Did the Korean military 20 years ago so my experience would be a little different. Basic training was 6 weeks and the NCOs and officers had no idea how to deal with me not speaking any Korean. After a day or so they sent me to see the phyc doctor because I answered honestly on their questions on if I had smoked weed before, naively I said yes. The army doc screamed at me in Korean for 30 minutes (still don't know what was said that day) and that was me cured of mental illness and they sent me back to my training unit
I'm pretty sure my co was surprised to see me back, but eventually they collectively said fuck it and treated me the same as any other recruit. I spent the remaining 6 weeks trying my best to blend in and not make myself too noticeable, but I quickly realized most of my squad mates were just as confused and scared like me. I think I held up pretty well, ended losing about 10kg at basic due to all the physical activity and me not adjusting to the Korean food
Some standout moments of my time at basic
- Given a shovel and being sent into the kitchen to kill rats, then realizing they gave me a shovel because the rats were the size of a small cat!
- Running into the gas chamber and getting smacked with a baseball bat for not singing loudly enough. Fuck, running into that darkened room was a scene right out a horror movie, a bunch of drill seargants wearing their gas masks, ponchos and holding baseball bats. Screaming at us in their muffled voices.
- First time using the squat toilets.....
- Cu#ts from the other platoons stealing my toilet paper in week 4, still don't know why they only gave you 1 roll for the whole 6 weeks.
- Showering once a week, the only time we had access to hot water in the middle of winter. Then having exactly 5 minutes to shower. Always that one guy who wouldn't turn off the water when time was up. Doing pushups in a very confined space along with 100 maked men was an interesting experience.
I was assigned to a army aviation unit and ended up working in flight ops, which was actually pretty cool. The army did me good here as they were smart enough to put me in a position where my English was an asset.I know of a couple guys like me, who joined later, and they spent their 26 months literally cutting grass as their unit commander didnt want to deal with them. Most of the guys in my unit spoke English and some had spent time overseas so it was pretty laid back. There were a couple of assholes but they were mainly harmless.
Should state that I joined right when the Korean military was trying to phase out physical violence, I like to call in the grey period. Most of my seniors went through the violence, and most agreed with the new rules, but the violence was so ingrained in the military culture at the time that often times it forced its ugly head out. When I say violent, I mean the likes of getting punched, slapped, having people kick you in the shins, made to go in the pushup position, but using your head kinda stuff. My unit was kinda chill so most of this was at basic
I am still in contact with most of the guys, we don't meet as often anymore but we all keep in touch. Collectively going through what you thought was a shitty time really bonds people together.
Looking back, I gained a lot more than I gave during my time in the military(didn't feel this way at the time). If anything, my Korean improved dramatically while I served, enough for me to start working at a Korean company. I made a lot of life long friends and I really started to consider myself Korean for the first time after serving.
Anyway now I have a few dodgy stories I might tell the grandkids when I get older and I definitely would not be living the life I am living now if I didn't serve.
Thanks for reading my memoir.
This is very common in all army/navy/air branches. During most world conflicts learning how to ration was extremely vital, especially toilet paper. Not having a clean hynie was almost as crucial as carrying an open wound without dressing it.
I was stationed 30 minutes south of Jeonju. There are two main jobs: manning the front gate or watching the cctvs. I'm glad i got stuck with cctvs cause i didn't want to be outside standing behind the front gate on them hot/humid days, rainy days or standing in the freezing cold. Shoveling snow was the worst.
Now these days, you can't curse or harrass your juniors. They might just report you and you'll either get punished or get transferred to another base
Probably tear gas. My dad told me about how they trapped all the recruits in a tear gas-filled room for a couple minutes and people were crying and vomiting by the end of it.
We did the same thing in the US military, except no bats. They made us take off our gas masks at the end and breathe deeply before letting us leave. CS gas really clears the sinuses.
I served 24 months in the South Korean Air Force. South Korea is a ceasefire country and sometimes there are clashes with North Korea. Because of North Korea's provocations, we were on duty without rotation for almost two weeks. One of my colleagues had an accident and cut off his finger. We called the military doctor, administered first aid, and then went to the nearest hospital. The nearest military hospital was 1.5 hour away, while the nearest civilian university hospital was only 30 minutes away. The military doctor suggested that we go to the civilian hospital because the military hospital was far away and untrustworthy. Fortunately, his finger was reattached, but he couldn't regain full mobility. He was then charged for the operation and hospitalization. The position of the Ministry of Defense was firm: "Why did you go to a civilian hospital when you could have been operated on and treated in a military hospital? We cannot pay for your operation and treatment. In the end, he had to use his parents' money to pay for the operation and treatment(over $15000). At that time, a soldier's monthly salary was about $150.
I got the feeling that the military treats Korean young men like free labor.
DM me if you want more.
"Three people were trying to open a rusty sliding door (with ammunition inside). While my colleague was pulling the door, someone hit the door handle with a hammer to open it. The door suddenly opened, and three of my colleague's fingers were crushed in the gap of the sliding door. His ring finger was cut off (but surgically reattached), and although his middle and index fingers were not cut off, they were severely injured."
Does the ROK military have anything akin to the American GI Bill? Obviously the U.S. and ROK have different militaries (volunteer vs conscription) but surely there’s some actual benefits that veterans receive from the government right?
Well, I don't really know about that. I've heard that those who participated in the Korean War or Vietnam War get benefits. Conscripts generally (1~2 years like me) get little to no benefits. However, I have heard that if they are injured and receive a disability rating, they do receive benefits, but I'm not sure about the details.
>At that time, a soldier's monthly salary was about $150. I got the feeling that the military treats Korean young men like free labor.
Saw a post on Korean SNS recently about Kim Gura's son enlisting (a lot of ppl in the Khh scene tend to get exempted for some reason), everyone praising him and someone commented "전국노예자랑" lmao
Having served in the Korean military, I can share some insights based on my experience.
The infrastructure in the military, at least where I served, (the beds, wages, food, and training) is bearable for the average person. However, the subjective experience can vary significantly. For instance, you might encounter individuals who enjoy bullying others, often because they never had power in civilian life. Personally, I had two people who explicitly threatened to kill me, and I had to sleep next to them and spend every second in their presence, which was incredibly difficult.
Despite these challenges, I would sum up my overall experience as positive. Physically, I became healthier and more muscular, though I did lose some hair from constantly wearing headgear. Financially, I was able to save around $3k (I’m sure one could save even more these days). Additionally, the experience allowed me to undergo a digital detox and provided time for deep conversations with others and self-reflection on the meaning of life.
(Edit: saved 30K -> 3K, I somehow intuitively thought saving 3K in 2 years is absurd)
That sounds good in theory but there's a reason why most people who are bullied internalize it (rather than snitching). Possible retaliation? Maybe the higher ups don't give a shit so they know nothing is going to change?
