decided that it would be better to do individual activities while each of us go separately."
Park will fulfill his mandatory military duty as a public service worker because he suffers from asthma, which prevents him from serving as an active duty soldier. All able-bodied Korean men are required to serve in the military for around two years, but they can serve in a variety of ways, including public service and as conscripted policemen. Park said he tried to eat healthy and rest up before his exam but his asthma ruled out active duty.
"I wanted to enlist as a soldier," Park told Naver TV. "A soldier's service time in four months shorter, too. I passed my physical but I was categorized as a public service worker because of my asthma. I didn't know asthma was such a dangerous condition."
Park met up with fellow JYJ singer Kim Jae Joong when he was furloughed a short while ago. Kim Jae Joong enlisted in May. They went out drinking and even met up with Junsu after he was finished performing in his musical "Death Note."
Park said he was jealous of Junsu because he could work a little longer before he had to enlist.
Park debuted as a member of TVXQ in 2003. In 2009, he and Kim Jaejoong and Kim Junsu, left the group and formed JYJ. Park has appeared in several successful dramas, including "Sungkyunkwan Scandal," "Rooftop Prince," "Missing You," "Three Days" and most recently "The Girl Who Sees Smells."
