In this cultural post, I wanted to talk about the Korean military culture. Recently, I watched a Korean movie called “6/45” which is about a collaborative work between the South Korean and North Korean soldiers. The movie started off with the two groups fighting over a lottery ticket. The solution was to trade off one of their soldiers to create trust that each group would not betray one another while a South Korean soldier retrieved the money.
During this process of trade off, significant differences were highlighted. The challenges that each military faces are vastly different. In North Korea, the difficulty came from the harsh activities, such as breaking rocks with their heads. The dark side in South Korea was that soldiers in higher positions would mentally attack those below them. But in South Korea, the food and living environments were a lot better. So, when the soldiers traded off, they were uniquely good at their duties. At the end, it was not about the money, but the new friendships they made whether they were South or North Koreans.
In the current media, we are able to see a lot of shows that portray the North Koreans and their environment. It is clear that South Koreans hold negative attitudes toward North Koreans. However, these shows have been attracting attention. I believe that it is because they are always aware of the North Koreans, curious about them, and criticizing their lives.
To get in more depth with the Korean military culture, I believe it represents individualism, loyalty, respect, male dominance, leadership, and the social hierarchy. As a male in South Korea, it is mandatory to go to the military before turning 28 for 18 months. During my time abroad, I have met many friends who are currently serving in the military or are soon to be in the military. Although it is mandatory, I was able to perceive their willingness and pride in going to the military. For instance, some friends still decided to go to the military to achieve dual citizenship when they had the option to drop their Korean citizenship. Another friend was wanting to go to the most crucial department to earn greater respect from others. Even in the movie, there is a scene where a soldier explains why he dropped his foreign citizenship to become a true Korean. He claimed to be loyal to his country and to act as a leader to ensure the country's safety. The military culture shows the social hierarchy as former soldiers continue to greet with respect to those who held higher positions even outside of the military.
The treatment of soldiers is one of the things that I believe is unjust in this military culture. A show that represents this crucial and inappropriate culture is called “D.P.” Here, a lot of soldiers try to escape the military due to the emotional abuse they get. Although the military environment is getting a lot better, it would be ideal if this psychological abuse by the upper positions would tone down.
Comments
Like David says, choosing to serve or not seems like a big internal conflict. For one, if I were born and raised in Korea, I'd have done it without hesitation, as it seems Korean society is built around such participation. No company would question the 2 year gap, and the delayed social clock would be the standard. However, because I was born and raised in the States, it'd put people like me at such a disadvantage, especially if we wanted to remain in the States afterwards.
As a male having United States and South Korea dual citizenship, I am still struggling to find the right answer to serve or not. I know it is a good job and experience but soldiers in South Korea has low respect. There is a famous phrase, "Don't go if you have a chance or opportunity." I hope South Korea soldiers will be treated better as much as U.S. soldiers in the future.
I also thought that the Korean military system was very interesting. Soon my younger brother has to go to the military in order to keep his dual citizenship and he is having a lot of thoughts of whether he should drop his Korean citizenship. Watching him makes me be very thankful girls are not forced to serve in the military.
It was super interesting to learn about the differences between South and North Korean military cultures as well as similarities. I also think that the loyalty shown by the dual citizens who complete services to maintain their citizenship is admirable and not something that you see as much in the U.S.