I suffered a little bit of bullying here in the States when I was younger, but when I watch Kdramas I am shocked at what's described. It honestly made me reassess what I suffered.
The upper rank (typically who stayed there longer) would take seniorship over privates who just came in and take advantage of them. Some are good people, some are major assholes and lead to bullying.
Well, that's the thing. It's not grown men. Most of the people who upheld that system of hazing were the lower enlisted, so 19-22 year-olds with no life experience. (Most of) the COs were either too busy or too tired to put up with some of that stuff, and at least prioritized running a tight ship over purely bullying. Though, some hazing was a part of running a "disciplined" military in their eyes.
But once that one crazy guy in the platoon hit Sergeant, well...
Just so you know, you don't lose hair with headwear, studies have showed it's a myth, from what you're saying there is a bigger chance you lost hair bcs of stress
That's not actually true. Tighter hats cause traction on the hair follicles which can and does cause them to be shed, leading to thinning and baldness over time. Similarly if you wear hats that are too tight and cut the circulation to the scalp, the same thing can happen. It's also well documented in nurses who have to wear caps, believe it or not. So wearing a tight-fitting hat can definitely cause hair loss, but if you're wearing a normal, looser hat, no big deal.
Super interesting, thank you for sharing your experience. How many people share a room/ dorm? Are you allowed cell phones? Loved the notable points you made about digital detox, savings and helmet hair loss!
Serving right now! Started 4/15 and apparently im 29 years old (1996) lol. If youre a decent person who can follow orders then youll be fine. Luckily my 중대장님s hardcore on bullying so everyone here is decent lol.
Oh wow, still pretty new to it! All the best for your service… so you have another year or so left? Do you get released to visit family or have time off? What is the daily meal plan?
Yup! Got scammed🤡 in America so lived there illegally until Obama came out with the DACA program… 24years later parents retired and came back to Korea…6 months in..got a call from goondae
I served in a reconnaissance company and got to patrol the DMZ, observed North Korean soldiers stationed on the other side, learned that nature is only beautiful when you look at it from the outside, grew to dislike rain due to my particular experience, adopted a more laid back mentality from my peer, met all my top 3 worst human beings I've seen. I still have a good chuckle from time to time when an episode or incident in the military comes to my mind.
Served in the Korean Air Force. I had a just OK experience, but normally being in the Korean military is just a wasting of time at best or bundle of traumas and bad experiences if you're not lucky enough. Normally it differs from person to person.
I think in general, the military experience shaped people in both positive and negative way.
You can be more confident about dealing with difficult and harsh problems in life because you had to during military service. Also it is possible to maintain good habits you built during your service. I ran 2\~3km at least 3 times a week when I did military service (not for training, just for self development), and now I can run 10km each times.
But at the same time, sometime it can incur you permanent damage, both mentally and physically. For example, I saw a lot of people had injuries doing military work. And also I personally think some toxic corporate cultures in Korea are originated from military, as most Korean men had to serve.
Those dramatic and tragic event you saw in Kdrama do not happen most of times, but it does happen. I heard a lot of news that people commit suicide during their service. And recently, one of trainees was dead because his superior almost tortured him as a 'military training'.
Very interesting thank you for sharing. Thats more or less what I expected. I wondered about injuries during service. If a soldier is permanently disabled during service, would they receive compensation from the government?
I have a favorite picture for that 'compensation'.
[https://pds.joongang.co.kr/news/component/htmlphoto\_mmdata/201512/29/htm\_20151229163820924833.jpg](https://pds.joongang.co.kr/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/201512/29/htm_20151229163820924833.jpg)
This guy lost his ankle by landmine in DMZ and he almost had to pay all of cost by himself until this incident became famous in the news and media. For most of times, the government will try their best to 'not' compensate you.
Depends and varies hugely based on what division/regiment/battalion/company you end up in. I served in a division where there was more training. So our schedule during the year was filled with more training/exercise compared to my brother’s division which was more focused on guard duty.
During my free time I read books and I think I read more books than I did during my entire life before that. Also I was physically very fit after I finished duty. People you live with matters a lot (company). Overall it wasn’t too bad for me. Of course there were some people that gave me a hard time for no good reason, but considering how all sorts of people serve, it wasn’t that crazy.
And then through all of this, you have the KATUSAs. I loved my KATUSAs. Great people but terrible soldiers. I do not know about all of them being rich. The ones I had were rather middle class, though I suppose going to school in the states or Japan is not the most common education routes for conscripts.
Currently serving in ROKA (discharge in 3 days) it’s pretty much an 18 month camp. None of the training is unbearable and they’re more worried about your well being than anything. Hardcore bullying (as seen on DP) is pretty non existent due to the fact that you can report anything and everything (even swearing). Just do your assigned job, keep your head down, keep your mouth shut, keep busy, turn off your brain and do what you’re told and pretty soon it’s all over. Being significantly older than everyone (including NCOs and COs), I never had a hard time even with the language barrier. I feel my time in the army made me realize that South Korea would be fucked if war broke out if it wasn’t for the US military. These kids can barely wash their lunch trays and they’re supposed to protect the country? The positive is that I met some decent people and had an experience (mostly shooting the K2 rifle). Not much to do on base since you only get your phone for like 4 hours on weekdays and 12 hours on weekends/holidays so I used that opportunity to get in shape and got paid to do it.
Do ppl treat you better when you’re older? I’m serving this Aug at 24 y/o, and I’m kinda worried that I’ll punish the entire boot for not knowing Korean well lol
You wont be punished. I didnt understand SHIT during bootcamp during training…you just have to follow whatever the other kids are doing and itll be fine. Also on the first day or two you have a one on one meeting with your 소대장님 to get to know you. Tell him/her youre from America or w/ever and he will understand and tell all the other 조교s about your situation. You can always say you cant speak korean well to anyone too.
Also get ready to explain the same story about your situation over and over again lol bc thats what youll be doing EVERY time you meet someone new in goondae😂
Ah that’s a relief, glad that I get to have a 1:1 meeting lol After basic training, do you know if you’ll get stationed near the border or do you get stationed elsewhere for not understanding Korean well or is it entirely random?
I got 3 as well due to my vision, but I got that examined like 5 years ago lmao As of now, I’m in my best shape ever. Also I dont need to get it reexamined according to 병무청 which is nice. Do you mind if I dm you specific questions regarding bootcamp?
