Author: GIKorea

The South Korean military is facing suicide problems just like the U.S. military, but is focusing on bullying as the reason. I don’t support bullying in the military, but I think it has more to do with today’s youth being poorly conditioned both physically and mentally prior to entering military service. A lot of youth in South Korea do not conduct much physical activity, are on their phones all day, and playing video games. They are conscripted into the military where phones and video games are not as freely available and are doing exhausting physical activity which they are not used to. I think this all plays into why Soldiers may commit suicide especially when they are forced to be there:

Kim Gi-cheol remembers his son’s determination to fulfill his military duty as a South Korean citizen, despite having the opportunity to secure an exemption by acquiring foreign nationality.

Having spent an extended period abroad, his son was relatively unfamiliar with the Korean language and culture. Nevertheless, Kim never imagined that his son, who was proud to serve his home country, would be dead just three months after enlisting.

In November 2022, while stationed at a general post in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province near the inter-Korean border, Pvt. Kim took his own life.

The military and the police concluded the case as a suicide, presenting the rifle he used and testimony from his colleagues as evidence.

As the investigation unfolded, Kim’s father learned that his son had faced “systemic” bullying from his colleagues and military officers, and that he had trouble adjusting to military life. Pvt. Kim was reportedly pushed to the brink, forced to take on guard duties without adequate training amid an escalating security situation following North Korea’s consecutive missile launches.

“If someone is pondering changing their nationality, I implore them to do so without a second thought,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “Why should we subject our children to the military of the Republic of Korea, which has fallen into such a dismal state?”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but does anyone else have any theories on why ROK military servicemembers commit suicide?

This is actually a pretty good article to read about skills the 10 armistice nations brought to assist USFK during the recently concluded UFS exercise. However, I think a gender advisor is probably not as useful as some of the other skills provided by participating nations:

British Royal Air Force Cpl. Sion Owen (left), New Zealand Royal Air Force Flt Lt. Natacha Baugen (center) and Australian Army Maj. Lyndsay Freeman speak during an interview on Aug. 30 at the headquarters of the UN Command located within Camp Humphreys, the US base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. (Korea Herald/ Pool Photo)

South Korea and the US, concluded on Thursday. UFS is primarily designed to enhance the combined defense posture and readiness of the allies by simulating real-life scenarios that reflect the increasing missile and nuclear threats posed by North Korea and other diverse threats within the security environment.

During the Korean War, there were 16 Sending States — countries that fought alongside the US-led UN Command and shed blood with South Korea — and six other countries that provided vital medical assistance, including medical personnel and essential medications. Among them, 17 countries have remained as UN Command member states.

Among the member states, 10 countries — Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand and the US — dispatched augmentees from their respective countries to participate in UFS. Augmentees are military personnel dispatched from home and assigned to a unit to participate in UFS.

The 10 member states — each of which deployed soldiers during the Korean War — sent individuals from diverse backgrounds and experts representing various fields, including law and gender equality. They were all united by the common mission of contributing to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. (….)

Australian Army Maj. Lyndsay Freeman also made significant contributions as an operational gender adviser, pioneering this vital role first introduced during UFS.

Freeman’s primary focus was to ensure that military actions underwent a meticulous assessment to prevent any unintended adverse effects on women and the broader civilian population on the ground — a perspective that might not always be immediately apparent to military leadership during the formulation of strategies and operational plans.

“So my job is to unpack the second-and third-order effects on the entire population.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

The fish of the East Sea continue to remain under attack by the North Koreans:

North Korea fired several cruise missiles Saturday into the Yellow Sea, just days after it shot off a pair of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in a show of anger against U.S.-South Korea joint military drills.

The missiles were fired from about 4 a.m. and the launch is being analyzed by US and South Korean intelligence agencies, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement to reporters. Pyongyang had threatened punishment for U.S. and South Korean military drills, which ran for 11 days until the end of August. 

North Korea on Aug. 30 test-fired two suspected short-range ballistic missiles for simulated nuclear strikes, saying it wouldn’t bow down to threats after the U.S. sent a B-1B strategic bomber to airspace off the peninsula for joint drills. After that missile launch, South Korea and U.S. mobilized about 30 aircraft including F-35 stealth fighters for exercises that including air-to-ground live-fire training.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Aircraft noise has returned to Kunsan Airbase:

Military flights at Kunsan Air Base resumed Thursday following a five-month reconstruction of the installation’s 9,000-foot runway.

The $22 million project began in April and required the 8th Fighter Wing’s roughly 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons to temporarily relocate 75 miles north to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek city, according to a news release from the wing on Thursday.

Kunsan’s F-16s returned to their home base Wednesday after the flightline was checked for debris the previous day by the wing and the South Korean air force’s 38th Fighter Group.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It appears some snowflakes in Seoul were scared of a few ROK Army helicopters flying by:

Republic of Korea Army Apache attack helicopters fly over Seoul, Monday, during a tactical flight training exercise.

Military aircraft spotted in the skies above Seoul recently have left residents confused and scared, with some mistaking the roaring sounds of fighter jets for a North Korean invasion.

The South Korean Army’s Apache attack helicopters conducted a tactical flight training exercise over central Seoul, including the areas near City Hall and Seoul Station, Monday morning. 

“The helicopters were so loud and they flew quite near the office buildings. My colleagues and I got a little nervous,” said an office worker surnamed Yoo, 32, who works in central Seoul. 

Although he received a notice from the Seoul Metropolitan Government about the training in advance, he did not expect the helicopters to fly so close to his office.  

“I received the text alert around 9 a.m., which read that a flyover will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. across Seoul. This is too vague, I think they should have given some detailed information,” Yoo said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The massive protests by Korean teachers has less to do with the recent teacher suicides and more to do with wanting to get the child abuse law changed. None of the teacher suicides has been linked to the child abuse law, but the activists are creating the impression the law caused the suicide to get it changed:

On Saturday, around 200,000 teachers from around the country gathered in Seoul’s Yeouido near the National Assembly to commemorate the recent deaths of teachers and to call for the better protection of their rights.

It is very rare for teachers to stage such a large rally on their own without the involvement of labor unions.

The Education Ministry maintains that any teacher taking a leave of absence to join the collective action will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law and principles. 

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho on Sunday asked for teachers to refrain from taking a leave of absence to attend the planned mass rally while pledging to take measures to enhance their rights and authority in the classroom.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but what is going on is that a change in the child abuse law caused any teacher accused of abuse to be suspended. This allowed parents that maybe do not like a teacher to claim abuse of their child to get the teacher suspended until cleared of the abuse allegations. Some of these suspension have lasted an entire year. This has caused teachers to not inflict discipline in classrooms because of fears of being accused of child abuse.

I hope the Russians bring along a tugboat to help the North Korean ships keep up:

Kim Kyou-hyun (C, back), chief of the National Intelligence Service, attends a plenary session of the intelligence committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sept. 4, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Russia proposed conducting three-way naval exercises with North Korea and China when Moscow’s defense minister held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in late July, South Korea’s intelligence agency was quoted as saying Monday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the proposal when he held a one-on-one meeting with the North’s leader, National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou-hyun said during a close-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party.

Shoigu visited the North from July 25-27.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.