Korean Army

8/10/2019 Korean Army

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The Republic of Korea Armed Forces(Korean:;Hanja:;Revised

Romanization:Daehanminguk Gukgun), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are thearmed

forcesofSouth Korea.Created in 1948, following thedivision of Korea,the Republic of Korea Armed

Forces is one of the largest standingarmed forcesin the world with a reported personnel strength of

3,539,000 in 2012 (639,000 active and 2,900,000 reserve).[1]The ROK military forces are

responsible for maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the republic, but often engage

inhumanitariananddisaster-reliefefforts nationwide. More recently the ROK military began

increasing its participation in international affairs, acknowledging its role and responsibility as the

fifteenth economic power in the world in terms of GDP. The ROK military has participated in various

peacekeeping operations, and counter-terrorism operations.

History

The South Korean armed forces were largelyconstabularyforces until the outbreak of theKorean

War.It was heavily damaged byNorth KoreanandChineseattacks and in the beginning relied

almost entirely on American support for weapons, ammunition and technology. During South Korea's

period of rapid growth, the military expanded accordingly, benefiting from several government-

sponsored technology transfer projects and indigenous defense capability

initiatives.Modernizationefforts for the ROK military have been in place since the 1980s. The

GlobalSecurity.org website states that "in 1990 South Korean industries provided about 70 percent

of the weapons, ammunition, communications and other types of equipment, vehicles, clothing, and

other supplies needed by the military."

Today, the South Korean armed forces enjoy a good mix of avant-garde as well asolderconventional weapons.South Korea has one of the highest defense budgets in the

world,ranking 12th globallyin 2011, with a budget of more than $30 billionU.S. dollars.Its

capabilities include many sophisticated American and European weapon systems, complemented by

a growing and increasingly more advanced indigenous defense manufacturing sector. For example,

by taking advantage of the strong local shipbuilding industry, the ROK Navy has embarked on a

rigorous modernization plan with ambitions to become ablue-water navyby 2020.[6]South Korea has

a joint military partnership with the United States, termed the ROK-U.S. Alliance,[7]as outlined by

theMutual Defense Treatysigned after the Korean War. During the outbreak of theVietnam War,

ROK Army and the ROK Marines were among those fighting alongside South Vietnam and the

United States. More recently, South Korea also takes part in regional as well as pan-Pacific national

military wargames and exercises such asRIMPACandRSOI.Among other components of the

armed forces is theDefence Security Command,originally the Army Counter-Intelligence Corps,

which had a major role in monitoring the military's loyalty during the period of military rule in South

Korea.
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Hazingand harassment have reportedly been a continuous problem in all branches of the ROK

military. In 2005, a ROK Army soldier who said he had been abused shot and killed eight of his

fellow soldiers. In 2008, a soldier threw a grenade at other sleeping soldiers, injuring five. In 2011, a

ROK Marine who had been abused killed four of his comrades onGanghwa Island.Eighty-two

military personnel committed suicide in 2010. From 2009-2010, 940 ROK Marines were hospitalizedafter being abused.[8]

Structure

The ROK Armed Forces consists of the:

ROK Army(Korean:;Hanja:: Daehanminguk Yukgun)

ROK Navy(Korean:;Hanja:;Daehanminguk Haegun)

ROK Marine Corps(Korean:;Hanja:;DaehanmingukHaebyeongdae)

ROK Air Force(Korean:;Hanja:; Daehanminguk Gonggun)

In addition, reserve elements consist of the:

ROK Reserve Forces(Korean:;Hanja:; Daehanminguk

Yebigun)

ROK Civil Defense Corps(Korean:;Hanja:

; Daehanminguk Minbangwidae)

National Command Authority

ThePresidentis the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ex officio. The military authority runs

from the President to the Minister of Defense, who is commonly (but not legally bound to be) a

retired 4-star General (equivalent to a British Army/Commonwealth full General or a Royal

Navy/Commonwealth Admiral of the Fleet).

TheChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,a 4-star General or Admiral, is the Senior Officer of the

Armed Forces and has the Operational Authority over the Armed Forces, with directions from the

President through the Minister of Defense. Traditionally (with one exception), the position is filled by

an officer of the Army. The chain of Operational Authority runs straight from the Chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Commandants of the several Operational Commands. Currently there are

five Operational Commands in the Army, two in the Navy (including the Marine Corps) and one in

the Air Force.

