Korean Job Discussion Forums

[phaedrus]

All Korean men do a stint in the army. How do you suppose it affects Korean society and culture?

What I notice(although what I mention has a lot of other sources in Korean culture as well):

1) I see a certain amount of bravado among Korean men.

2) Korean men seem to blindly obey the commands of their seniors.

3) Koreans have a pack up and move out attitude when doing everyday activities.

Overall, I would think the army affects Korean culture a lot.

[Corporal]

[ajuma]

I've had a few friends do army service, and teach a WHOLE lot more that have gone through it.

From a teacher's perspective, give me the "army graduates" every time!! They're much more serious about studying and generally more respectful than the "wet behind the ears" freshmen and sophs.

90% (IMHO) of Korean men HATED the experience, but virtually all of them were glad for it. They've made life-long friends, learned about themselves and how to fit into Korean culture/business. (They ARE Korean after all, and have to make their way through the often (for foreigners) bewildering "company system.")

Now, if they could just force the GIRLS to go!!!!!

[Swiss James]

I've got a theory that it's why the pop music is so infantile and marketed towards girls- the guys who would be starting bands or buying what we would call 'serious' rock music are in the army with no money.
I agree it's why korean men have such close male friends too.

Boy am I glad I've never had to do military service- it sounds hellish.

[shawner88]

So far everyone's missed the best one:

Seeing that at any given time there are hundreds of thousands of men in the army, there is a major surplus of women available!

[mindmetoo]

My Korean friend says Korean men only talk about three things:

1) what they did in the army
2) playing soccer
3) playing soccer while in the army

[wylde]

most of them whilst in the army have had gay flings

forgot that one

[phaedrus]

[Corporal]

[fuzzylogic]

It's completely amazing to see the difference in the attitudes in learning between pre and post conscription guys.

The post conscription guys are very focused. I've had the fortune of guiding several of them in and around Australia, helping them settle down, learn the language etc.

Whereas the pre conscripts would be partying around, cavorting, and getting up to no good, the post army guys wouldn't bat an eyelid at spending a good few hours a day honing their language skills. Pre conscripts tend to think they are invincible and infallible, particularly in comparison to their post service brothers.

Even though they may be older, and more experienced in life than I am, post (conscript) types realise that the easiest, and fastest way of getting ahead in Western society is being willing to ask people like myself for advice. The pre's wouldn't even consider it.

That said, I'm deviating from the OT...

The conscripts form an amazing bond while in service together, and it's feasible to consider that they may very well be willing to die for each other, in the literal sense. This brotherly connection can be stretched to amazing limits and still hold up.

As an aside, there is (was?) a practice in Korea, where employees, after they had fulfilled their conscription would enter the workforce with pay that has been scaled with their time in the armed forces. That is, someone fresh out of university, would get paid the same as someone who has been working at the company for 2.5 years.

There was a bit of a movement, where some women were demanding the same sort of thing. I initially thought it was a pretty good idea, if it meant that women were going to serve as well. After all, equality is equality. However, I was surprised that they wanted the pay benefit, without the conscription part.

I think they were laughed down pretty quickly..

jae.

[Saxiif]

It apparently involves quite a bit of consuming soju with spoons.

[Mashimaro]

[Swiss James]

I agree on the eating food thing- if it's a relaxed evening meal they take their time, but they can bury rice and soup in the time it takes me to pour a cup of water. When I asked the guys at work how they eat so fast, they said they learnt it in the army.

[phaedrus]

[diver]