Korean Culture and Korean Military Culture

No matter how you look at it, for the vast majority of people, Korean military life sucks balls. Some of those reasons are the inherent traits of military life that are common all over the world. Wherever you are, most military organizations are going to have a strict rank system, hard physical training, pressure to conform and limit personal freedoms. But that's only part of the reason ROK Army life sucks. Even militaries are influenced by the society they're a part of. And the reason why being in the Korean military is so terrible is because it's the Korean military. The Koreaness of the ROK's armed forces makes it a less tolerable of a time than say, being in the US military (I haven't been in the US military but I imagine not being forced to enlist and actually being paid might make the experience less shitty).

One of the aspects of Korean society that has infected the ROK military is its high-context culture. High context culture basically means people assume you already know whatever information the rest of society knows, like everybody shares some kind of telegrahic network. For example, Korean language itself isn't as specific as English. It isn't just grammatical structure though. It gets really frustrating when the people around you expect you to know something even though nobody fucking tells you. Foreign English teachers probably have experienced this frustration multiple times. You're expected to participate in the staff dinner that nobody told you about. There was a change in the class schedule and nobody told you. But it's not their fault, you should've known. I used to work in an office before entering the Army and the same shit happened there. When I complained that nobody informed me about the event in question, I got chided for not knowing. How was I suppsed to know? I just should, because I work here.

In most of these instances, this cultural flaw results merely in frustration but when translated to realm of national defense, it kinda spells like disaster. One complaint I have heard from many foreign english teachers is that hagwons or schools throw them in class and expect them to teach without proper preperation or training. The military does the samething, except instead of involving books and little kids, it involves weapons, ammunition, and the lives of young men. I could write an entire article (I totally should) on how rediculously inadequate basic training is here. Basic only teaches the bare minimum knowledge on handling our rifles and combat techniques. In my case, the lack of training actually reduced my physical fitness.

Perhaps conscripts are supposed to learn more when they are placed in a unit. In most cases no. My platoon leader a couple weeks ago gathered the platoon to remind us how incompetent we are. One of the things he went through was the grenadiers and their lack of ability to operate the K-201 grenade launcher (40mm grenade launcher attached to the rifle. The Korean version of the M-203). The platoon leader ranted on about how nobody knows how to calibrate the sights or the specifics of the weapon. Mind you that none of the grenadiers in my unit have actually fired their weapon! They were offered no training or education on being a grenadier in basic and after being selected for the MOS, much less a live fire exercise. What they are given is a booklet on how to handle the K-201. "Read it," says the leader as he finishes the gripe session for the day.

A booklet. On how to operate a weapon that fires an explosive ordinance several hundred yards. Yet they expect us to fight and kill the enemy in the event of a war. Everybody knows you can't swim by reading about it. In order to be a good at swimming, you have to actually practice swim. Yet when it comes to defending our nation and using complicated weapon systems, we rely on booklets. We do get to fire our rifles by the way. How often? About once every 2-3 months if we're lucky. If MILES training is sparring and shooting at the range is like hitting the heavy bag, our unit is a boxer who has never sparred and olny hits the heavy bag a few times a year. He's still expected to win though. His trainer (our commanders) also has never fought in a match or successfully coached a fighter to victory. Our best chance is that it never comes to war and if it does, hope the Americans are here to help out.

A more immediate cause of stress and frustration for most conscripts comes not from lack of training, but everyday activities and duties. I used to be a desk jockey working in the staff division and now I'm part of the Security Platoon/the Division HQ's Mobile Strike Task Force. In both cases "training" for the job came not from official training courses or classes, but handed down word-of-mouth by senior conscripts. Having had two different MOSs, I have been handed several different task/duties and almost every single one of them did not have an official written procedure on how to do to the job. I had to learn from somebody who knew how to do what I was about to do. If the guy was on leave/discharged/forgot to teach me/forgot how to do it, then I had to learn it by myself as I went along, or leave the task unfinished. In many instances though people expected me to know how to do something because, I just should. There were so many times I have heard I or somebody else should've known something because, "You're a [insert rank] now," "You've been in the Army for [insert amount of months]," "How could you not know? Are you a soldier or not?" or "You don't know? You idiot!" Being chewed out for not knowing something because nobody told you isn't a very good feeling."