The respective Chiefs of Staff of each Service Branch (Army, Navy, Air Force) has administrative

control over his or her own service. Each Chief of Staff is also a standing member of the Joint Chiefs

of Staff.
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Joint Chiefs of Staff

Main article:Joint Chiefs of Staff (Republic of Korea)

The Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters (Hangul: , Hanja:

) is a group of Chiefs from each major branch of the armed services in the

Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Unlike the United States, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

has operational control over all military personnel of the armed forces.

All regular members are 4-star Generals or Admirals, although the Deputy Chairman sometimes has

only 3 stars.

Service branchesROK Army

The ROK Army (ROKA)the sixth largest army in the worldis by far the largest of the military

branches, with 506,000 personnel as of 2012. This comes as a response to both the mountainousterrain native to theKorean Peninsula(70% mountainous) as well as the heavy North Korean

presence, with its 1 million strong army, two-thirds of which is permanently garrisoned in the frontline

near theDMZ.The current administration has initiated a program of self-defense, whereby South

Korea would be able to fully counter the North Korean threat with purely domestic means within the

next two decades.[when?]

The ROK Army was formerly organized into three armies: the First Army (FROKA), Third Army

(TROKA) and Second Operational Command each with its own headquarters, corps(not Second

Operational Command), and divisions. The Third Army was responsible for the defense of the capital

as well as the western section of the DMZ. The First Army was responsible for the defense of the

eastern section of the DMZ whereas the Second Operational Command formed the rearguard.

Under a restructuring plan aimed at reducing redundancy, the First and Third Armies will be

incorporated into the newly formed First Operations Command, whereas the Second ROK Army has

been converted into the Second Operational Command. The army consists of the Army

Headquarters, the Aviation Command, and the Special Warfare Command, with 7 corps, 39

divisions, some 520,000 troops and estimated as many as 5,850 tanks and armored vehicles,

11,337 artillery systems, 7,032 missile defense systems and 13,000 infantry support systems.[6]

The army will take the brunt of the personnel reduction part of the Defense Reform 2020. Associatedwith this personnel reduction would be a significant reduction in the ROK Army force structure, in

particular decreasing the current force of 47 divisions (active duty and reserve) down to a force of

about 24 divisions.[9]
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ROK Navy

The ROK Navy (ROKN) is the armed forces branch responsible for conducting naval operations and

amphibious landing operations.[10]As a part of its mission, the ROK Navy has engaged in

severalpeacekeeping operationssince the turn of the century.[11]The ROK Navy includes the

Republic of Korea Navy Headquarters, Republic of Korea Fleet, Naval Logistics Command, Naval

Education and Training Command, Naval Academy, andRepublic of Korea Marine Corps,which is a

quasi-autonomous organization. The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer

(four-star admiral) of the ROK Navy.

In 1995, AdmiralAn Pyongtae,the 20th Chief of Naval Operations, presented the vision of building a

"blue ocean navy"for the future of the ROK Navy in his inaugural address.[12]In 2001, then

PresidentKim Dae-jungannounced a plan for building up a Strategic Mobile Fleet.[13]As a part of

"Defense Reform 2020," which was proposed by theRoh Moo-hyunAdministration, the ROK Navy is

required to reform the organizations underCommander-in-ChiefRepublic of Korea Fleet

(CINCROKFLT) by upgrading a submarine operations command (to fleet submarine force), a naval

aviation operations command (to fleet air arm), and by establishing some Mobile Flotillas.[14]The

ROK Navy aims to become ablue-water navyby 2020.[15]

In the first decade of the 21st century, the ROK Navy launched the lead ships of newly developed

types: in 2002, ROKSChungmugong Yi Sunshin(DDH 975), a 4,500-ton destroyer, was launched; in

2005, the 14,000-ton amphibious landing ship,ROKS Dokdo(LPH 6111) was launched; in 2006, the

ROK Navy launched the Sohn Won-yil(SS 072), an 1,800-tonType 214 submarinewith Air-

Independent propulsion (AIP) system. In 2007, the ROK Navy launched the lead ship (DDG 991) of

theKing Sejong the Greatclassdestroyer, built around theAegis combat systemand theSPY-1Dmulti-function phased array radar. The ROK Navy is undertaking several shipbuilding

projects:Korean Destroyer Experimental (KDX) program,Frigate Experimental (FFX), Landing

Platform Experimental (LPX),Patrol Killer Experimental (PKX),andKorean Submarine (KSS)

program.

The ROK Navy hosted its second international fleet review off coast of Busan in October 2008.