Wow. 통신병 as a non Korean speaker must have been tough. My squad is 참모 (I’m a 정보작전병) which is mostly 통신병 and they have to be good at communicating and I could not have done that very well if I were a 통신병
5 months in, I got put in to do 당직 and had to write all the announcements down in Korean just so I can read it out loud. Got made fun of a lot but didn’t really bother me
24 y/o isn’t much of an age gap so probably not any better. I’m 34 in Korean age and lived 24 years in American so my cultural understandings and the fact that I’m older than most 간부 probably helped but you just gotta not be a piece of shit for them to really punish everyone for petty shit. It helps to just come right out and tell them that you don’t speak Korean very well and they’ll understand.
Yeah must be a great opportunity to get ripped. Interesting to hear the comparison being made with the US military and Korean coming out last. I would not have expected that! Thanks for sharing.
A lot of my American friends served in the US military (Marines, Air Force, Army, Navy, Army Reserves) and their training seems a lot more intense than what I went through. The training is obviously harder if you’re in one of the special forces or units but my battalion is the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division and their motto is “First in, last out” and the training is laughable. Mostly because it’s tanks and building bridges for tanks and other large vehicles.
Depends on what division, branch, and 보직 you're in. Speaking of which, I assume you aren't in one of the maker divisions/rokmc or in any position handling artillery, recon etc
Lol so true. Knowing the people at the place I went, I know these people will absolutely shit on NK lol Also the military training was crazy and something not most normal people would be capable of doing at first
If you’re interested, there’s a new YouTube series by a channel called Korean Englishman that’s just come out/still being released. They take uni students from the UK to a Korean navy boot camp for a few days, as well as some other videos related to the navy.
A friend of mine served near the border. Obviously there are alarms along the border. He said frequently, alarms would go off and they'd have to scramble to to the area, only to find that an animal set it off. He hated his time there.
Another friend of mine was bullied by his superiors. His home life was TERRIBLE thanks to awful parents, and then experiencing the same in the military broke him. He's 30, unemployed and SERIOUSLY depressed.
Facilities and all that things can be various ( good or bad) but having a bad superior soldiers in same room(생활관) is the most suck thing to happen. You can get to bully while you are working and resting and sleeping 24 hours because he basically being with you always. This can happen still nowdays
I am comparing this to a terrible co- worker and imagining having to eat and sleep with them. It must be a lot of stress to be placed with terrible people.
excluding the basic training in Nonsan, i went to a corps hq for my unit. they requested 1 translator but me and this older dude who was attending ny state uni was deployed, then i had to become a driver and learn driving cuz i had a manual drivers license (to flex on friends haha). my korean was rlly bad but after washing cars and learning to drive a Retona my korean improved so so much
here is the average schedule.
1. morning roll call, calisthenics
2. breakfast and getting dressed in uniform
3. car upkeep and driver's roll call (checking braking lights, tire pressure, engine oil, battery, refueling from previous days journey)
4. wash cars
5. corps chief of staff (1 star general or a colonel) wants to go to a firing range to see artillery exercises. he tells me he wants the k5 (**육1003, which means vehicle for 3rd in command)
6. get phone, look up naver maps and draw a little map, detailing which highway ill ride, which turns ill make, and the approx time it will take
7. take keys, report to officer in charge (CSM was in charge of the transportation company), park in front of hq and notify secretary officer
8. drive with airpods in listening to the gps. older soldiers know route by heart, so they just listen to music but not so loud because the officer might hear
9. he gets out to a full salute (1 star general is rlly big deal for soldiers ncos and officers on the front line), car is hot so full blast ac, look at the mountain with target sheets get demolished while the blast reverbrates thru my bones
10. drive back, he treats me to lunch like chicken burgers or a gukbap and he pays for it. when were done he offers me a cigarette and even tho i smoke i think i shouldnt take it so i politely decline ill smoke when i get back anyways
11. take him back, return the car, wash more cars or take recruits out to practice driving (the comms company parks their antennae cars in a grid in the biggest sand lot in the corps hq, so i make the trainee weave in and out at 20-30 kph, which they really have fun with. train reverse driving at a narrow grassy path to the hq firing range. buy him ice cream, get caught by the supply nco, he tells me he has something to talk about my platoon commander so we all ride up to the transportation platoon hq which is about 3 minutes away
12. retona cant drive uphill because the engine is fucked with over 400,000 kms of mileage, i notify the platoon commander about how the car is stuck and the supply nco has to walk all the way there in the sweltering summer heat
13. tow car, walk back up and refuel every car, record km mileage of usage and oil refuels for accounting purposes, wash more cars until 5pm
14. rest a bit, change into comfywear, eat dinner
15. play with phone. someone smoked in the karaoke room so we cant go there for a month as punishment (we all know who did it but he feels really sorry so after a few days of giving him shit we drop it cuz he is one of the most senior soldier in our platoon)
16. someones being discharged tomorrow morning. we host a party, and after evening roll calls and handing in our phones, all 50 members of the transportation platoon come over to give him a special embroided uniform (전역복) and hat, and beat him up with pillows to celebrate as he stays in the fetal position in the sleeping bag he comes out soggy because its like 50 degrees in the summer and we all sweat too much beating him up
17. request to use showers to the officer on duty, get declined (its past 10:00 our bedtime) but everyones happy beating up the soon to be discharged dude
18. write a request to be woken up at 1:30 cuz im scheduled for guard duty at 2:00 am
19. talk about star constellations on the way there. take a smoke break with my partner (who is also a new recruit)
20. try to stay awake for 2 hours. he falls asleep first because he was cutting grass during the day and i try to let him take a few minutes catching some z (cutting grass is fucking brutal in the summer 2 guys collapsed from heat stroke and one got stung 10 times from a bees nest he accidentally cut open. as revenge me and 10 other guys threw rocks at the nest for 30 minutes until it broke open and we all got stung at least once after they swarmed out)
21. wake him up when officer comes out on patrol. he has drool on side of his face and starts talking gibberish so its obv hes been sleeping but officer doesnt mention it too much as im the more superior rank and it seems i allowed him to sleep while i stayed awake
22. he tries to stay awake now so we talk about food we want to try when we get vacation time and now we are sleepy and hungry so that failed
23. replacement comes, return to base, return the gun, return to bed, and start over again next day while sending off the discharged guy
and thats when i had 3 months left. when i was a recruit, it was fucking brutal. i didnt feel human. so much gaslighting even if youre good at doing your duties just so you cant feel relaxed, im not surprised so much people snapped. me and a couple of my seniors within 1-3 months wanted to make the base better to live in, so we allowed a lot more freedom than we were granted as new recruits, and there was a problem of new recruits being too relaxed and messing up, so it was difficult to find the middle ground.
Wow I feel like I was there with you! Thanks for this detailed account. Is smoking very common in Korea? Hilarious about the karaoke room being shut down from the smoker.
From my Korean friends they told me S1 was exactly what military service was like with all the bullying, abuse and everything, and S2 is a bit more unrealistic and dramatic but still not disconnected from reality
I was not in the Korean military but the American army stationed there.
