Kim Yeon-jung

Two years ago, there was a farewell party for my friend, Jung-ho, who was going to join the armed service the next day. Actually he is talkative, but that day he was keeping silence and he just drunk so much. I thought about what's wrong with him because he really looked sad. And after I sent him to the army, I could often see other men like Jung-ho. Why did they hate to go to the army? Is the reason that they are soft and spiritless or that the mandatory military service has a problem? I think we need to review a mandatory military service which has shown us some problems in case of an individual and a society.

The first problems that we have to think up a mandatory military service are in an individual. They who have to serve in the army have no choice of their life for three years when they served a mandatory military service. For example, if they are students, they have to give up their study and if they are workers, they have to run into the army leaving their work. And while they are undergoing a military service, even they can't get out of the army freely because they rarely get their vacation, compared that volunteer soldiers have weekly vacation so they can spend their own time more; they have a time with their families and friends once a week. That is to say, their freedom in the army is limited without any benefits though they serve for three years. In addition to problem about no choice their life for three years, individuals have difficulties to adapt themselves to the new circumstances after three years. Some seniors who ended up the army service, for instance, say that they are in a hard situation to learn new computer system, Windows. Before they joined the armed service, they had used DOS. But now they have to learn new skill in order to keep up with the society which is changing like greased lightning. Therefore a mandatory military service have individual problems not only to violate men's right but also to give them hard burdens to adapt to the society that has changed since they entered the military.

Other problems that a mandatory military service has are in society. The society waste manpower, especially high-quality. For example, if a man has studied hard for three years without serving in the army, now what is he doing? What can he do for his society? He can make money for his company and can become a intelligent teacher so cultivate men of ability. But while he is serving in the army, at the most, he have to do a physical and simple labor that he doesn't have to 'think' because he does as an order from above. It means that not only his chance to advance in knowledge are delayed, but also a society's chance to use the right man in the right place is wasted. Another social problem is that the irregularity takes place between haves and military people. Haves don't want to send their sons in the army and they give a lot of bribe to military participators, like army doctors. According to the announcement of the Office of Military Manpower Administration, 30% of ranking government officials were exempted from military service, and even half of their sons didn't undergo military service, whereas 10% of the men without high connections were exempted. So, this haves' authority and money cause that have-nots feel a sense of incompatibility and dissatisfaction. As a result, a mandatory military service has social problems which waste intelligent manpower and happen irregularity.