Mandatory Service Debate Continues
The Korea Times is reporting on the debate currently going on throughout Korea about the mandatory service obligation. Below is a picture of female college students training in Changwon that was included with the article. Does anyone know why the females are conducting military training?
I just asked one of my former students — an active duty ROK Army infantry major — that I taught while working for the ROK Army as a civilian instructor who, exactly, these gals are. He told me that these are Korean college students on their summer break who've signed up for the ROK Army's four-day "adventure training" through their university. This type of training takes place at various bases across the nation every summer at the beginning of their school break (the spring semester just ended last week).
Apparently, the purpose of this kind of training is to introduce civilian college students who have no prior service or current military obligation and are interested in the military or who just want to experience something different, to the army lifestyle.
This is not ROTC (ROK Army ROTC is all-male), it's not boot camp and it's not a reserve drill. Its just college kids, mostly women — some of whom are genuinely interested in joining the army — experiencing what its like to be in the army for a weekend.
According to my friend, the ROK major, during their four days of what he described as "ranger training" they do it all: PT, road marches, the "O" course, BCT, weapons familiarization, BRM, eating ROK MREs and an overnite bivouac.
Incidentally, every summer around the end of June and early July, the ROK Army conducts similar service-wide "Ranger Training" (their term for it) for one full week in field units across the nation.
ROK "Ranger Training" though, is really a misnomer, b/c if you look at it, it's the same as our BCT (basic combat training) with a lot of PT and remedial individual combat skill training thrown in for good measure.
Of course, in U.S. Army parlance, "ranger training" denotes small unit patrolling and light infantry tactical training.
In the picture, you'll see that the coed doing bayonet drills with the M-16A1 rifle has the Korean word, "Choong-Hyo" written on her helmet, which literally means "Loyalty and Filial piety."
Basically, it's the universal axiom for the Korean spirit — it goes back to the chosun dynasty — and can be translated as "Always be a loyal subject and a Filial Son/Daughter."
In the neo-confucian/Korean sense, it epitomizes the twin responsibilities and minimum obligation of every Korean "subject": Loyalty to the state, and loyalty to one's forebearers, or parents.
So, by having trainees stencil it on their helmets, which is common in ROK basic training too, they can have that concept indelibly attached to their heads, so as to always remind themselves of the purpose of National Defense and their National Service.
I think Sunday's little rampage up their in Yeonchon though, proves that this little concept — which may have been viable and readily accepted (as well as understood) by previous generations (like my father's) — has been, for the most part, lost upon the current young generation.
(IMHO, I think the ROK Army needs a more relevant vision and mission statement that's in keeping with the times that could inspire the younger better — or at least — more convincingly.)