Idols assemble: Rare group photo of enlisted Korean stars takes over the internet

Forget a K-pop awards show — this might just be the most star-studded group photo on the internet right now.

The recent wave of Korean pop idols and actors going for their military enlistments have brought about an unlikely reunion of familiar faces in an unlikely place.

An Instagram post shared on Oct 5 by Ikon's DK shows eight men posing together in striking military uniforms.

While it may look like an ordinary group shot at first glance, fans quickly realised just how celebrity-packed the gathering was.

The photo features former NU'EST member Baekho, 31; Monsta X's I.M, actor Kim Young-dae and actor-singer Rowoon, all 30; as well as DK, Seventeen's Woozi, Kang Daniel and actor Song Geon-hee, all 29.

The stars were gathered for the 2026 Ground Forces Festival, an Army-led military festival held annually in Gyeryong. This year's edition was held from Oct 1 to 5, featuring military demonstrations, exhibitions and performances.

Actor Lee Jun-young, who was from the boy group U-Kiss, was also spotted at the festival.

Fans had plenty to cheer about as the celebrities joined their fellow soldiers for group dance performances to familiar K-pop hits, including songs from their own groups, giving the festival an unexpected feel of a K-pop reunion.

Woozi was seen dancing to Seventeen's 2023 hit Super alongside Daniel, I.M, Baekho and fellow servicemen.

Meanwhile, Ikon's Love Scenario (2018) and Rhythm Ta (2015) also featured in the group dance performances, while Monsta X's Love Killa (2020) was another familiar hit to cheer along to.

Naturally, the performances had fans buzzing online, comparing it to a popular K-pop year-end awards show.

One netizen wrote: "The number of familiar faces in this military batch is unreal. It's giving us a whole Gayo Daejeon reunion."

"It's going to be awesome - the 2026 Ground Forces Festival had a whole bus full of handsome third-generation idols, who will be performing together on the same stage," wrote another netizen in Indonesian.

The stars also appeared to be making the most of the festival away from the stage, with several clips of themselves dancing to popular songs making its way online.

Daniel, who was in Wanna One, shared a video of himself dancing to the group's Energetic (2017) alongside 10 other soldiers, leaving fans nostalgic.

Other clips shared by the enlisted stars showed different groups of them dancing along to familiar hits including Genie (2009) by Girls' Generation, Baby (2010) by Justin Bieber and Bad (2026) by Ateez.

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Seventeen's Hoshi was also reportedly scheduled to perform at the festival as part of the military's taekwondo demonstration team, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while rehearsing for the performance last month.

He announced that he would be undergoing surgery and would therefore be unable to participate in his previously scheduled activities with the team, including the festival.

Despite his absence, Hoshi was still remembered with the team sharing a group photo from the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with Hoshi's image edited into the picture.

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