Sometimes people expect you to know something that is very specific to them, and thanks to the Korean language, their orders and descriptions can be very vague. For example, "Go get that book/box/tool there." What book? What box? There? Where the fuck is "there?" Of course if you can't find whatever you're ordered to find, you'll get chewed out for being a mumbling idiot. If you do find it but take too long looking for it, you get chewed out for taking too long and being lazy. If you ask to be more specific, you get chewed out for not listening when a superior is speaking. I think this is a form of HUAS I've mentioned in my earlier entries; these people think the world revolves around them so everybody has to know what they're talking about.

This whole high-context thing might be dismissed as a cultural thing, but like many aspects of Korean culture (like spitting everywhere/shoving/staring) this is one of those things that other Koreans get frustrated about (but also invariable guilty themselves). So I can't pass it off as "culture." I think it's retarded and maybe it worked for older generations, but doesn't work in the modern world. I think the reason certificates have so much weight in Korea is because so many employers don't want to bother with training their employees. They want people to know how to work as soon as they sign up. Unfortunately, nobody gets a "Frag grenade qualification" or a "Tank Maintenance Certificate" before entering the Army. It may end up in misunderstandings in civilian society, but in the heat of battle, guys won't know how to use their equipment due to shoddy training and take up the wrong position because the CO wasn't specific about which position. That could probably mean a lot dudes are going to die needlessly.

Korean Politician Trying to Ban Lip-Syncing

I saw on the news yesterday that some hack politician from the 자유선진당 (which is translated into the Free Progressive Party. Kind of an ironic name don't you think?) proposed a bill to the National Assembly to ban lip-syncing. Apparently it's a bill for the paying customers. I'm glad a politician speaks for the masses and knows what we want. Apparently we don't know how to make decisions and need laws to protect us even from shitty musicians.

Now I'm not advocating lip-syncing or Korean-pop "artists." I hate K-pop as much as the next guy with the taste of someone over 14. I also think any musician who lip-syncs isn't worth the title "musician." But I think it is rather retarded that we need a law against it. If people want to see live music they'll pay for live music. If they want to see talent-less hacks pretending to sing, that's whay they'll pay for. It's not like people actually expect pop singers these days to possess even mediocre singing skills. We all know they suck at singing and people who go to see pop-artists go for the visual experience (goodlooking girls dancing in skimpy outfits). People who follow these "artists" are more aware of their musical ability than old politicians. But no, we have to trust these old dudes in suits to know what's best for us dumb misguided masses.

I find this to be more ridiculous because this sort of authoritarian behavior is exactly what I expect Korean leaders to indulge in. They have to control every aspect of society because they believe it's for our own good. Even if it's something as stupid and irrelevant as goddamn lip-syncing. Do we really need a law against it? Who the fuck is this guy anyway? I mean, this is the sort of progressive act that China would be involved in. China did ban lip-syncing by the way, and who would be a better role-model than our totalitarian neighbor (and former(?) communist enemy) to the north?

You can read all about it by doing a naver search if you can read Korean and don't mind having close a dozen ad pop-ups before being able to read the article.

The Jjam Tiger

There's a Korean slang called "Jjam" (짬). It basically means the amount of time/experience you have accumulated in a particular environment/organization. The word originally means food waste; a big pile of discarged food is 짬. And since military food usually tastes like garbage, soldiers call the food we eat 짬밥. I guess since if you've spent more time in the military, you would've had eaten more of the food and therefore, how much 짬 you have indicates how much experience you have had in the military. We say a seargent has more 짬 than a private, and guys with more 짬 constantly harass guys who have had less 짬. I'm gonna assume this is originally a military slang but I have seen civilians use the word to describe how long they have been working at a certain job or been in some organization.

Anyway, at one side of our mess hall, we have a bunch of big plastic barrels where we throw away our leftover food, and as one can imagine, this attracts various life forms such as birds, squirrels, and cats. Sometimes I'm trying to toss my leftover rice and kimchi in the bin and these birds would be jump and startle me. But the most interesting visitors are the cats. In Korean military bases, "짬 Tiger" is the ubiquitous term for feral cats that feed off food waste from the mess halls. Every base seems to have them. Why they call them 짬 Tigers (in English) and not cats or 고양이(Korean for cat), I have no idea. I guess tigers are relatives of house cats and calling it a Tiger is cooler than calling it a cat.

There are about three cats near my base (the ones I've observed) and only one that isn't afraid of humans. It's actually quite fond of us. It has a black and white fur pattern and it routinely hangs around the mess hall and sometimes even enters to catch rats (yes there are rats where I eat) or because its too damn cold outside.