ROK Marine Corps

Although the National Armed Forces Organisation Act stipulates that the ROK Navy includes

theRepublic of Korea Marine Corps,the ROKMC is a semi-autonomous organization that carries out

much of its functions independently.[16]During theKorean War,the ROKMC earned their nickname as

"" (English: Ghost-Catching Marines).[17]

The motto of the ROK Marine Corps is "" (Once a marine, always a marine).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacekeepinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacekeepinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacekeepinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_Pyongtae&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_Pyongtae&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_Pyongtae&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dae-junghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dae-junghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dae-junghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roh_Moo-hyunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roh_Moo-hyunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roh_Moo-hyunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chiefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chiefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chiefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_class_landing_platform_experimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_class_landing_platform_experimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_class_landing_platform_experimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_class_landing_platform_experimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_214_submarinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_214_submarinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_214_submarinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Sejong_the_Great_class_destroyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Sejong_the_Great_class_destroyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Sejong_the_Great_class_destroyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Sejong_the_Great_class_destroyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_combat_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_combat_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_combat_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1_radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1_radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1_radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1_radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Destroyer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Destroyer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Destroyer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Killer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Killer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Killer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Attack_Submarine_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Attack_Submarine_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Attack_Submarine_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Attack_Submarine_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-16http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Attack_Submarine_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Attack_Submarine_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_Killer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Destroyer_eXperimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1_radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/SPY-1_radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_combat_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Sejong_the_Great_class_destroyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_214_submarinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokdo_class_landing_platform_experimentalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-14http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chiefhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roh_Moo-hyunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Dae-junghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-water_navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_Pyongtae&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Marine_Corpshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacekeepinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-10


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ROK Air Force

The ROK Air Force (ROKAF) maintains a modern air force in order to defend itself from various

modes of threats, including theNorth Korean Army.The ROK Air Force fields some 450combat

aircraftof American design. In contrast, the North Korean Army has roughly 650 combat aircraft, but

mostly obsolete types ofSovietandChineseorigin.

Korea began a program for the development of indigenous jet trainers beginning in 1997. This

project eventually culminated in theKAI T-50,dubbed the "Golden Eagle" which is used as a trainer

for jet pilots, now being exported to Indonesia. A multirole all-weather version of the T-50 is the

modifiedFA-50,which can be externally fitted withRafael's Sky Shield or LIG Nex1's ALQ-200K

ECM pods,SniperorLITENING targeting pods,and Condor 2 reconnaissance pods to further

improve the fighter's electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and targeting capabilities.[18][19]Other

improved weapon systems over FA-50 includeSPICEmultifunctional guidance kits,[20]TextronCBU-

97/105 Sensor Fuzed WeaponwithWCMDtail kits,JDAM,andJDAM-ERfor more comprehensive

air-to-ground operations, andAIM-120missiles forBVRair-to-air operations.[21]FA-50 has provisions

for, but does not yet integrate,PythonandDerbymissiles, also produced by Rafael, and other anti-

ship missiles, stand-off weapons, and sensors to be domestically developed by Korea.[22][23][24]

The Republic of Korea Air Force also expressed interests in acquiring theRQ-4 Global

HawkandJoint Direct Attack Munitionkits to further improve their intelligence and offensive

capabilities.

The replacement programs for theF-4D/EandF-5A/B/E/Fare theKTX-2andF-X,respectively. The

latter has been fulfilled by the BoeingF-15K.[25]

The South Korean government also announced its plan to develop indigenous helicopter

manufacturing capacities to replace the agingUH-1helicopters, many of which had seen service

during theVietnam War.The program originally included plans for the development of both a civilian

and a military helicopter. This was later revised and gave priority to the utility helicopter program.

Based on the success and experience of the civilian KMH (Korean Multi-purpose Helicopter) the

attack helicopter, which would share a common configuration, will be developed.