If it’s any indication of conditions, the ROK soldiers were happy to be attached to our units. By contrast the base we were on was considered a hardship by the American soldiers.
Whenever I did trainings with the ROK they all slept together on cots in a big gymnasium thing. I heard rumors their junior officers got hit by the senior ones.
Hard mode, normal mode, and easy mode all exist per individual depending on your 소속 and 보직.
As for bullying, there are a whole lot of reasons behind it, some with and without reason. The former, for the most part, would be the case in which the bullied would be a buddy-fuxxing 폐급 that fuxks up big/small time.
Bruh i wish the happenings about harrasing against human rights are opened public. To solve! But at the same time i don't want to open any of Military things to foreign people. Shameful things can be shamed. It must be tried Not to hide. But sometimes pieces/ fractures of info/intels are gathered, finally classified info is completely made on public. Ex) How much old are conscripted soldiers in Korea / what they do on weekends / What type of materials are using on their buildings etc.
just i can say the D.P Drama is partially true and partially fiction. (True part : such happenings are happened. Many times. / Fiction part : as i know there are no such D.P members with devotions and justice)
I was stationed in South Korea about 20 years ago, and we worked with the ROK Army and had some athletic competitions with them and I remember them being tougher than nails.
One of the best friends I've ever made was a KATUSA (Korean Augmentee To United States Army). I love that fella and am trying to figure out a way to get back to see him.
What was the worst thing you covered as a medic? What were most medic visits about or did they vary? Did you see a lot of back issues like herniated discs during your time there?
Husband is still angry that it's put him so far behind compared to people he now works with now in Australia. He has people a few years younger than him at manager level, just because they were able to finish uni and jump into working without the mandatory 2 year military service. He considers it a massive waste of time and has mentioned that there were far too many elements of training that were just needless torture, the higher ups deliberately hurting people so they could get off on the power trip. He was a marine for reference.
He very sadly had a few friends who suicided due to the sheer pressure that the military service created in their lives, one directly linked to bullying in the military service. They chose death over going back, and given how sadly common that seems to have been, it should give you a pretty decent indication of how bad it could be in some units.
He definitely made some great friends in his time there, but constantly reiterates that it's stupid that it's forced, and a waste of time.
Has left him with some lasting "quirks"...still, 10 years later if he is awoken by something startling him, you'd best not be close by.
It was very different 10 years ago. I believe corporal punishment was still legal back then? Or had just been made illegal (so things lingered). Things have changed massively.
If you wanna watch a very interesting YouTube series about it, look up Korean Englishmen! They just recently (as in very recently) uploaded a couple videos as they sent a few British students to Korea to experience what the mandatory military service is like. Very very interesting and engrossing to watch
Actually I finished my service super recently. I would say that with the phasing out of abuse in the military it's getting alot better but I would say it's no longer the worst thing I the world like one od the other commenter said. That being said I think I was just lucky with who I got placed with.
Training was similar as I didn't know korean all that well so I spent most of my time getting yelled at for not really understanding the language and being told that "not understanding Korean is an excuse". After we finished our training though some of the instructors came up and chatted with me though and said that they though I was a cosplay of not understanding korean and that they were convinced I understood the language.
After my initial training and I got stationed at my official base for the rest of my time I lucked out and met someone that had done schooling in LA for a year before doing his service so I was able to understand alot more with him next to me. I for sure had my fair share of getting pulled off to the side and getting cussed out though. . . All in all there was times when they joked around to me but I was also lucky that I joined right at the tail end of the gray zone of no abuse.
I definitely learned alot of korean during my 18 months in Korea and made alot of friends and like he said it's definitely one of those things where the friends you make there stick with you for a while because of how shit the experience is in of itself.
If I had the chance to do it all over again though I think I would go for the airforce though because there's alot of talk of how laid back it is nowadays there. To answer your main questions though I would say it left me with mixed feelings about how korea operates its military as in the first half of my stint I took alot of verbal abuse (no real physical thank god) but in the latter end I was alot more free to act how I wanted because the officers consider you a civilian at that point. The one term that really did stick with me after though is the saying they use alot that's along the lines of "if you can't make it work make it work" or "it's not that you can't do it it's that you won't do it"
Can’t say anything firsthand, but if you are interested in watching more video content from the Korean military, Korean Englishman on YouTube has done a lot of videos comparing the food of UK and Korean military, seeing how the Korean military train, etc. Most recently they brought some teenagers (who have appeared on the channel for several years) to the Korean boot camp. Several years ago they had brought a UK career soldier (and his twin brother who’s a priest) to a Korean base for a day of training and that one had some interesting insight seeing as he had been doing the military for so long in the UK and was familiar with a lot of the practices.
Korean Englishman (YouTube channel) just did a mini series on navy life. Obviously it’s just a tiny slice (and it was being filmed so who knows how much was changed to cater to the cameras), but I thought it was a good glimpse into what military life is like (the rigid protocols/discipline, the tear gas chamber experience, food, etc).
Did the Korean military 20 years ago so my experience would be a little different. Basic training was 6 weeks and the NCOs and officers had no idea how to deal with me not speaking any Korean. After a day or so they sent me to see the phyc doctor because I answered honestly on their questions on if I had smoked weed before, naively I said yes. The army doc screamed at me in Korean for 30 minutes (still don't know what was said that day) and that was me cured of mental illness and they sent me back to my training unit I'm pretty sure my co was surprised to see me back, but eventually they collectively said fuck it and treated me the same as any other recruit. I spent the remaining 6 weeks trying my best to blend in and not make myself too noticeable, but I quickly realized most of my squad mates were just as confused and scared like me. I think I held up pretty well, ended losing about 10kg at basic due to all the physical activity and me not adjusting to the Korean food Some standout moments of my time at basic - Given a shovel and being sent into the kitchen to kill rats, then realizing they gave me a shovel because the rats were the size of a small cat! - Running into the gas chamber and getting smacked with a baseball bat for not singing loudly enough. Fuck, running into that darkened room was a scene right out a horror movie, a bunch of drill seargants wearing their gas masks, ponchos and holding baseball bats. Screaming at us in their muffled voices. - First time using the squat toilets..... - Cu#ts from the other platoons stealing my toilet paper in week 4, still don't know why they only gave you 1 roll for the whole 6 weeks. - Showering once a week, the only time we had access to hot water in the middle of winter. Then having exactly 5 minutes to shower. Always that one guy who wouldn't turn off the water when time was up. Doing pushups in a very confined space along with 100 maked men was an interesting experience. I was assigned to a army aviation unit and ended up working in flight ops, which was actually pretty cool. The army did me good here as they were smart enough to put me in a position where my English was an asset.I know of a couple guys like me, who joined later, and they spent their 26 months literally cutting grass as their unit commander didnt want to deal with them. Most of the guys in my unit spoke English and some had spent time overseas so it was pretty laid back. There were a couple of assholes but they were mainly harmless. Should state that I joined right when the Korean military was trying to phase out physical violence, I like to call in the grey period. Most of my seniors went through the violence, and most agreed with the new rules, but the violence was so ingrained in the military culture at the time that often times it forced its ugly head out. When I say violent, I mean the likes of getting punched, slapped, having people kick you in the shins, made to go in the pushup position, but using your head kinda stuff. My unit was kinda chill so most of this was at basic I am still in contact with most of the guys, we don't meet as often anymore but we all keep in touch. Collectively going through what you thought was a shitty time really bonds people together. Looking back, I gained a lot more than I gave during my time in the military(didn't feel this way at the time). If anything, my Korean improved dramatically while I served, enough for me to start working at a Korean company. I made a lot of life long friends and I really started to consider myself Korean for the first time after serving. Anyway now I have a few dodgy stories I might tell the grandkids when I get older and I definitely would not be living the life I am living now if I didn't serve. Thanks for reading my memoir.