One particularly chilly night, the "Tiger" entered our barracks and hung out near the door. I guess it was cold but it was uncertain about entering a strange building with so many people. But a couple guys and I felt sorry for the cat and gave it a piece of bread, which it promptly (and surprisingly) assaulted and devoured in mere seconds. You know a cat is pretty damn hungry when it eats bread. I felt bad I didn't have any meat products on me but then again, it's not every day you meet a starving cat in your barracks.

I guess the cat then though these humans are alright because it refused to leave. We closed the door only to have it yowl and stare at us like it was saying, "Why won't you let me in?" I was personally worried of my fellow Koreans who might think it's fun to torture cats. I'd rather let it sit in the cold than have some asshole punt it around. There were a couple senior conscripts who alarmed my suspicions and started to confirm my stereotype of Koreans by shoving the cat with their food with considerable force. One weirdo tried to shove more bread into its face and told it to eat. Fortunately, guys with more 짬 threatened to mistreat guys who mistreated the cat. Perhaps not all Korean dudes are assholes to animals. I was surprised at how friendly the cat was for a feral. The cat offered no resistance to being picked up or being petted. It sometimes sought out to sit near a person.

The highlight of the day was when the cat hung around until our evening assmbly just before lights out. During assembly, it actually entered our room where it spotted a comfy mattress and proceeded to sleep on it. A mattress that happened to be my squad leader's. We got a good laugh. It's pretty funny since cats have a strange ability to pinpoint the most comfortable places to sit and the squad leader's spot is the most comfortable since they get thicker mattresses. Some of the guys were mystified by the animal; it was their first time seeing a cat up close. At the end of the assembly, we couldn't let it sleep in our room so we took it outside. It still refused to leave and I worried its yowling my disturb my sleep but it eventually returned to its rightful place near the mess hall.

Nowadays I often meet it hanging around the waste barrels waiting for someone to toss something at it. We joke that since the cat has probably eaten more 짬 than us, we should salute Seargent 짬 Tiger. I half-considered making it a little camouflage collar with a rank insignia attached.

I realize I'm horrible at explaining the concept of 짬 or telling stories in general. I would say my english is getting worse but that's just an excuse.

Korea's Military Industrial Complex

A lot of us Libertarians and many on the left worry about America's military industrial complex. When a nation goes to war, somebody makes a boat load of money selling guns and other things needed to wage war, along with our civil liberties. Since the American government is seemingly obsessed with war and nation building, I used to think this was mostly an American issue. After my entry into the ROK Army, however, I am more exposed to the workings of the military (and it's supporting industrial base) via Defense news/intelligence reports and my daily life here. I am starting to see some patterns and wondering if there's more to conscription than simply "defending our nation."

I look around and see the uniform I wear, the equipment I use, the food products that are supplied to us, and realize that they are all made by the same company. We are given milk everyday and it's always Seoul Milk. Our hard tacks and clothing are all made the same company. Making clothes or blankets isn't hard (you just gotta make them green for the Army) but only one (or very few select) company is given the contract to supply the military when there are hundreds of coporations that are able to make such items. It makes me ponder of the sort of backdoor deals, lobbying, and "campaign contributions" involved to make this happen.

Once we were allowed to order food from Chinese or pizza places outside of base until one day the owner of the Fried Chicken in base complained to the Div Commander and now we have a ban on out of base orders for "health reasons." Conscripts are also not allowed to bring cigarretes of certain brands (foreign ones) with them after leave. PX and vending machine owners are usually ex-military who have ties with active-duty senior officers on base. With virtually no competition, you can see how much business these places get since conscripts have no other place to go. I wonder how much you have to bribe the generals to get this kind of deal.

We have very little choice in food, but the thing that concerns me most is weapons acquisition. I can understand standardizing a weapons system and having one supplier to make logistics easier. You want everybody to use the same rifle that uses the same caliber. You don't want a battalion that uses a K-1 tank here, a T-80 there, and a Leopard some otherplace because it would make training and maintennance really hard. You would also have to supply parts that aren't compatible with eachother. Any company that wins a government contract for a new fighter plane, tank, or missle is gonna get a shit ton of money from the government and a lot of new jobs for the area (which also results in a lot of new votes for the Congressman who lobbied for the contract). Which is why defense corporations in the US have such fierce competitions with eachother (and also foreign competitors) to make the best system for the military. This is what you want since you want your troops to survive and win.

