Before they turn 30. Doesn't matter how rich or famous you are. The only exception is a serious medical condition. And even that has to be one that can make you drop dead at any second. That is not a joke.
That guy is Kyuhyun, lead singer of the boy band Super Junior. In 2014, he was in a near-fatal car accident that shattered his hip, broke several ribs and caused his lungs to collapse. Doctors gave him only a 20% chance of surviving. It took him nearly a year to recuperate and go back to performing.
Despite those injuries, he still had to serve. He did 'light duty,' but, still, he had to serve despite his former injuries.
This is his bandmate, Siwon, who also had to serve:
Siwon's family is one of the wealthiest in Korea, and he's their sole heir. There was no buying his way out. He had to serve, same as anyone else.
If everyone had to serve, save for the rare exceptions of adverse health conditions, then maybe people wouldn't resist the idea of national service. There's a case for selling it as everyone pitching in and doing their share for the greater good; that's how Korea presents it, but East Asian societies in general are far more receptive to the idea than other places.
The West in general isn't open to that kind of selfless thinking. The US especially will never accept national service after the favoritism shown to the well-to-do for mandatory service in Vietnam. The anger and resentment of that epic fail has never died down to any significant degree. Probably never will.
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