Culture 2

[Logan Motyka]

Something I've encountered during my dive into Korean culture is their conscription policy. I've heard about countries requiring men to serve in the military but I did not realize that in many Asian countries, it is still a requirement. Conscription in South Korea has been around since 1957 and it requires  men who are aged 18 to 35 to perform at least 2 years of military service. although there are times when people get exempt from it;  typically anyone who is a male living in Korea would have to go through this process. An interesting note is that women are not required to serve, but they are allowed to if they want to voluntarily. One very interesting point to this is that even men who hold dual  Citizenship technically have to serve, which is why it is typical of younger Korean males to revoke their dual citizenship between the ages of 18 to 35 in order to avoid having to serve. A particular group of people, athletes typically who have either won  or have been runner-up in the Olympics or any type of Asian games are exempted from duty, but if they lose they typically still have to serve. When I first learned this I thought it was extremely harsh and I didn't really understand the purpose of it, although the more I read about it I started to understand the roots and ties behind these ideas. There is obvious concern between North Korea and South Korea so for National Security it makes complete sense for South Korea to support conscription. In addition to its value in keeping the country safe, There are also cultural values that are developed and moral values that are developed in these training years, even if you do not go to war you still learn a lot about life and about the culture of your country by serving. These are solid points that need to be taken into consideration when judging this requirement. To an American, it is very foreign to us in the current times to have a conscription of sorts but taking a step back and thinking about it from a different perspective allows you to understand why Korean conscriptions have been in effect for such a long time. Learning about this deepened my respect for military service, especially for international students who come to the United States after they serve their country. While there is support for conscription there are also a lot of people advocating for reforms and requesting changes within the system. The debate is so complex and it is an ongoing topic with in government and citizen relationships. I've enjoyed reading and learning about South Korean conscription because it deepens my understanding of the culture along with my understanding of Korean citizens. In my opinion, I definitely would agree to end the requirement although I am in support of keeping a strong defense, so even though I don't think it is moral to force people to serve I also understand where the concern and rationale is coming from behind these policies.

[Denisse Caguana]

I knew that that serving in the military was mandatory for the men but I did not really know much of the reasonings behind this conscription policy. I know someone in Richmond who had served in the korean military before going back to university so it is interesting to see the age gap that Amy had talked about.

[Amy Jeon]

Because of the military requirement, I also remember the age gaps being a lot bigger amongst my classmates when I studied abroad at Yonsei. It’s so much more common in Asian countries to have these time gaps when in America, it’s rare to see such a long time gap in resumes.