But in Korea there's an obsession with using things Korean. Any weapon or system that can be developed and produced in Korea is adopted almost without question. If you follow weapons programs in the US, they usually go like this: military announces need for new weapon, they set requirements for said weapon, several companies line up for the competition (including foreign ones), years (sometimes decades) and billions of dollars are spent in development, one company is chosen, years more is spent on further development, system is tested and tested again sometimes in actual combat before official adoption by military.

But in Korea is goes like this: military announces need for new weapon, the military and one Korean company (Hyundai if it's an armored vehicle, Daewoo if it's a firearm) develop it, then boom, it's adopted into the Korean military. Where's the competition for the next generation tank or rifle? There isn't. If you follow weapons development in Korea, they are all very sudden. There's also a lot less information on the process except for propaganda on how good the new Korean weapons are. I'm sure they do plenty of computer simulations and testing but I can't help but feel something is suspect. Look at how Korea adopted the K-2 Tank. It's currently the most expensive tank in the world and on paper one of the most advanced. Developed by Hyundai (well, parts of it are) under the direction of the Army, it is already in service in certain units. There was no competition; it wasn't tested against the M1A2, the Leopord or various other advanced tanks made by foreign corporations. It certainly wasn't proven in real combat like other foreign tanks. I'm sure it's a fine tank but you never know until it actually fights. The same goes for the new Army's utility helicopter Surion, which is supposed to be a substitute/replacement for the American made UH-60 Blackhawk but it's an inferior aircraft. Why spend money to make a new chopper when you already have one that can do all the same things better and has been proven in real wars?

The answer is obvious.
Because it's made by a Korean company and there are powerful corporate heads who give a lot of "contributions" to politicians to tell the Army to adopt their helicopter or tank. This sort of bullshit happens in the US as well (the suspicious rejection of Dragon Skin body Armor, the rejection of the Advanced Combat Rifle to replace the M16/M4, the current F-35 program, and the Air Force's KC-X program are some that come to mind), but when it happens it's turns into an issue; it's in the news and people come out to question it since lives of servicemen and America's ability to defend itself is at stake. But nobody says a thing in Korea. The only weapon systems that are not Korean are ones that Korea can't make yet due to lack of technology such as fighter jets and attack helicopters. Of course they are trying to develop these as well.

Here's one interesting tibet. A Korean developer (forgot the name) that makes combat optics for firearms is one of the top suppliers for the US Army. They claim that their optics are some of the best in the world. Yet their awesome optics aren't issued to us Korean soldiers except for a few Special Operations units. They don't wanna spend the money to give their own troops better combat effectiveness but they are sure willing to get money selling it to other countries.

How is this all tied together with concription?
Korea currently has about 700,000 troops. That's a shit ton of troops. Think of how much money corporations get providing the military with hundreds of thousands of uniforms, helmets, boots, milk cartons, kimchi, etc. Think of how much money they would lose out on if Korea turned into an all-volunteer force and the number of troops decreased dramatically. Think of how much money the government would have to pay all the professional soldiers a real wage instead of 80 bucks a month. Think of all milk Seoul Milk wouldn't be able to sell to the Army. Think of all the K-2 rifles Daewoo won't need to make. Think of all the money they wouldn't make and all the bribes politicians wouldn't get as a result. It's simple. Smaller force = less guys = less supplies = less money. Why are certain politicians pressing for longer military service? Why is the criteria for avoiding conscription growing more tough? Is it possible there is a facet of conscription that has more to do with special interests than the "North Korean threat?"

I have another thought as well. Now, this may seem far-fetched, but I think there's a subtle, perhaps not even completely intentional, nation-wide conditioning "program" conducted by the government and Korean society. I have mentioned before in my entry about Education that Korean education (and state-sponsered education in general) is an assembly line that produces "good citizens" who contribute to society. We are pressured to go to school, to not question the authorities, to believe in everything they tell us, get good grades in tests made by the authorities, get into "good schools" and become employed in "good" companies. Success is defined by your ability to get into a major corporation. In the work environment it's a similar story. Employees as a whole are bitches who are expected to ass-kiss their superiors and work more than they signed up to work, and their only way to a better life is to work more hours in hopes to go up in rank in the same system that shits on then. Corporate interests and the politicians want us to be trained at an early age to accept this way of life, to render us into a another robot arm of the assembly line. But nobody questions it. Nobody mentions it, because they have been properly trained to believe in collectivism and are blinded by these notions of "patriotism" and "national pride."