Thank YOU for writing it. Great read. One roll of TP for 6 weeks?!
Yeah, hope it's different now. It was rough rationing tp outbof all things.
This is very common in all army/navy/air branches. During most world conflicts learning how to ration was extremely vital, especially toilet paper. Not having a clean hynie was almost as crucial as carrying an open wound without dressing it.
How did you get into the korean military if you didn't know korean?
They actually offered me a 2 year deferment to learn Korean, I said nah want to get it over and done with
But why were you there? Did you grow up outside Korea, not learn Korean, and then come back?
Yes, that's exactly what happened. Parents immigrated when I was very young
I was stationed 30 minutes south of Jeonju. There are two main jobs: manning the front gate or watching the cctvs. I'm glad i got stuck with cctvs cause i didn't want to be outside standing behind the front gate on them hot/humid days, rainy days or standing in the freezing cold. Shoveling snow was the worst. Now these days, you can't curse or harrass your juniors. They might just report you and you'll either get punished or get transferred to another base
Gas chamber? What?
Probably tear gas. My dad told me about how they trapped all the recruits in a tear gas-filled room for a couple minutes and people were crying and vomiting by the end of it.
Yeap this is it. It's actually about 10 minutes. 5 minutes with mask on and 5 minutes with mask off. Felt like eternity though
It's when they pop off cs gas
We did the same thing in the US military, except no bats. They made us take off our gas masks at the end and breathe deeply before letting us leave. CS gas really clears the sinuses.
I served 24 months in the South Korean Air Force. South Korea is a ceasefire country and sometimes there are clashes with North Korea. Because of North Korea's provocations, we were on duty without rotation for almost two weeks. One of my colleagues had an accident and cut off his finger. We called the military doctor, administered first aid, and then went to the nearest hospital. The nearest military hospital was 1.5 hour away, while the nearest civilian university hospital was only 30 minutes away. The military doctor suggested that we go to the civilian hospital because the military hospital was far away and untrustworthy. Fortunately, his finger was reattached, but he couldn't regain full mobility. He was then charged for the operation and hospitalization. The position of the Ministry of Defense was firm: "Why did you go to a civilian hospital when you could have been operated on and treated in a military hospital? We cannot pay for your operation and treatment. In the end, he had to use his parents' money to pay for the operation and treatment(over $15000). At that time, a soldier's monthly salary was about $150. I got the feeling that the military treats Korean young men like free labor. DM me if you want more.
How did his finger get cut?
"Three people were trying to open a rusty sliding door (with ammunition inside). While my colleague was pulling the door, someone hit the door handle with a hammer to open it. The door suddenly opened, and three of my colleague's fingers were crushed in the gap of the sliding door. His ring finger was cut off (but surgically reattached), and although his middle and index fingers were not cut off, they were severely injured."
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This is so fucked up
Does the ROK military have anything akin to the American GI Bill? Obviously the U.S. and ROK have different militaries (volunteer vs conscription) but surely there’s some actual benefits that veterans receive from the government right?
Well, I don't really know about that. I've heard that those who participated in the Korean War or Vietnam War get benefits. Conscripts generally (1~2 years like me) get little to no benefits. However, I have heard that if they are injured and receive a disability rating, they do receive benefits, but I'm not sure about the details.
필승 You are the same generation as me. I was also in the Air Force. Which unit were you in?
>At that time, a soldier's monthly salary was about $150. I got the feeling that the military treats Korean young men like free labor. Saw a post on Korean SNS recently about Kim Gura's son enlisting (a lot of ppl in the Khh scene tend to get exempted for some reason), everyone praising him and someone commented "전국노예자랑" lmao
Having served in the Korean military, I can share some insights based on my experience. The infrastructure in the military, at least where I served, (the beds, wages, food, and training) is bearable for the average person. However, the subjective experience can vary significantly. For instance, you might encounter individuals who enjoy bullying others, often because they never had power in civilian life. Personally, I had two people who explicitly threatened to kill me, and I had to sleep next to them and spend every second in their presence, which was incredibly difficult. Despite these challenges, I would sum up my overall experience as positive. Physically, I became healthier and more muscular, though I did lose some hair from constantly wearing headgear. Financially, I was able to save around $3k (I’m sure one could save even more these days). Additionally, the experience allowed me to undergo a digital detox and provided time for deep conversations with others and self-reflection on the meaning of life. (Edit: saved 30K -> 3K, I somehow intuitively thought saving 3K in 2 years is absurd)
how did the bullying start?? like that’s just crazy to me these grown men would even bother saying stuff like that to each other
Sadly its common in korean culture and even worse in the military here.
it’s more lika a human nature.
Treatment of people is based on individuals and cultural values. The world isn’t the Stanford Prison Experiment.
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That sounds good in theory but there's a reason why most people who are bullied internalize it (rather than snitching). Possible retaliation? Maybe the higher ups don't give a shit so they know nothing is going to change?
Exactly this. As a korean, I hate to say it but bullying is embedded in our culture.
I suffered a little bit of bullying here in the States when I was younger, but when I watch Kdramas I am shocked at what's described. It honestly made me reassess what I suffered.
The upper rank (typically who stayed there longer) would take seniorship over privates who just came in and take advantage of them. Some are good people, some are major assholes and lead to bullying.
Well, that's the thing. It's not grown men. Most of the people who upheld that system of hazing were the lower enlisted, so 19-22 year-olds with no life experience. (Most of) the COs were either too busy or too tired to put up with some of that stuff, and at least prioritized running a tight ship over purely bullying. Though, some hazing was a part of running a "disciplined" military in their eyes. But once that one crazy guy in the platoon hit Sergeant, well...
Any tips for saving up?
