#WelcomeBackCHEN trends as EXO’s CHEN is officially discharged from military duties

As of April 25, 2022, EXO’s CHEN has been officially discharged from his duties as an active soldier in the South Korean military. The idol enlisted in military service on October 26, 2020. After years of waiting, fans took to Twitter to wish him a warm welcome to his regular citizen life.

K-pop fans trended #WelcomeBackCHEN and #HelloAgainCHEN to express their happiness towards the talented singer returning to normal life.

A few months ago, in January this year, the 29-year-old and his wife welcomed their second child, making headlines across the media. Now, fans can’t stop gushing over the new avatar of the idol.

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EXO’s CHEN was officially discharged from the military in April 2022

On Twitter, #HelloAgainCHEN ranked number four in only a couple of hours on the most tweeted hashtag worldwide chart. The 549.9k tweets at the time of writing are proof of the enthusiasm and support EXO’s CHEN is receiving from the K-pop fandom.

CHEN, aka Kim Jong-Dae, is a singer and songwriter of one of the legendary K-pop groups EXO. The 29-year-old enlisted in the military on October 26, 2020, and was officially discharged from his services on April 25, 2022. With the discharge, CHEN has become the fourth member of EXO to have completed his duties as a soldier after Xiumin, Suho, and D.O.

After announcing the enlistment date, fans began counting down the days when the idol would return. They filled social media with warm messages for him and nostalgic moments as the date finally arrived. Both hashtags are filled with fanarts, clips from past concerts, and variety show content.

Fans also used the phrase 'OUR VOCAL KING IS BACK' and shared videos of his live performances.

When EXO's CHEN broke the news of his marriage and announced his non-celebrity wife’s pregnancy on January 13, 2020, most of the fandom sent him wishes, but he was also subjected to criticism. EXO’s CHEN welcomed his first child, a daughter, on April 29 of the same year.

In November last year, the idol’s wife was expecting their second child. They then welcomed their second child in January this year. Fans worldwide trended his name in November once again to celebrate the news of him being a father for the second time.

With EXO’s CHEN finally returning to his idol life, fans wish him all the time to spend with his family and return to the stage with the members. Meanwhile, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are currently still serving their military duties.