I have a suspect feeling that conscription and all the oppression that comes with it, is another phase of this "training." How many times have I been told that the military will teach me discipline, and how to be "a man?" How many young men are told that they will learn so much in their time in the service. How many young men finally "wise up" and buckle down to study/find a job after their discharge? This buckling down and studying (which also usually ends up in giving up of grandeur dreams) and ending up as another corporate slave in front of a desk and using your wages to buy their products is just what they want. It's what is considered wise and mature. Having dreams and new ideas isn't. They don't want new entreprenuers with dreams to challange their monopolies. They don't want young people with creative thought creating new music to take money away from the K-Pop industry. They don't want citizens questioning things and supporting new and "radical" ideas, so they saturate the media and political debates with the same old meaningless discussions to divert attention away from the real core democratic principles. The real issues of freedom, liberty, and critical thought is not even in the radar.

You're forced into the military, your consitutional rights are flushed down the toilet (there's always a "but" at the end of every consitutional amendment), you are treated like a servant, you are ordered around, you have no privacy and you get paid a fraction of the minimum wage. Then when you get a job, you realize it's all pretty much the same except you're not wearing a BDU and holding a rifle.

Everywhere I go, it's always the same bullshit. You hate going to school? Well, grow up. we can't always do what we want in life. You hate going to the military? Well, grow up. we can't always do what we want in life. You hate your job? Well, grow up. we can't always do what we want in life. You hate your marriage your parents forced on you? Well, grow up. we can't always have what we want in life.

People say the military will prepare you for life. It will. You better get used to being treated like shit in the military since that's how you will be treated your whole life as a corporate slave. Then they call it "freedom" since it's still better than being in North Korea.

Now, I'm not imagining that there are evil corporate bosses rubbing their hands together in a dark room somewhere secretly planning to enslave us. I just think people are self-interested/greedy/selfish, and one point in history some people who had a better start in life decided to make their lives better at the expense of others. But we got too used to it for too long. We want the comforts of prosperity and laziness and we are too afraid to risk it all by wanting something better. We are too content at being "free enough."

I can only hope if there's a real war, lives of soldiers and civilians aren't sacrificed for the sake of greedy politicians and corporate snakes. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic.

• By the way, if your dream is to buckle down, study and work for a major corporation, then good for you. I hope your happy. I'm not cutting down corporate types, but it's just that most people who are desk jockeys don't generally seem happy at living life and I think it's important to do what gives you purpose and happiness.
• I have listed no real sources (you can google some of the weapons programs I mentioned) nor have I any real evidence. This is just what I suspect although to what degree coporate interests dictate military policy, I'm not sure. Anybody with a brain, and some knowledge of how governments work would not be surprised of such backdoor deals though.

Going Back to Base After Chusuk

I've made somewhat of a mistake going out on leave during the Chusuk Holidays. Initially, I thought it gave me a good excuse to go while the staff divisions are busy. I ended up receiving more demands and obligations to meet family. I just wanted to go out, relax and spend time with my girlfriend since she will off from work as well. But no, turns I have to meet this cousin, and that uncle, and apparently giving up a few hours of my damn time isn't enough. Perhaps I'm being selfish and immature. Maybe it is the normal thing to meet relatives you never wanna see during the rest of the year because it's a national holiday. I despise this whole facade of forced "family get-togethers" just because the government decided some days are holidays. For some odd reason we just have to do it, and to think otherwise is taboo. My family is no different. I'm a government slave who has used what precious amount of leave days I have left and my family members are the ones telling me how I should spend my freedom.


I leave one form of authoritarianism to face another. The incredibly heavy rain on Tuesday flooded subway stations, roads and our underground parking lot. I witnessed cars stuck and people wading knee-deep in murky brown rain water. I gave myself hope that I wouldn't have to face the soju-pounding, racist Christians who call themselves my relatives this year. The rain however, subsided as fast as it came, and I was on my way to the rural shithole my grandmother lives in.