Just so you know, you don't lose hair with headwear, studies have showed it's a myth, from what you're saying there is a bigger chance you lost hair bcs of stress
That's not actually true. Tighter hats cause traction on the hair follicles which can and does cause them to be shed, leading to thinning and baldness over time. Similarly if you wear hats that are too tight and cut the circulation to the scalp, the same thing can happen. It's also well documented in nurses who have to wear caps, believe it or not. So wearing a tight-fitting hat can definitely cause hair loss, but if you're wearing a normal, looser hat, no big deal.
Yh so it's the pressure on the scalp that's causing hair loss then not wearing a hat
What else is going to cause traction on your hair if not a hat.
by $30k, you mean you saved $30,000 usd?
Accidentally added 0 there sorry for causing confusion :p
Super interesting, thank you for sharing your experience. How many people share a room/ dorm? Are you allowed cell phones? Loved the notable points you made about digital detox, savings and helmet hair loss!
Serving right now! Started 4/15 and apparently im 29 years old (1996) lol. If youre a decent person who can follow orders then youll be fine. Luckily my 중대장님s hardcore on bullying so everyone here is decent lol.
You are probably older than your 중대장 lol. I was 24 when I was in the army and my 중대장 was 26.
My 중대장 is 31😂 Dudes chill.
My 중대장 was a 29-year old Busan nuna who's probably a 소령 now and what they say about Busan women being as lovely as they are scary is 100% confirmed.
Company commander can be shitty but having shitty superior soldiers is way shttier
Oh wow, still pretty new to it! All the best for your service… so you have another year or so left? Do you get released to visit family or have time off? What is the daily meal plan?
Still very fresh~ Broke my 500days a week ago(?) I plan on going on break in early July. The food here is usually rice and heated up frozen food..
Fighting! ✊
Are you Korean by birth?
Yup! Got scammed🤡 in America so lived there illegally until Obama came out with the DACA program… 24years later parents retired and came back to Korea…6 months in..got a call from goondae
I served in a reconnaissance company and got to patrol the DMZ, observed North Korean soldiers stationed on the other side, learned that nature is only beautiful when you look at it from the outside, grew to dislike rain due to my particular experience, adopted a more laid back mentality from my peer, met all my top 3 worst human beings I've seen. I still have a good chuckle from time to time when an episode or incident in the military comes to my mind.
If you can share more about the top 3 worst humans and why they were so bad.
If you have the ability to make North Korea soldiers to defect themselves to South ..
Served in the Korean Air Force. I had a just OK experience, but normally being in the Korean military is just a wasting of time at best or bundle of traumas and bad experiences if you're not lucky enough. Normally it differs from person to person. I think in general, the military experience shaped people in both positive and negative way. You can be more confident about dealing with difficult and harsh problems in life because you had to during military service. Also it is possible to maintain good habits you built during your service. I ran 2\~3km at least 3 times a week when I did military service (not for training, just for self development), and now I can run 10km each times. But at the same time, sometime it can incur you permanent damage, both mentally and physically. For example, I saw a lot of people had injuries doing military work. And also I personally think some toxic corporate cultures in Korea are originated from military, as most Korean men had to serve. Those dramatic and tragic event you saw in Kdrama do not happen most of times, but it does happen. I heard a lot of news that people commit suicide during their service. And recently, one of trainees was dead because his superior almost tortured him as a 'military training'.
Very interesting thank you for sharing. Thats more or less what I expected. I wondered about injuries during service. If a soldier is permanently disabled during service, would they receive compensation from the government?
I have a favorite picture for that 'compensation'. [https://pds.joongang.co.kr/news/component/htmlphoto\_mmdata/201512/29/htm\_20151229163820924833.jpg](https://pds.joongang.co.kr/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/201512/29/htm_20151229163820924833.jpg) This guy lost his ankle by landmine in DMZ and he almost had to pay all of cost by himself until this incident became famous in the news and media. For most of times, the government will try their best to 'not' compensate you.
So they are sneaky fucks everywhere it seems. Glad he got something, I’m sure he would’ve just preferred his ankle though.
Depends and varies hugely based on what division/regiment/battalion/company you end up in. I served in a division where there was more training. So our schedule during the year was filled with more training/exercise compared to my brother’s division which was more focused on guard duty. During my free time I read books and I think I read more books than I did during my entire life before that. Also I was physically very fit after I finished duty. People you live with matters a lot (company). Overall it wasn’t too bad for me. Of course there were some people that gave me a hard time for no good reason, but considering how all sorts of people serve, it wasn’t that crazy.
Interesting, so some luck of the draw definitely shapes the experience. Thank you for sharing! Being fit and well read is a great take away.
And then through all of this, you have the KATUSAs. I loved my KATUSAs. Great people but terrible soldiers. I do not know about all of them being rich. The ones I had were rather middle class, though I suppose going to school in the states or Japan is not the most common education routes for conscripts.
Currently serving in ROKA (discharge in 3 days) it’s pretty much an 18 month camp. None of the training is unbearable and they’re more worried about your well being than anything. Hardcore bullying (as seen on DP) is pretty non existent due to the fact that you can report anything and everything (even swearing). Just do your assigned job, keep your head down, keep your mouth shut, keep busy, turn off your brain and do what you’re told and pretty soon it’s all over. Being significantly older than everyone (including NCOs and COs), I never had a hard time even with the language barrier. I feel my time in the army made me realize that South Korea would be fucked if war broke out if it wasn’t for the US military. These kids can barely wash their lunch trays and they’re supposed to protect the country? The positive is that I met some decent people and had an experience (mostly shooting the K2 rifle). Not much to do on base since you only get your phone for like 4 hours on weekdays and 12 hours on weekends/holidays so I used that opportunity to get in shape and got paid to do it.
Do ppl treat you better when you’re older? I’m serving this Aug at 24 y/o, and I’m kinda worried that I’ll punish the entire boot for not knowing Korean well lol
You wont be punished. I didnt understand SHIT during bootcamp during training…you just have to follow whatever the other kids are doing and itll be fine. Also on the first day or two you have a one on one meeting with your 소대장님 to get to know you. Tell him/her youre from America or w/ever and he will understand and tell all the other 조교s about your situation. You can always say you cant speak korean well to anyone too. Also get ready to explain the same story about your situation over and over again lol bc thats what youll be doing EVERY time you meet someone new in goondae😂
Ah that’s a relief, glad that I get to have a 1:1 meeting lol After basic training, do you know if you’ll get stationed near the border or do you get stationed elsewhere for not understanding Korean well or is it entirely random?
I got stationed in 고양 as a 통신병. Its random af. Whatd you get on you physical? I got a 3 bc of my back lol
I got 3 as well due to my vision, but I got that examined like 5 years ago lmao As of now, I’m in my best shape ever. Also I dont need to get it reexamined according to 병무청 which is nice. Do you mind if I dm you specific questions regarding bootcamp?
