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]
First of all you have to be stupid to believe you are being drafted into the military based on a random text message that pops up on your phone. With that said the prankster deserves whatever punishment the authorities give him:
South Korean police vowed Sunday to sternly take action against the spread of groundless draft rumors amid escalating tensions between the two Koreas.
The move came after a series of false conscription text messages and rumors were massively circulated after the North fired artillery across the border last Thursday.
A 23-year-old college student surnamed Kim was arrested Thursday for spreading massive draft texts. The message said “discharged men aged between 21 and 33 will be drafted once the war is imminent,” adding that all should check their designated military camp’s website on the ministry’s homepage once the war declaration is confirmed. The message was sent under the name of the Defense Ministry.
Kim reportedly claimed that it was a prank. [Korea Herald]
A group of Army soldiers attends a ceremony in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, north of Seoul, on Aug. 4, 2015, to have a patch of the Korean national flag, or Taegeukgi, attached to their uniforms. The Defense Ministry has instructed the Army to attach the flag to the uniforms of all military soldiers starting this month as part of efforts to raise their patriotism and mark the 70th anniversary on Aug. 15 of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonization. (Yonhap)
Hopefully these ROK soldiers legs are able to be saved:
Two soldiers were seriously wounded in what is believed to be a landmine explosion in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone, the military said Tuesday.
The explosion took place on the southern side of the DMZ in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, at 7:40 a.m. while the two Army staff sergeants carried out a search mission there, according to the military.
The explosion nearly severed the soldiers’ legs and they were rushed to a military hospital, the military said, adding that they are not in critical condition.
“There’s not the possibility of North Korea’s involvement,” a military official said. Possibly a landmine is the cause of the explosion, he noted. [Korea Times]