Personnel

Military serviceis mentioned as one of the Four Constitutional Duties (along with taxes, education,

and labor) for all citizens. The current effective Conscription Law, however, applies only to males

although women can volunteer as officers or non-commissioned officers. Military service varies

according to branch: 21 months for theArmyandMarine Corps,23 months for theNavy,24 months

for theAir Forceandcivil service.The other professional civil service is from 26 months to 36

months. Korea has a bonus point system (Hangul:;hanja:;RR:gungasanjeom)

which gives a person who completed military service bonus points when applying for a job.[26]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_People%27s_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_People%27s_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_People%27s_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Advanced_Defense_Systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Advanced_Defense_Systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Advanced_Defense_Systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_Sniper_XRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_Sniper_XRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_Sniper_XRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LITENING_targeting_podhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LITENING_targeting_podhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LITENING_targeting_podhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_(munition)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_(munition)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weaponhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weaponhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weaponhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weaponhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Corrected_Munitions_Dispenserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Corrected_Munitions_Dispenserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Corrected_Munitions_Dispenserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAM#JDAM_Extended_Rangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAM#JDAM_Extended_Rangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAM#JDAM_Extended_Rangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-120http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-120http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-120http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BVRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BVRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BVRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-FA-50-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-FA-50-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-FA-50-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(missile)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(missile)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(missile)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Derbyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Derbyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Derbyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTX-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTX-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTX-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Force#Current_projects.23F-X_fighter_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Force#Current_projects.23F-X_fighter_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Force#Current_projects.23F-X_fighter_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-15Khttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-15Khttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-1_Iroquoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-1_Iroquoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-1_Iroquoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKMChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKMChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKMChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Forcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Forcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Forcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanjahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanjahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanjahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Romanization_of_Koreanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Romanization_of_Koreanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Romanization_of_Koreanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-extra-26http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-extra-26http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-extra-26http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-extra-26http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Romanization_of_Koreanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanjahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Forcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Navyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROKMChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UH-1_Iroquoishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-25http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-15Khttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Air_Force#Current_projects.23F-X_fighter_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTX-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQ-4_Global_Hawkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-22http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Derbyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(missile)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-FA-50-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BVRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM-120http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAM#JDAM_Extended_Rangehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDAMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Corrected_Munitions_Dispenserhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weaponhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weaponhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_(munition)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Korea_Armed_Forces#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LITENING_targeting_podhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_Sniper_XRhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Advanced_Defense_Systemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAI_T-50_Golden_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_People%27s_Army


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Recently, however, there has been significant pressure from the public demanding either a

shortening of the term or a switch to voluntary military service.

In the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, ranks fall into one of four categories: commissioned officer,

warrant officer, non-commissioned officer, and enlisted, in decreasing order of authority.

Commissioned officer ranks are further subdivided into "Janggwan" orgeneral officers,"Yeonggwan"

orfield gradeofficers, and "Wigwan" orcompany officers.The "Wonsu" is appointed from the

"Daejang" who has distinguished achievements. However, there has been no one holding the rank

of "Wonsu" in the history of the ROK Armed Forces. All branches share a common rank-system, with

different colors used to denote the different branches (Army: Green & Black, Navy: White & Black,

Marine Corps: Red & Yellow, Air Force: Green & Blue)

http://en.wikipedia.org/

Military Service Series: Part I - Mechanics of Military Service in KoreaDear Korean,

What is it like in the Korean Army? At what point after these two years could they call you to

actually have to shoot and fight people?

Nicky

Dear Korean,

I came across virtually no first-hand literature on the effects of the mandatory military enlistment

of South Korean men once they reach a certain age. However, from what I've gleaned, it is

nonetheless a truly transformative event. It is also a subject that I hesitate somewhat to breach

with contacts. What do they go through in the military? What happens after? How are they

different? Do they end up as messed up as some sociological literature implies?

Me

Dear Korean,

I'm a U.S. citizen and I recently just found out that all Korean Men citizen have to serve at least 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_officershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_officershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_officershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_gradehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_gradehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_gradehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_officerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_officerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_officerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_officerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_gradehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_officers


7/15

years of military service, or they get imprisoned or banned from Korea. What would happen if a

U.S. citizen immigrated to South Korea and became a citizen? Would they have to do military

service?

A Teen

Dear questioners,

Full Disclosure: the Korean never served in the Korean military. He left the country before the

eligible draft age, so he does not have to. This qualifies the Korean as a draft dodger in the eyes of a

number of Koreans. Talking about Korean military as a draft dodger is a tricky business, because a

lot of emotions on the part of Korean men ride on the military service. If you are a type of person

who watches NASCAR only for the slight chance of a spectacular crash, this may be the post for you.

The Korean already wrote a bit aboutthe military experience in Korea here.Of course, the takeaway

from that post is this picture...