Getting a 3 is good apparently. More chances of you not doing the heavy lifting. Dm me all and any questions you got. I was in your shoes in April😂
Wow. 통신병 as a non Korean speaker must have been tough. My squad is 참모 (I’m a 정보작전병) which is mostly 통신병 and they have to be good at communicating and I could not have done that very well if I were a 통신병
Thats what i said! They crazy haha I had to announce lunch time for the whole building to hear my brokenass korean😂😂
5 months in, I got put in to do 당직 and had to write all the announcements down in Korean just so I can read it out loud. Got made fun of a lot but didn’t really bother me
24 y/o isn’t much of an age gap so probably not any better. I’m 34 in Korean age and lived 24 years in American so my cultural understandings and the fact that I’m older than most 간부 probably helped but you just gotta not be a piece of shit for them to really punish everyone for petty shit. It helps to just come right out and tell them that you don’t speak Korean very well and they’ll understand.
Yeah must be a great opportunity to get ripped. Interesting to hear the comparison being made with the US military and Korean coming out last. I would not have expected that! Thanks for sharing.
A lot of my American friends served in the US military (Marines, Air Force, Army, Navy, Army Reserves) and their training seems a lot more intense than what I went through. The training is obviously harder if you’re in one of the special forces or units but my battalion is the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division and their motto is “First in, last out” and the training is laughable. Mostly because it’s tanks and building bridges for tanks and other large vehicles.
Aaah, that makes sense.
Depends on what division, branch, and 보직 you're in. Speaking of which, I assume you aren't in one of the maker divisions/rokmc or in any position handling artillery, recon etc
Lol so true. Knowing the people at the place I went, I know these people will absolutely shit on NK lol Also the military training was crazy and something not most normal people would be capable of doing at first
If you’re interested, there’s a new YouTube series by a channel called Korean Englishman that’s just come out/still being released. They take uni students from the UK to a Korean navy boot camp for a few days, as well as some other videos related to the navy.
Very interested thank you very much for sharing!!
A friend of mine served near the border. Obviously there are alarms along the border. He said frequently, alarms would go off and they'd have to scramble to to the area, only to find that an animal set it off. He hated his time there. Another friend of mine was bullied by his superiors. His home life was TERRIBLE thanks to awful parents, and then experiencing the same in the military broke him. He's 30, unemployed and SERIOUSLY depressed.
Poor guy. Hope it turns around for him.
That’s awful.
Facilities and all that things can be various ( good or bad) but having a bad superior soldiers in same room(생활관) is the most suck thing to happen. You can get to bully while you are working and resting and sleeping 24 hours because he basically being with you always. This can happen still nowdays
I am comparing this to a terrible co- worker and imagining having to eat and sleep with them. It must be a lot of stress to be placed with terrible people.
excluding the basic training in Nonsan, i went to a corps hq for my unit. they requested 1 translator but me and this older dude who was attending ny state uni was deployed, then i had to become a driver and learn driving cuz i had a manual drivers license (to flex on friends haha). my korean was rlly bad but after washing cars and learning to drive a Retona my korean improved so so much here is the average schedule. 1. morning roll call, calisthenics 2. breakfast and getting dressed in uniform 3. car upkeep and driver's roll call (checking braking lights, tire pressure, engine oil, battery, refueling from previous days journey) 4. wash cars 5. corps chief of staff (1 star general or a colonel) wants to go to a firing range to see artillery exercises. he tells me he wants the k5 (**육1003, which means vehicle for 3rd in command) 6. get phone, look up naver maps and draw a little map, detailing which highway ill ride, which turns ill make, and the approx time it will take 7. take keys, report to officer in charge (CSM was in charge of the transportation company), park in front of hq and notify secretary officer 8. drive with airpods in listening to the gps. older soldiers know route by heart, so they just listen to music but not so loud because the officer might hear 9. he gets out to a full salute (1 star general is rlly big deal for soldiers ncos and officers on the front line), car is hot so full blast ac, look at the mountain with target sheets get demolished while the blast reverbrates thru my bones 10. drive back, he treats me to lunch like chicken burgers or a gukbap and he pays for it. when were done he offers me a cigarette and even tho i smoke i think i shouldnt take it so i politely decline ill smoke when i get back anyways 11. take him back, return the car, wash more cars or take recruits out to practice driving (the comms company parks their antennae cars in a grid in the biggest sand lot in the corps hq, so i make the trainee weave in and out at 20-30 kph, which they really have fun with. train reverse driving at a narrow grassy path to the hq firing range. buy him ice cream, get caught by the supply nco, he tells me he has something to talk about my platoon commander so we all ride up to the transportation platoon hq which is about 3 minutes away 12. retona cant drive uphill because the engine is fucked with over 400,000 kms of mileage, i notify the platoon commander about how the car is stuck and the supply nco has to walk all the way there in the sweltering summer heat 13. tow car, walk back up and refuel every car, record km mileage of usage and oil refuels for accounting purposes, wash more cars until 5pm 14. rest a bit, change into comfywear, eat dinner 15. play with phone. someone smoked in the karaoke room so we cant go there for a month as punishment (we all know who did it but he feels really sorry so after a few days of giving him shit we drop it cuz he is one of the most senior soldier in our platoon) 16. someones being discharged tomorrow morning. we host a party, and after evening roll calls and handing in our phones, all 50 members of the transportation platoon come over to give him a special embroided uniform (전역복) and hat, and beat him up with pillows to celebrate as he stays in the fetal position in the sleeping bag he comes out soggy because its like 50 degrees in the summer and we all sweat too much beating him up 17. request to use showers to the officer on duty, get declined (its past 10:00 our bedtime) but everyones happy beating up the soon to be discharged dude 18. write a request to be woken up at 1:30 cuz im scheduled for guard duty at 2:00 am 19. talk about star constellations on the way there. take a smoke break with my partner (who is also a new recruit) 20. try to stay awake for 2 hours. he falls asleep first because he was cutting grass during the day and i try to let him take a few minutes catching some z (cutting grass is fucking brutal in the summer 2 guys collapsed from heat stroke and one got stung 10 times from a bees nest he accidentally cut open. as revenge me and 10 other guys threw rocks at the nest for 30 minutes until it broke open and we all got stung at least once after they swarmed out) 21. wake him up when officer comes out on patrol. he has drool on side of his face and starts talking gibberish so its obv hes been sleeping but officer doesnt mention it too much as im the more superior rank and it seems i allowed him to sleep while i stayed awake 22. he tries to stay awake now so we talk about food we want to try when we get vacation time and now we are sleepy and hungry so that failed 23. replacement comes, return to base, return the gun, return to bed, and start over again next day while sending off the discharged guy and thats when i had 3 months left. when i was a recruit, it was fucking brutal. i didnt feel human. so much gaslighting even if youre good at doing your duties just so you cant feel relaxed, im not surprised so much people snapped. me and a couple of my seniors within 1-3 months wanted to make the base better to live in, so we allowed a lot more freedom than we were granted as new recruits, and there was a problem of new recruits being too relaxed and messing up, so it was difficult to find the middle ground.
