SHINee’s Minho Shares The Unique Reason Why He Turned Down An Early Military Discharge

SHINee‘s Minho previously made headlines when it was revealed that he had voluntarily given up his last leave in the military and turned down an early discharge.

He was heavily praised for his decision, with many calling him hardworking, dedicated, and passionate.

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On a recent episode of KBS‘s Problem Child In House, he explained how he came to that decision.

Many soldiers view the last leave as the highlight of their entire military experience, but he revealed that he was unable to use his because of the pandemic. Instead, he was given an early discharge.

The last leave is the best part of your military service. It’s like the highlight. But I couldn’t use my leave because of COVID-19, so instead, I was discharged earlier for not using those days.

— Minho

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Those like him who were about to get discharged, however, were going to miss the hardest training day of the year, commonly referred to as the annual defense drill.

Right when I was about to get discharged, they had the hardest training of the year for the entire military—the annual defense drill.

— Minho

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Minho surprised everyone present when he revealed that he didn’t leave because he actually wanted to participate in the drill! “I really wanted to participate in that, but I wouldn’t be able to if I were to get discharged.”

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Most people would have been glad to miss the difficult training, but amazingly, he looked forward to it instead. It’s even more incredible because he was willing to extend his days in the military for it, but that’s Minho for you!

Hear more about Minho’s experiences in the military in the full video below.