Lee Joon-young announces July 21 military enlistment in handwritten letter to fans

Lee Joon-young will enlist on July 21. He broke the news himself in a handwritten letter posted to fans, timed to drop right after episode 6 of his current drama Rookie Executive Kang Hoe-jang aired.

"I thought it would be better to tell you directly rather than through an article, so I'm leaving this message," he wrote in the opening.

This was no quick note. "I've been thinking about it for months, and I'm already on my 10th revision," he admitted. Before the date came through, the whole thing felt straightforward—just a formality. But once he had the confirmed date, something shifted. "Once I received the date, I found myself thinking a lot after a long time," he wrote. Figuring out how to tell fans first became its own source of stress. Writing the letter word by word, he said, made his heart feel a little lighter.

He closed with a promise to "go healthily and in my own way." He asked fans to stay healthy and spend meaningful, happy time in their own lives until he's back. Then came the sign-off: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year X 2." Given a July enlistment, it reads as a rough timeline hint for his return—and a very him way to end a letter.