Korean Job Discussion Forums

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Did you notice that my post was first? Is not the general rule that the post that is first is the post that remains unlocked?
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:56 am
Post subject: Military shooting spree leaves eight soldiers dead

VanIslander wrote,
"Threads about Koreans lives themselves are interesting but not directly relevant to our lives RR."

Are your students Korean? Are your students relevant to you? Are some members of Dave's ESL Cafe Korean? Do some teachers teach Korean soldiers?

Smee · Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: Jeollanam-do

From the Korea Times:

Shooting Spree Shocks Nation

rok_the-boat · Joined: 24 Jan 2004

Don't forget how this story unfolded. I first saw it on foreign news and foreign internet media before the Korean. And the first reports in the Korean media said the guy was mentally ill whereas the foreign emphasised bullying from the outset, which means the Korean media must have known yet were playing it down at first. In fact, today's news calls it a collapse of discipline ... you don't say Sad

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200506/kt2005061920502511950.htm

The following one is more honest:
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/06/20/200506200027.asp

But this phrase puzzles me:

Cthulhu · Joined: 02 Feb 2003

I found this bit from the Chosun Ilbo interesting:

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Bulsajo · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Cthulhu · Joined: 02 Feb 2003

trigger123 · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 8:09 pm Post subject:

personally, i feel this article goes a long way to explaining a lot about morale in the South Korean armed forces,
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200506/200506190026.html

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

Steady on, Trigger. People can get themselves deported by making less sense than you just did. Ultimately, I suspect many will direct their agony and grief over this incident at the US. I mean, why should this be any different than all the rest?

And I had a chuckle at rok_the-boat's take:

In fact, today's news calls it a collapse of discipline ... you don't say. Sad

Yeah, that gunfire and grenades you hear going off? That's nothing but a little discipline collapsing, that's all. Laughing

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

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On the other hand · Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue

trigger123 · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 11:15 pm Post subject:

ok, maybe i wasn't too clear.
i am saddened by the deaths and find it hard to stomach an apology from a minister without some action.
correct me if i'm wrong, but the unique set of circumstances the south korean troops find themselves in is likely cause them psychological traumas.
they are conscripted, (to an army currently numbering over 600,000), in massive numbers to defend their country. but the country they defend against is appeased, upheld and arguably promoted by their own government. and there they are, day after day, patrol after patrol, watching an 'enemy' that they are no doubt distantly related to, that looks like them, that speaks their language.
how low can the morale of an average conscript be?
now add institutionalised bullying, mind-numbing boredom, access to automatic weapons and the fact that these men are just boys, taken from their lives for 2 years. it is surprising that this type of terrible incident does not happen more frequently.
i'm arguing that something should change. that the military should take bullying and hazing and whatever else goes on in gangwondo and gyeonggido seriously. It is not as rite of passage as the Chosun Ilbo implies. it should also consider the place of military service in a modern korea.
and i'm arguing that the government should examine evaluate its armed forces strategy, particularly if the americans reduce their prescence, and its appeasment policies to pyongyang.

Paddycakes · Joined: 05 May 2003 Location: Seoul

OTH,

Wow, now there's a new slant for the historical revisionists...

I shall raise your question about the Rim Jobs down at the local Legion on your behalf...

While my military experience is limited to 1 year and two weeks of hell with the Uber Geeks in the Air Cadets, I think it's safe to say that the rim jobs, BBJTCs, double handed anal fisting, are all part and parcel of a broader effort to reinforce the officer's position over the rankers.

In a word, it's all about power and about solidfying the heirachy that is central to miltary life, especially when it comes to the all important chain of command without which choas would reign, especially if you're in a combat situation.

I also suspect the sexual abuse is meant to demean and dehumanize the rankers, who need to be conditioned accept their place as canon fodder and worthless animals who will act like worthless animals on the battlefield, who will kill without hesitation, and without judgement, because it's judgement that defeats us...

The horror! The horror!

Or maybe the Korean officer class simply consists of a bunch of closet anglophiles who are big into Cake and Sodomy in the grand Eton style.

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

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