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.
This is going to be a really big defense upgrade for the ROK Army once these new Apache helicopters are fielded:
The latest-version AH-64 Apache attack helicopters destined for South Korea have been unveiled months before the start of deliveries, the country’s arms procurement agency said Tuesday.
Boeing held a rollout ceremony for the AH-64E Apache Guardian in Mesa, Arizona, on Monday (local time), attended by representatives from South Korea’s Army and the Defense Acquisition Procurement Administration (DAPA).
The choppers will be first delivered to the U.S. Army for test flights and transferred to South Korea beginning in the first half of next year, according to DAPA officials.
The DAPA signed a US$1.6 billion contract with the U.S. in a Foreign Military Sales program in 2013 to buy 36 AH-64Es, an upgraded model of the AH-64D Longbow. [Korea Times]
Gen. Jang Jun-gyu (R), the new Army Chief of Staff, receives a flag of the Army as a symbol of his authority to command from Defense Minister Han Min-koo during an inauguration ceremony at Gyeryongdae, South Korea’s main military compound in the city of Gyeryong, central South Korea, on Sept. 17, 2015. (Yonhap)
A South Korean Army multiple-launch rocket system fires during a live-firing exercise at a valley in Cherwon near the country’s central border with North Korea on Sept. 17, 2015. (Yonhap)
A terrible accident involving two ROK Army servicemembers recently happened in Daegu:
One Army sergeant was killed and two recruits were wounded Friday when a hand grenade exploded during a training session in this southern city, military officials said.
The accident took place at 11:13 a.m. at a drill camp of the South Korean Army in Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province, some 300 kilometers southeast of the capital city.
The explosion killed a 27-year-old instructor, Kim. He was rushed to a hospital but was later pronounced dead there at 12:53 p.m.
It also blew off the right hand of a 20-year-old recruit, surnamed Sohn, who was holding the grenade and injured 27-year-old recruit Park, who was waiting for his turn outside the trench, sources said.
The moment the military instructor ordered the trainee to “fling” his grenade, it went off, they added.
The military is investigating the exact cause of the explosion, including the possibility of defects or a mistake in handling the grenade. [Yonhap]
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