... which gives an idea of what Korean military experience is like. (That pose is called Wonsan pok-

gyeok, which translates to "bombing of Wonsan." Wonsan is a port city in North Korea. This

punishment is applied liberally for various causes, such as being slow in marching, losing a soccer

game, or overcooking sarge's ramen.)
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2006/12/youre-not-man-until-you-survived.htmlhttp://askakorean.blogspot.com/2006/12/youre-not-man-until-you-survived.htmlhttp://askakorean.blogspot.com/2006/12/youre-not-man-until-you-survived.htmlhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cFyLOWdXMQk/ScADaqzzlXI/AAAAAAAAAeA/qlEhU38bY40/s1600-h/412dcb09ebbb0.jpghttp://askakorean.blogspot.com/2006/12/youre-not-man-until-you-survived.html


8/15

Military draft in Korea takes a long time to explain, so the Korean will have a three part series. Part I

will describe the mechanics of actually serving in the Korean military as a draftee. Part II will

describe the life of Korean soldiers in the military. Part III will describe the impact of military service

in Korean society.

The Mechanics of Serving in the Korean Military

This is the fact that is the most important in understanding how Koreans approach their military

duty: Korea is still technically at war against North Korea. The Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not

a peace treaty. Therefore, the military administration in Korea operates on the assumption that there

will be another war in the scale of Korean War, which killed several million soldiers and civilians.

One can say the military practice in Korea begins in high school, where there is a separate class for

military drills, like Physical Education for example. However, military drills class has become less

and less war-related in the recent years, getting to the extent that it now focuses more on emergency

response than actual drills.

That aside, all Korean men between the age of 18 and 35 must serve a mandatory military duty. [-

EDIT 8/16/2011- As of January 1, 2011, the upper limit for draft eligibility was raised to 37 years of

age.] The length of the duty depends on where you go and what you do, but it used to be generally

between 2.5 to 3 years. A new plan recently introduced would gradually shorten the length down to

1.5 years by 2014. Generally, Korean men elect to report for duty at the end of their second year in

college, such that they may return to finish two years of the college. Usually you can defer enlistment

as long as you are in school, up to age 24.

The question of where you go and what you do clearly is the most important one. Obviously

military involves fighting on the frontline and Korea has a long frontline against North Korea. To

determine the assignment, all Korean men over the age of 18 must report to the local draft board to

have a physical examination. The examination categorizes men into seven levels, and people below

Level 5 do not have to serve in active duty.

Achieving Level 5 and below is fairly difficult; you really have to have some severe injury, such as a


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torn ACL, missing index finger, serious mental illness etc., to qualify. However, there are certain

non-health related issues that would disqualify one from serving, generally described as people who

would create disharmony in the unit. Interestingly, another group that falls into this category is

people who have excessive tattoos, becausetattoos are generally considered a sign for a gang

membership.

Another group of people who are considered liable to create disharmony in the unit is non-ethnic

Koreans or mixed heritage Koreans. Therefore, to answer A Teens question, no, naturalized Korean

citizen would not have to serve. The Korean heard someone claim that naturalized Korean citizen

may volunteer to serve, but he had not seen a policy that actually supports that claim.

Levels 1 through 4 must report for an active duty, which means they all go through 5 weeks of basic

training. After the basic training, they are assigned to various posts throughout Korea. The Korean

will list them from toughest to softest.

Instead of working as a plain soldier, draftees have the option of volunteering for tougher

assignments such as the marines, paratroopers, Special Forces, military police, etc. Even after being

discharged, these men tend to carry themselves with a lot of pride. (Read: wont shut up about it.)

Then there is a regular infantry, most common in number. Part II of this series will describe their

experience in greater detail.

But military is not just about going out to fight. Certain types of alternative service options, such as

working as a part of the police force or the firefighting outfit, are also available. Also available are

relatively less grueling positions, such as chaplain, judge advocate general, medics, interpreters, and

assistant professors at the military academies. Obviously, a professional license is usually a

prerequisite in getting such positions, which means some Korean men opt not to enlist in the middle

of their college life and choose instead to study for the medical school, for example. There is even a

semi-professional military team that plays as a part of sports leagues so that star athletes may

continue playing during their service.

Probably the softest positions are the defense industry positions, in which eligible males would

work for companies that contribute to the national defense for the length of the service. The process
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of being qualified for these positions because it is perhaps the least physically grueling military

experience is somewhat shady. The companies that appear to be unlikely to contribute to the

defense industry, such as KIS Pricing (a company that evaluates bond prices) or NHN, Inc. (holding

company for Naver, Koreas equivalent of Google), are allocated slots for the defense industry

positions. Hiring for those positions are equally shady, as those positions are usually filled with the

children of the wealthy and powerful.