My grandfather died when I was little so every holiday his younger brother brings his wife and his son (who also brings his wife and two kids) to keep my grandmother company. My uncle (my father's younger brother) was there as well with his wife and son. We entered the house and my mother proceeded to the kitchen to assume her fated position as a Korean wife a.k.a. kitchen servant. I greeted my cousin who is ROTC and set to become a Lieutenant Second Class in the ROK Army after graduating next year. After the routine prelimerary greetings and of "how is your life in the Army?" questions, my cousin and I were bombarded with condensending comments of how easy military life is nowadays by the older guys. My great uncle in particular was disappointed I was stationed in a Division so close to home and not near the DMZ. Apparently, conscripts these days get fed too much and the service is too short and easy.

"They don't even hit you these days!" they would say with a patronizing snort. I guess I should be glad they don't treat me more like an animal than they already do. Here I realized something I already knew. I have always thought of the government as the main perpetrator of oppressive acts such as conscription, but I also knew that the way government is allowed to act is in part the responsibility of the people. How I expect change in the government when everyday people are the ones who think oppression and infringement of human rights is normal? These regular people like my uncle and great uncle who have been on the receiving end of this inhumane undemocratic policy are the ones supporting it. It's not even an issue of support acutally. Conscription is just this thing they sort of have to do. To many Koreans, it just is. It's something that's there and you just have to accept it. The argument of basic constitutional rights and democratic principles doesn't even enter their heads. I wonder if it would even register. It's like what I said in an earlier entry. A lot of things in Korea that should be issues but aren't because people aren't honest enough or capable of thinking for critically. These things should be brought up constantly in a free democratic society (like Korea claims to be) but it isn't even on the radar.

I'm sitting here waiting for the dreaded moment of reporting back to base. I can't even begin to describe the amount of psychological stress this is having on me. Writing helps. I hate it and it really sucks but to have no choice but to walk back to prison with my own two feet. I can understand why guys desert. I can even fathom why some would commit suicide; they don't wanna live as either slaves nor fugitives. This stress is sapping the physical strength out of me. Knowingly and willingly returning to slavery is one of the hardest things I have done in my life.

I spend a lot of time and mental energy seething at the ROK government and this henious institution. I constantly form and reform arguments in my mind against conscription. But today, I don't have the energy to be angry or think. I'm just sad and depressed. This is the fate of a Korean. Perhaps this is the fate of being human. No matter what sort of political system we are a part of, or how powerful we think we are, we are ultimately puppets of a bigger hand. It's just in some places, we are a bit more free than others. I just wish people were more honest about it. Why take away my freedom, treat me like a slave, force a rifle in my hand (and not even give me enough bullets to shoot it and training to operate it) then have the fucking audacity to tell me I'm fighting for freedom and humanity? Where's my goddamn freedom and humanity?

If you're gonna turn us into conscripts, the government and society should just openly tell every male child born and his parents, "We are going to take you away when you are a young adult and at the prime of your life so we can teach you the basic minimum skills of killing other young men. We will also try to strip you away the ability to think for yourself, and treat you like a slave. In fact, you will probably spend more time with a mop than a rifle. This is to protect our current form of government rather than freedom, although since we never really fight wars or have enough money to make an efficient military, we're not even sure we are capable of protecting ourselves. Frankly, you won't really be a soldier; just expendable labor. For your troubles you will be paid a fraction of the minimum wage set by our very own laws. Sure we have the constitution that is supposed to grant you rights, but that's just a piece of paper to make us look a real country. Goodluck. BTW, Nobody will thank you or even give two shits about your service."

I'm bitter about this. I find myself fantasizing about going back in time to make sure I'm born in American territory. As shitty as the US can be, at least they don't have the draft...yet. We have the entire system set against us the moment we are conceived. The day my parents decided to have me, I was fated to be what I am now. I can understand the desperation that drives some to suicide or desertion. I can even occasionally put myself in the shoes of a person who thinks blowing up a building is the only way he can make a difference. Shit, I would probably end up in prison if the police read that last sentence. Sometimes I don't think it would be a bad thing if somebody bombed the Defense Ministry (with no casualties of course). But those are just silly fantasies. It's a good thing I'm a libertarian who believes in peace (since conflict usually provides government with more power). Anyway, it's time for me to put on the chains and my prison uniform.

An Army Summer Trip

This past July, I did something I never thought I would do in the Army, go on a "camping" trip. During the summer, officers and NCOs of the general's staff take a day off and go on a little trip. They usually take their family but sometimes they take conscripts with them and the Major in charge of our division was nice enough to take us this time. I wouldn't have minded not going and instead spend the day sleeping and reading, but it's not like I have any choice in the matter. Turns out they (officers and NCOs) needed us clean, carry stuff, and babysit their kids.

