In this blog post, we will look at the reasons why engineering students delay their military service, the reality of alternative service, and the hidden value of the military.
When a male student of a college of engineering in South Korea enters the university, he or she has to think about when to go to the military, whether to go to the military, or whether to fulfill the national defense obligation in another way. In particular, I am writing this article for male students who attend engineering colleges at universities because I think that there are many students who do not want to go to the military because the alternative service path is wider than in other colleges.
South Korea is a divided country. Since the war has not ended yet and is still in a state of truce, the expansion of military spending is an unavoidable choice. As the money spent on defense is limited, South Korea cannot adopt a conscription system like the United States, which gives soldiers a high salary, so the military service is basically a duty that all men born in South Korea must fulfill. Many people do not want to go to the military, but the biggest reason is that they must spend about two years in the military or in an alternative service regardless of what career they have been building in society. Some people may also avoid the military because they are afraid of the long-standing bad practices of the military, such as beatings and verbal abuse. Another reason is that the nature of the military, which requires complete disconnection from society, means that they can only use their limited vacation time to meet with friends, lovers, and family.
As such, many students are unable to decide on their career path due to their vague fear of the military. In Korea, not only do those who do not fulfill their national defense obligations become criminals, but there are many difficulties in going abroad, so companies do not hire those who have not completed their military service. Therefore, students who are not yet qualified naturally go on to graduate school, which leads to various problems. Since they avoid the military without a clear purpose and go on to graduate school, they become less attached to their major, and even if they find that graduate school is not for them or that it is difficult to continue their graduate school life, they reluctantly continue their studies because they do not want to go to the military if they quit. In particular, alternative service does not seem to be a relatively difficult task, and there are many ways to avoid the military, such as the professional research officer or industrial service officer, making it a good way to postpone the duty of national defense for students who do not want to go to the military.
But is the military really a place to avoid? I don’t think so. Rather, it is a place where there is much more to gain than lose. If you are a student who is wondering whether you should go to the military right away or postpone it for later because you don’t have a clearly defined goal, I would say go right away. For most engineering students, the alternative service option of a professional researcher may seem like a way to get out of military service by undergoing only four weeks of military training, but the actual service period is 36 months. The reason why this long service period feels as if it never happened is because the period of time included in the process of completing a doctoral program is considered to be a period of service. In other words, this means that you must earn a doctorate to serve as a professional researcher. The number of engineering graduates who receive a PhD is very small, and the number of people who can apply for a PhD program is also small. Since they are not civilians during their service, they have to work under the influence of their superiors, i.e. professors, and are under more stress than typical graduate students. In addition, alternative military service through overseas volunteer work, such as KOICA, does not give special weight to engineering students, and the service period is 30 months, but the interview and waiting period until acceptance is very long, so in reality, it takes 3 to 4 years to complete.
The duty to defend one’s country is literally a “duty.” The Constitution of Korea designates the basic duties of citizens as education, work, tax payment, and defense of the country, and later the public welfare-compatible duty of exercising property rights and the duty of environmental conservation were added. As such, it is the duty of every citizen to fulfill their duty to defend the country, but the problem is that many people think of the military as something like a punishment rather than a duty due to a lack of awareness. Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” is a cliché but very important attitude towards life that even a child would know. Unless there is a clear reason not to fulfill the obligation, it may be helpful to do it now because it will have to be done eventually. In the case of alternative service, the period is longer, the qualifications are stricter, and there are different hardships from the military, so avoiding the military may lead to a more difficult situation.
It is often said that the military is the oldest and most successful organization. It is said that an inefficient military has no reason to exist, but the validity of that claim aside, social life, at least in most companies, often has a corporate culture similar to the military. The military is the simplest form and takes the form of a direct organization that has been used for a long time. In companies where you can get a job after graduating from an engineering school, the ratio of male employees is high, so a military-like hierarchy naturally forms. The military is the place where you can experience this structure from the bottom. If we compare a private to an employee, a sergeant can be said to be the rank of a manager. In real-life society, it takes nearly 10 years to advance to the rank of manager, but in the military, you can experience the characteristics of each rank first-hand because you can advance from the lowest rank to the highest rank in less than two years. Those in lower ranks have no responsibility, but they have a lot of work to do and are in a position to give orders, so they may feel a sense of deprivation. On the other hand, those in higher ranks may feel a little more comfortable because they can do less demanding work, but they have to give orders, so they have to take responsibility. There are characteristics according to the rank, and it is knowledge that is difficult to understand unless you experience it yourself.
Another reason why going to the military is beneficial is that you can learn how to manage yourself. After going to high school, where you live a restricted life under a tight schedule, when you go to college, you are no longer restricted from smoking and drinking and you are no longer labeled as a minor, so you often get drunk on the freedom you have and fail to manage yourself and lead an undesirable life. Irregular meals, late bedtimes, and lack of exercise can lead to weight gain and poor health, which can result in poor academic performance and difficulty adjusting to school. I believe that the military is the most reasonable solution to these overall problems. In the military, you have to wake up and go to bed at a set time. While smoking is allowed, drinking is not, and they are required to exercise a certain amount and eat regularly. This is because keeping soldiers in the best condition is the best way to maintain military power, and as students, they are forced to take time for self-management, which they could not have kept due to assignments, exams, and drinking parties. If you can get used to such compulsory management and maintain it even after you are discharged, you can say that you have not wasted your two years of service.
One of the biggest prejudices people have about the military is that they believe that you have to spend two years idling away in the military. This is true for some people, but not for others. The Ministry of National Defense is making a lot of efforts to improve this negative perception that people have, so if the unit you are assigned to gives you a lot of free time, you can study or exercise during that free time. There is a legend that each unit studied for the administrative examination during their service and passed it. Even if it is not a big exam like the examination, it can be enough time to study for the certificates required by the engineering department if you have a sincere mind. In particular, there are more positions in the military than are known, so you can have time to build up a variety of knowledge and cultivate your own skills. For example, if you are accepted as a Cattus, you can learn English by living with American soldiers for two years, and you can also study English as an interpreter. If you are assigned to a prison or police academy, you can study because it is easy to have your own time, and there are also positions that you can work in that make use of your major, which is not common. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering teaches the field of remote sensing, which is a technology that is also useful in the military, so if you apply for a military service in the same branch, it will be an opportunity to hone your skills. And if you join a select group like the Korean Army’s Special Forces, you will be able to meet people from various walks of life who you would not normally meet in your daily life, and you will be able to build a network with people from different backgrounds that will continue even after you are discharged. Korea does not have a large population, and there is a social climate that values connections, so if you have a small circle of acquaintances, the military is a good opportunity to expand your network.
The last reason for insisting on going to the military is that leaving school to go to the military is like being given a forced vacation. Most students who enter university have been burdened with tests and assignments for a long time. In particular, in the case of engineering colleges, there are subjects that have four tests per semester, and many subjects that give assignments continuously about once a week. However, life completely changes when you join the military, and you are unable to study even if you want to. Of course, there are other difficulties besides studying, but the military is an opportunity to think seriously about what studying means to you and why you want to study. You can take a break from constantly making choices that determine your future and think about important choices. Many students choose unusual career paths after serving in the military, such as taking the civil service examination and choosing to work in protocol, and I argue that students who attend engineering schools need a break from the fast-paced life to think about their true aptitude in a new career.