Equally soft is the Public Service Agents positions, usually reserved for Level 4 people those who

qualify for active duty, but just barely. If you live in Korea, these guys are the men in green uniform

working at a subway station or a local government office. Public Service Agents essentially work as a

government clerk, and are subject to much ridicule by most other Korean men.

A bit of an anomaly is KATUSA, i.e. Korean Augmentation To U.S. Army. Draftees may volunteer for

KATUSA if they score high on an English exam. Because there are usually more qualified applicants

than available slots, there is a lottery process after the exam. As the name implies, KATUSA draftees

serve their duty at USFK bases. KATUSA is also considered somewhat soft because you are allowed

to go home at night and do not report on the weekends.

Of course, in addition to the draftees, there are career military men who enter the military academy

or stay on after their mandatory service as a non-commissioned officer. ROTC is also a popular

option, since you can enlist as an officer for your service.

After serving in active duty, Korean men are considered to be serving in an inactive duty. For eight

years after the end of service, Korean men are supposed to report for a mandatory training up to 100

hours a year. In case of a war, Korean men in the 8-year period are drafted to fight. Also in case of a

war, all Korean men between ages 18 and 45 are drafted for labor mobilization.

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MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE, THE

BEGINNING BASIC TRAINING AT KOREA ARMY

TRAINING CENTERTHE FIRST DAY October 15, 2012

The day they show up on that nondescript field in Nonsan Korea Army Training Center is unforgettable to

many Korean men. Every Monday on that field, you can see hundreds of moms (and a smaller crowd of

girlfriends) crying, friends waving hands, as some fifteen hundred guys mostly of age 19-21

reluctantly walk toward the field and awkwardly salute toward the crowd to report the beggining of their

mandatory military service. Lets just say this 21-month disappearance from civilization is not something

most Korean men look forward to. You can almost see a degree of devastation and fear from their

gloomy, discouraged faces.

Im not sure if I felt anything particular while all of that was happening on the day I showed up there (Oct

15, 2012). As far as I know, by that time, I had already done the hardest thingsmaking the decision to do

the military service (dual citizens technically have a choice not to do it), quitting my job half a year earlier

than I wanted, giving up all the cool post-McKinsey things I could have done, selling the car Id driven for

half a decade, and leaving >95% of my friends on the other side of the ocean. It seemed to me that, with

all the tough choices behind me, all I had to do was simply going forward. I even had a rosy expectation

on how much I would grow as a person from the experience of being deprived of the benefits of modern

civilization and being given a beneath-human treatment(best translation I could attempt) in hindsight,

having no idea how mentally draining that could actually be. Thats how my life as a Korean solider

began.

BOOTCAMP LIFE

Most Korean men beginning their service in the army go through a 6-week program at Nonsan Korea

Army Training Center, consisting of basic skills trainings such as rifle shooting, grenade throwing, gas

mask test, individual combat training, 20-mile march, etc. We wake up at 0600, do lots of moving around

(roll-call, morning exercise, waiting for our turn for breakfast, etc. Quite inefficient from a private sector

point of view) until 0800, take classes until 1700, do some more of semi-productive activities until 1945

and go to bed by 2000.

In Nonsan, my life was completely turned upside down and inside out. Instead of el pastor tacos, lamb

vindaloo and occasional steaks, I was eating standard ROK (Republic of Korea) military meals, budgeted

for $1.95 per meal and containing 1-2 pieces of protein-material (doesnt necessarily mean meat, e.g.


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anchovis, tofu) every three meals or so. I remember becoming a Starwood junkie by my second year at

McKinsey and getting disappointed if I didnt get upgradedto a suite when checking in at a hotel. In

Nonsan, 13 of us used a room smaller than a standard hotel room. At night, we unfolded our beaten-up,

military-color mattresses, one inch thick and slightly wider than our shoulder width, and slept crammed

next to one another. Instead of having two phones, listening to music all the time and having the internetat my fingertip at all times, I had no phone, no music, no internet, not even access to a TV or

newspapers. We couldnt lie down except when sleeping or practicing prone position for rifle shooting,

and were not allowed to ever cross legs.