Of all the different kinds of details I've been put on, taking care of kids was my favorite. It isn't easy, but I like kids and their laughter and innocence put a smile on my face. I was however, somewhat sadden by the thought that these kids (the boys especially) were destined to become a government slave at one point in their lives. As they splashed around and screamed with joy in the stream next to the camping site, I figured I should play with them as joyfully as I could since it's only a matter of time before their parents' degenerate culture rips out their innocence and shits on their creativity.

There were six kids in the water at the time. Two girls(of about 7 and 5) and a little boy of three from an Seargent First Class along with another pair of girls (about 10 and 8) and a two year old girl of a captain. I was looking after them with the captain's wife (a strict Christian who kept calling us "brother") and a Corporal from my division.

The CPL (who's also my senior) were wrestling the older kids in the water while I was looking after the two little ones with the wife. The deepest part of the stream went up to my waist so our priority was to keep the kids safe. It wasn't exactly easy. They were constantly hounding us to refill their water guns, to pick them up out of the water, to put them back in the water, and to fetch the ball if it went too far downstream, etc. The little boy of three was especially fascinated with shooting the water gun and having the courage of a child who knows nothing, he would bravely wade in the water whenever he dropped the plastic weapon and it started to float downstream. I would catch him every time he ventured too far but once I fucked up.

With the CPL busy wrestling the kids and the lady too occupied with her own little daughter, I had to take care of every kid in between. A girl had trouble coming back on the bank and I stooped to pick her up and take off her life jacket. I turned back to my position to see the little three year old boy flailing about face down on the water. All I could think about was "Oh shit" before I rushed as fast I could to get him out of the water. Fortunately, I wasn't too late. The kid was gasping for breath but he more scared than hurt. We adults had sort of an unspoken agreement to not mention this to the boy's mother.

I was glad the boy was safe and that I was fast enough to get to him, but I was a bit shaken by the situation. If I was a little later a three year old could have lost his life and a mother have her life destroyed. Even though this was a few months ago, the image of the boy flailing for his life keeps popping up in my head. I can't help but think I should have kept better watch. My most memorable experience in the Army was when I saved and almost killed a little kid at the same time.

My Second Time on Leave

Earlier this week I was out on leave and one of the things I've planned to do was rant about the my army experiences but I've been constantly warned and "educated" on criticising the ROK miltiary on the internet. While they won't be able to track me down using this blog since I don't have to type in my identification number I have to sadly admit I have been successfully coerced into not exercising my freedom of speech. I have been scared into not using a right gauranteed in my country's constitution (what am I fighting for again?). Perhaps I'm being too cautious but I'm gonna wait on dissing what needs to be dissed, until I'm free.

Even though I was not able to carry out one aspect of my plan, I did do a lot of things I've been dying to do "inside." The greatest part of being out was simply being free. It isn't something great that relieves the weight of oppression off a man's shoulders. It is little things like being able to go to sleep when you want, drinking of cup of coke with ice while eating lunch, and holding hands with the woman you love. Being out in a relatively more civilized society is like going up for a breath of air. One thing I really missed was watching movies and I was stoked to go see "Inception" and see what the fuss was about.

Inception for me was fucking awesome. Because of the Dark Knight, I went in with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. I saw all of Nolan's major films and I personally think this is his best work. It is better than even Memento and The Dark Knight. As with the Dark Knight, I felt Inception was really well paced, the cinematography was incredible, and the movie has a good mix of hollywood action, art and story. Whoever did the fight choreography needs to be in the next Batman movie because the fight action was far superior to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. As for flaws, there are some confusing moments because of the use of dream logic as a plot device. But maybe I'm thinking into it way too much. I was a little disappointed that they casted several really talented actors but hardly got to use their full potential, a problem I thought Nolan had with Bale with the Batman movies. Part of my reason for seeing this movie was Ellen Page, but I never really got to see her really express herself in this movie; it was mostly about DiCaprio. Regardless, it was still really good shit. Not "groundbreaking" or as original as some people claim, but it is a better than most of the Hollywood garbage usually out.

