Wee Sung-ho (R), president of the Korea National Defense University (KNDU), and Frederick Padilla, president of the National Defense University of the U.S., shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on Feb. 24, 2016, for academic exchanges between their institutions. The agreement covers exchanges of teaching staff and students, conducting joint studies and sharing of research findings. (Photo courtesy of KNDU) (Yonhap)
Condolences to the friends and families of these ROK soldiers killed in this helicopter crash. Judging by the below picture it looks like it crashed right outside the wall of the military base:
A South Korean military helicopter crashed in an eastern province on Monday, killing three of the four soldiers on board, officials said.
The helicopter went down in a farming field in the city of Chuncheon in the eastern province of Gangwon during a checkout flight, defense and army officials said.
The officials said that all four soldiers aboard the helicopter were initially rescued after the crash, but that three of them died while being treated in hospitals.
They said no casualties on the ground have been reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation. [Washington Post via a reader tip]
I never had the chance to see the K-2 cross a river before, but having this capability is needed in South Korea with its many deep rivers:
A South Korean K-2 “Black Panther” tank sports an unusual-looking piece of equipment in this YouTube video. The tank, crossing a 13 foot deep river during a military exercise, is using a so-called fording kit to allow it to drive across the river bottom.
Bridges are often destroyed in wartime, and the pace of operations may mean only a limited number of portable bridges may be available. The solution to a potentially deadly traffic bottleneck: unlike many military vehicles, tanks are usually waterproof and their tracks still work underwater-so why not drive them underwater? (………….)
Modern fording kits typically consist of a single smokestack-like pipe that connects to the tank commander’s hatch. This allows the tank commander to sit at the top, where he can keep an eye on the tank’s progress. The stack also serves as an escape hatch for the crew in case of emergencies. [Popular Mechanics]
A group of shirtless soldiers affiliated with an Army unit under the Special Warfare Command sing a martial song in unison after entering a reservoir by breaking the ice on its surface in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, on Jan. 21, 2016. The day is known as “daehan,” one of the 24 seasonal divisions of the lunar calendar that marks the arrival of the coldest day of the year. The exercise in cold water, part of the unit’s tactical drill tailored for the winter’s severe cold period, is aimed to build the soldiers’ resistance to cold weather. (Yonhap)
A group of soldiers practice ballet exercises during a class taught by Kang Sue-jin, chief of the Korean National Ballet, at the Seoul Arts Center on Dec. 17, 2015, as the ballet group opens voluntary ballet lessons to soldiers, who are serving at general outposts in heavily fortified front-line regions facing North Korea. Since July this year, the group has provided those soldiers with the service, so that they could relieve stress arising from their duty and gain psychological stability. (Yonhap)
I remember a few KATUSA soldiers over the years who lived the majority of their lives in the US, but still went and did their mandatory service to the ROK Army to keep their Korean citizenship. I always had a lot of respect for those who did this unlike some of the Korean males that try to get dual citizenship to get out of their mandatory service requirement:
Michael Cho and his mother.
In May 2011, Michael Cho’s phone rang while he waited for an elevator in his freshman dorm. His mother was calling to tell him his conscription letter had arrived — from the South Korean Department of Defense.
Cho, a Georgetown University student born in South Korea, was raised in Sydney, Australia. But South Korean Conscription Law requires males between 20 and 30 to serve for a minimum of 21 months to maintain citizenship.
So, in the fall, Cho went to South Korea, jumping right into the regimented, rigorous drills and daily life of a South Korean soldier.
After a grueling five-week boot camp, Cho’s commanders selected him to patrol the DMZ — a dangerous demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea. Every soldier routinely took shifts patrolling the border. [USA Today]
You can read the rest and see a video at the link.
South Korean and U.S. soldiers set up a floating bridge during a river crossing operation as part of a joint military exercise on Dec. 10, 2015, in Yeoncheon, just south of the inter-Korean border, on Dec. 10, 2015. It was the last day of the exercise by the two allies that began on Dec. 1. (Yonhap)
I had to roll my eyes when the article describes a two hour drive as a “tough journey”:
K-Pop Group Red Velvet is popular with ROK Soldiers.
It was a tough journey. It took more than two hours for the eight-member girl group to reach the destination. The road was not well-paved, and some sections were full of twists and turns. Their performance was not broadcast on TV, and the girl group was also paid a lot less for the gig compared with other performances hosted by private event organizers.
To put it simply, it was one of the least attractive jobs out there for entertainment groups, but 9Muses could not turn down the offer.
“Many people think of 9Muses as guntongnyeong, and they have been much loved by soldiers for a long period of time,” a person who works for Star Empire Entertainment said. “Thus, we try not to say no when we get offers from the military.
“In addition, popularity among young soldiers helps expand their fandom among music fans in their 20s.”
Guntongnyeong is a compound word made up of the Korean word gun, which means military, and daetongnyeong, which means president.
The neologism is often used when describing girl groups that are popular among members of the military.
And the title of guntongnyeong is much coveted among girl groups because “popularity within the military is often used to measure one’s popularity,” according to another industry insider.
Because of this, many girl groups take time to perform at military bases, which are usually located in remote areas of the country.
Recently, the JoongAng Ilbo wanted to identify which girl group among all-female acts were the No. 1 choice among soldiers. The newspaper ran a survey of 466 soldiers who were on their way back to their posts after taking leave.
It turned out that the eight-member girl group AOA received the most number of votes among survey responses. The respondents who voted for AOA included soldiers of various ranks. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link, but you would think they would make more effort to appeal to US soldiers as well in an effort to make their image look more international.
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