THE POWER OF SWEETS

All these depreviations were completely bearable conceptually, or even when applied individually. But

when all of them are forced upon us simultaneously, they add up. The toughest of all, surprisingly,

was the lack of sweets. ROK standard meals contain very little sugar, so all of us soon began to crave

anything sweet. There is a famous Korean snack called Choco Pietwo patties of chocolate-covered

bread sandwiching a layer of marshmallow. Many Korean TV shows comically describe ROK

soldiers doing anything to get this particular snack, and until this October, I had thought I would never go

that low. Im not going to dwell on the details of what I did, but here are some of the things the members

of my platoon (may or may not include myself) did: doing someone elses Entrance Control Duty shift

(waking up in the middle of the night for 1.5 hours) for 2 Choco Pies, sewing others name tags onto their

uniforms for 4 Choco Pies, being baptised in Christianity, Catholicism, and Buddhism in a span of three

weeks and even donating blood for four additional Choco Pies (literally selling blood and soul for a few

pieces of snacks).

When your body endures such a continued state of deprivation from all the conveniences modern

civilization offers, you get to feelNOT think conceptuallya couple things. First, that you are one lucky

bastard if deprived is the word you would use to describe this life. Over time, from the conversations

with plattoon buddies and non-commissioned officers, you realize that not everyone came from a

background where it is normal to have a smart phone, a Spotify account, healthy well-balanced meals

three times a day, and the ability to buy any sweets they want anytime. To feel that this environment was

even close to deprived was a sign that I was lucky enough to be born into a happy, stable (financially

and otherwise) family.

HAPPINESS FROM THE SMALLEST THINGS

The second result of a continued state of deprivation is that you learn to feel happy from the smallest

things. Our brains get used to oversensitization. Thats how normal people turn into athletes (by being

less sensitive to pain over time) and why people keep looking for stronger drugs. I think its the same with


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happiness. The more great things you keep having in your life, the more you get used to happinessand

you need even greater things to feel happy.

Unfortunately, I had been a victim of this phenomenon. Four years at Stanford defined my happiness

scale (which makes being happy again absolutely hopeless), and having the jobs I was genuinely excitedabout didnt help either. As a result, I could count with half of my left hand the times that I felt genuinely

happy durnig the two years since graduation, even though I had so many things to be grateful aboutfrom

the awesome new friends in DC, Houston and at McKinsey to occasional international trips that involved

lions, surfing, and Machu Picchu. All for a single stupid reason: I didnt feel as happy as I was at Stanford.

I would tell myself, I washappy with ALL areas of my life (friends, work, intellectual stimulation, sports,

etc, etc), but I just have an exciting project right now. Meh.

Looking back, few words could describe how spectacularly stupid I had been. The single most valuable

gift Ive gotten from the military experience so far is that thedeprived life at the Nonsan bootcamp

completely re-booted my happiness-measuring system and helped me feel happiness from the smallest

things. You would think Im a stupid 7-year old, but the happiness from a bite of Choco Pie after 7 days of

waiting is indescribableI could practically feel the taste of chocolate triggerring a chain of nerve

cells firing up all the way to my brain and releasing whatever that happiness hormone is called

(dophamine I think?). I felt happy if I got to cross my legs secretly when the light went off in an auditorium.

I felt happy if I got to sit down for 10 minutes after walking with a 20kg backpack for 40 minutes. I felt

happy if I got to sleep 7 hours uninterrupted without any EC duty shift (we had two shifts every three

nights, on average). I even felt happy if we got to see the world outside the training center. In other words,

all the things I had taken for grantedthe things so normal and everyday that I would never have

considered as candidates for inducing happinessmade me happy. Its a pity that I could learn this only

by physical suffering. Looking back, I was a madman for not being the happiest man on earth when I was

working at the NEC and McKinsey.

GOONDAE-RIA (MilDonalds?)

Speaking of things to eat, one fun factoid. The most popular item on the standard ROK meal menu was

hamburgers. After a famous Korean hamburger franchise called Lotteria, we called it Goondae-ria

(Goondae means military), so a forced translation would be something akin to MilDonalds. It is, by all

objective standard in the non-military world, the most abject piece of food you could imagine: they give

you two sets of hamburger bread and one patty. The patty is made of unspecifiable meat or meat-like

protein material, and has no taste by itself. It comes with a tiny plastic container with sauce. If you apply

the chicken sauce, then the meat becomes chicken. If you apply the beef sauce, the meat becomes

beef. If youre lucky you get a piece of cheese, but mostly its just the meat and a few pieces of


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shredded lettuce. The second set of hamburger bread (we got two sets) was to be consumed with a bit of

strawberry jam that came out of a giant steel can (not jar).