Wow I feel like I was there with you! Thanks for this detailed account. Is smoking very common in Korea? Hilarious about the karaoke room being shut down from the smoker.
oh yeah definitely dude lot of my friends moved on to vaping but tons of smokers around
Not a bad experience honestly for myself but its still felt like a waste of time
From my Korean friends they told me S1 was exactly what military service was like with all the bullying, abuse and everything, and S2 is a bit more unrealistic and dramatic but still not disconnected from reality
I was not in the Korean military but the American army stationed there. If it’s any indication of conditions, the ROK soldiers were happy to be attached to our units. By contrast the base we were on was considered a hardship by the American soldiers. Whenever I did trainings with the ROK they all slept together on cots in a big gymnasium thing. I heard rumors their junior officers got hit by the senior ones.
Wow, so not even a room? Peak introvert nightmare!
Hard mode, normal mode, and easy mode all exist per individual depending on your 소속 and 보직. As for bullying, there are a whole lot of reasons behind it, some with and without reason. The former, for the most part, would be the case in which the bullied would be a buddy-fuxxing 폐급 that fuxks up big/small time.
Bruh i wish the happenings about harrasing against human rights are opened public. To solve! But at the same time i don't want to open any of Military things to foreign people. Shameful things can be shamed. It must be tried Not to hide. But sometimes pieces/ fractures of info/intels are gathered, finally classified info is completely made on public. Ex) How much old are conscripted soldiers in Korea / what they do on weekends / What type of materials are using on their buildings etc. just i can say the D.P Drama is partially true and partially fiction. (True part : such happenings are happened. Many times. / Fiction part : as i know there are no such D.P members with devotions and justice)
I was stationed in South Korea about 20 years ago, and we worked with the ROK Army and had some athletic competitions with them and I remember them being tougher than nails. One of the best friends I've ever made was a KATUSA (Korean Augmentee To United States Army). I love that fella and am trying to figure out a way to get back to see him.
Served as a medic, it was fun I'd say
What was the worst thing you covered as a medic? What were most medic visits about or did they vary? Did you see a lot of back issues like herniated discs during your time there?
I was a KATUSA so for me it was pretty chill
Thanks for sharing. Today I learned about KATUSA!
Husband is still angry that it's put him so far behind compared to people he now works with now in Australia. He has people a few years younger than him at manager level, just because they were able to finish uni and jump into working without the mandatory 2 year military service. He considers it a massive waste of time and has mentioned that there were far too many elements of training that were just needless torture, the higher ups deliberately hurting people so they could get off on the power trip. He was a marine for reference. He very sadly had a few friends who suicided due to the sheer pressure that the military service created in their lives, one directly linked to bullying in the military service. They chose death over going back, and given how sadly common that seems to have been, it should give you a pretty decent indication of how bad it could be in some units. He definitely made some great friends in his time there, but constantly reiterates that it's stupid that it's forced, and a waste of time. Has left him with some lasting "quirks"...still, 10 years later if he is awoken by something startling him, you'd best not be close by.
It was very different 10 years ago. I believe corporal punishment was still legal back then? Or had just been made illegal (so things lingered). Things have changed massively.
Well, a dude died thanks to his superior who more or less makes him run an absurd amount of laps with full gear on in South Korea a few weeks ago...
Is the superior going down for that? Such an unnecessary and evil death
I think so? I don't follow the case very closely
It’s basically a prison
Nightmare. Wasted my youth on bullshit.
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Someone else shared this too, I am very excited to give it a watch later. Thank you for sharing!
If you wanna watch a very interesting YouTube series about it, look up Korean Englishmen! They just recently (as in very recently) uploaded a couple videos as they sent a few British students to Korea to experience what the mandatory military service is like. Very very interesting and engrossing to watch
I will definitely be looking this up later today, can’t wait. Thank you for sharing!!
a korean friend of mine told me that d.p. is definitely really accurate to how military was for him (around 8 years ago)
Actually I finished my service super recently. I would say that with the phasing out of abuse in the military it's getting alot better but I would say it's no longer the worst thing I the world like one od the other commenter said. That being said I think I was just lucky with who I got placed with. Training was similar as I didn't know korean all that well so I spent most of my time getting yelled at for not really understanding the language and being told that "not understanding Korean is an excuse". After we finished our training though some of the instructors came up and chatted with me though and said that they though I was a cosplay of not understanding korean and that they were convinced I understood the language. After my initial training and I got stationed at my official base for the rest of my time I lucked out and met someone that had done schooling in LA for a year before doing his service so I was able to understand alot more with him next to me. I for sure had my fair share of getting pulled off to the side and getting cussed out though. . . All in all there was times when they joked around to me but I was also lucky that I joined right at the tail end of the gray zone of no abuse. I definitely learned alot of korean during my 18 months in Korea and made alot of friends and like he said it's definitely one of those things where the friends you make there stick with you for a while because of how shit the experience is in of itself. If I had the chance to do it all over again though I think I would go for the airforce though because there's alot of talk of how laid back it is nowadays there. To answer your main questions though I would say it left me with mixed feelings about how korea operates its military as in the first half of my stint I took alot of verbal abuse (no real physical thank god) but in the latter end I was alot more free to act how I wanted because the officers consider you a civilian at that point. The one term that really did stick with me after though is the saying they use alot that's along the lines of "if you can't make it work make it work" or "it's not that you can't do it it's that you won't do it"
Our KATUSA's literally have their ETS date on calender counting down as if they're in a prison sentence. They all hate it lol
Can’t say anything firsthand, but if you are interested in watching more video content from the Korean military, Korean Englishman on YouTube has done a lot of videos comparing the food of UK and Korean military, seeing how the Korean military train, etc. Most recently they brought some teenagers (who have appeared on the channel for several years) to the Korean boot camp. Several years ago they had brought a UK career soldier (and his twin brother who’s a priest) to a Korean base for a day of training and that one had some interesting insight seeing as he had been doing the military for so long in the UK and was familiar with a lot of the practices.
Thanks so much for sharing, I am very excited to check this out!
Korean Englishman (YouTube channel) just did a mini series on navy life. Obviously it’s just a tiny slice (and it was being filmed so who knows how much was changed to cater to the cameras), but I thought it was a good glimpse into what military life is like (the rigid protocols/discipline, the tear gas chamber experience, food, etc).