Before I saw the movie, I went to a PC room and played a bit of Starcraft 2 as I was waiting for my girlfriend to arrive to the theater. I wasn't a big fan of the first game but I was told by others that this one is different from the first one. I decided to try it out and it was sort of "meh" for me.
Maybe I didn't play it enough (I only played for about 40 minutes) but in the short time I played it, I felt Starcraft 2 did nothing new and resembled pretty much every other real-time strategy game. I always liked the in-game movies made by Blizzard more than their actual games but I didn't even get to see that.

Of course for most conscripts, going out on leave amounts to being able to eat all the things they couldn't inside as much as possible in a short period of time. For me it was no different. I took my woman to a China Factory which is a fancy "fusion" Chinese restaurant. It turned out to be another overpriced place with nice decor and dishes that barely cover half the plate. The best part was actually the partially frozen mangos available at the dessert bar. It was more economical and tasty for me to cook food myself. During my time out, I've made Pasta Alfredo, Risotto, Lasagna, Fried Chicken and Shrimp, Pizza, and Fish Bake. I'm consistently surprised at how well my dishes turn out. Following youtube videos actually work. I've also introduced my girlfriend to smores for the first time and she fell in love. Since I couldn't find Graham Crackers at the Foreign Market at Itaewon, I did with Diget cookies and they worked great.

We also saw The Cove at my girlfriend's place. I heard it was good but I was blown away when I saw it. I like dolphins but this documentary really opened my eyes to the state of animals in captivity and to the increasing mercury levels in seafood as well. But I was more moved and impressed by the sheer passion of the people who created this work. Their willingness to risk themselves for a cause they believe in was beautiful to watch. That's how people should fucking live.

Speaking of passion, Korean boxer Kim Ji Hoon had his first world title fight this past Sunday against Miguel Vazquez. KBSN Sports aired it live. Since I knew very little about Vazquez I didn't make any predictions, but I thought Kim's style could pose a problen...for Kim. The guy is fun to watch because he has a shit ton of power and could bulldoze through guys. The dude is a straight-up fighter. But he is inexperienced and lacks technique and defense. Vazquez exposed it all. He didn't hurt Kim, but instead make him look like a fool. Kim could've been the first Korean World Champ since Ji Injin but he picked the wrong opponent. I hope he comes back since he is fun to watch. Perhaps he needs a new trainer that will teach him how to throw punches other than a straight right and a lefthook to the body. Perhaps a guy who will teach him to throw a jab. Since I didn't make a pick, I wasn't disappointed by the outcome. It felt good to watch boxing and exercise my "boxing brain" again.

Before I returned to base, I gathered several books I sought to read in my freetime. My father was kind enough to get my On Combat by Dave Grossman, 1776 by David McCullough, and finally A Revolution Manifesto by Ron Paul (my hero). These books are a part of my own personal reading list for my study of freedom. In order to be a proper Libertarian and an advocate of freedom, I figure I should read up on the history and concepts of what I believe in. I'll start with these three for now. I got On Combat not only because of my interest in military issues, but also because this is a study about an essential element of any nation (the military and police) and what it has to go through in order to protect themselves. Like Grossman says, if we're going to ask our young men to kill and die for us, we should at least understand what we're asking them to do. If anybody is an advocate of a draft or any sort of mandatory military service, I suggest you to read Grossman's books first. I posted on entry on his first book On Killing and I hope to explore the subject more with On Combat.

1776 I got because it is about one of the most important wars for freedom. It is about a time when Americans were endowed with the spirit of liberty (if not in practice) and how the ideals of Libertarianism were founded. It is a time of some of my personal heroes. As a fan of the principles of America and its constitution, I feel I should be more knowledgable of the war that started it all. I'm assuming 1776 will be a good starting point for that.

My most important book is obviously Ron Paul's. Even though I was looking to read this book for about three years now, I was planning to read this book near the end of my conscription service because I was afraid it would piss me off even more about my predicament. I couldn't wait any longer and ended up reading half of it in two days, and needless to say, I agree with everything Paul says about conscription (and most of the other issues covered). There are so many good quotes that I couldn't quote them all. But the basic message is that conscription is slavery, it pretty much means that the government owns its citizens, which are thoughts I have already formed long ago. Sometimes I wonder what is the point of all this if we are taking away the rights of citizens just like the Norks are. Why are we protecting ourselves from totalitarianism by being so ourselves? Shit's fucked up.

I also brought with me the book Ten Day MBA (had it since highschool but never read it until now). I figure I should learn something that could help me more directly. I plan to go out again in Chusuk next month so I have a month to waste my life away. Might as well try to get something during that time.