No one in their right mind would choose to eat this outside the military. Nonetheless, we looked forward to

the weekends in anticipation of this Goondae-ria and cheered when wesaw them at the cafeteriaanother evidence illustrating how easily our standard can adapt to the external environment.

CULTURE OF STRIVING TO BE AVERAGE

One of the most powerful cultural shock to me at the training center was the places culture of striving to

be average. The overwhelming majoritys mindset was not only to avoid poor performance, but

interestingly, also to avoid good performance. When training instructors gave trainees a chore,

e.g. organizing supplies, the trainees didnt want to be punished for messing it up, but also didnt want to

be considered too good at it because they knew that would only ensure more of such task in the future.

Having only experienced the culture of striving the best one could be, I didnt quite understand such a

mindset. I had heard many people telling me dont mess up, but also dont do too good a job, but

thought there would certainly be benefits to giving my best to whatever I do. And thats how I lived for the

first three weeks.

But soon, I realized why the oft-cited phrase being in the middle is the best when in the Korean military

was a timeless truth. I was a platoon leader trainee so the instructors gave me lots of chores to do, from

cleaning the hallways to organizing supplies, etc. I gave my best to every single one of those tasks, but

soon, I realized why it was a broken system bound to create the average culture. Better performance

was not only not awarded in any way, but led to more unawarded work. The impact of this broken

incentive system was significant enough to eventually change the attitude of someone who used to think

along the lines of if youre going to do it anyway, why not give it your best? It was a powerful illustration

of how critical the design of incentives is in motivating people in an organization, no matter how self-

motivating those people might be.

40KM ROAD MARCHTHE LAST CHALLENGE

The training program culminates in the 5th week with a series of its most challenging activities in a spanof three or four days. For us, individual combat training, encampment, and 40km march were scheduled

back to back on Week 5. By the time we began our 40km march, we could almost feel the end of our

bootcamp life within our grasp.

The thing about the march is that it is less about managing your physical self than about managing

your mental self. Because we get to rest every 50 minutes, physical challenge of walking with a ~23kg


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backpack (consisting of things such as emergency shovel, food container, blanket, etc) is not too severe

as long as you can make your mental self not dwell on how much time is left until the next rest. The giant

Nonsan field that we walk all over is fairly nondescript, so the view ceases to provide enough visual

stimuli after an hour or so.

For me, the mental haven of choice and endless source of distraction was the memories of all the great

times I had with the amazing people I was fortunate to get to know. While I was making that 40km trip

across Nonsan field with my company, in my head, I was on journeys of my ownfrom the Roble 2B

hallway where we played everything from hallway soccer to couch jousting (exactly what it sounds like),

to the rainy rugby field where, well beyond our exhaustion point, we picked each other up during

inhumanely ruthless trainings, to the offices in EEOB where we interns happily burned the midnight oil

without any pay because we knew what we were doing mattered. The small, everyday things I didnt even

think I would rememberpushups my team did in our team room to get blood pumping before a long night

of work, the taste of whiskey my roommate and I took when we decided we both had too many pages tomake sober, etcpopped up here and there throughout my journey and made me smile.

By the time my company made our way back to the base, my mental meandering also arrived at a couple

concluding thoughts: That if ones asset is sized by the amount of incredible, amazing, fun memories with

people that require the same adjectives, Id be a pretty darn rich man despite $90/month salary as a ROK

soldier. And that I should be very, very grateful about it. When life is busy, dictated by deadlines and run

by blackberry calendars, it is difficult to appreciate how much of ones life is simply a product of the

people who are, were, or have been around him. But that realization becomes a little easier with an 8-

hour meditation walking with few other stimuli, and Im thankful about it.

THE END

On November 21, 2012, we officially finished the basic training program, and left for our assigned bases

on November 23, 2012. I was assigned to the ROK-US Combined Forces Command in Seoul, which is

the command center for all US and ROK forces present on the peninsula during wartime (peacetime

operation control is with ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff).

Looking back, it is difficult to think of five weeks more eventful than the ones in Nonsan. During these five

weeks, I went from a Spotify-addicted civilian to a rifle-shooting, grenade-throwing Private Second

Class, experienced more exotic chores than I could have imageind (includ ing manually sorting trash,

which included toilet paper from toilets), made friends with people 5-7 years younger than I am, and most

of all, learned more about myself than I thought was possible in such a short time. Im not sure if Id

choose to do it again, but it was certainly five weeks well-spent that I should be grateful for.

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Korean Army