ROK Military Announces Program to Ease Enlistment of Recruits from Multicultural Backgrounds
It looks like the ROK military is adjusting its recruitment standards in order to meet manpower needs with a shrinking population:
The South Korean military plans to introduce an adjustment program next year for service members from a multicultural background who face difficulties communicating in Korean, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday, as concerns mount over linguistic barriers and uneven support across units.
Under the new plan, recruits may voluntarily indicate their Korean-language communication ability when completing personal information forms for their physical examination. Those who feel their proficiency is insufficient will be eligible to join the program, which will consist of one week of adjustment training followed by five weeks of basic training. The additional week will also count toward mandatory service time.
The program, which is currently available four times a year to overseas permanent residents who voluntarily enlist, will be expanded to include soldiers with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds beginning next year. Training will cover Korean-language practice, repeated instruction in daily and military expressions, etiquette education, unit-level communication drills, military-life simulations and base facility tours.
You can read more at the link.
