Other male idols who are currently enlisted include Super Junior's Sungmin and Shindong, and Kim Hyun Joong, just to name a few. Idols who have their enlistment looming ahead of them are Siwon, Changmin, and Big Bang members T.O.P, G-Dragon, and Taeyang. 

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On October 16, Yonhap News released an article after they were contacted by a Korean idol currently active in the military who did not want to disclose his identity. The unidentified idol put this intangible yet omnipresent fear of the idols that they may possibly be forgotten, into words. He worried, "21 months is short if you think it's short and long if you think it's long. When you're discharged, you may say, 'Already?' but it seems like a long time when you are here. When you're discharged over the age of thirty, you worry about whether you'll be able to promote among all the younger idols in their teens and twenties. It'd probably feel awkward to even be called an idol." 

If you look at groups like Shinhwa, who have been active for nearly two decades, it's clear that there is no such thing is 'too late.' And many older idols branch off into different career paths, not necessarily picking up right where they left off, but getting back on their feet all the same.