An Op-ed from the Korea Herald on the Military in Korea:

The manuals of Korean political groups list military issues as the best subject to arouse public sentiment, as witnessed in the two previous presidential elections. In this country which has adopted the universal, mandatory service system since the Korean War, military service is naturally a most sensitive social as well as political subject because virtually every citizen has served in the army or has a family member in uniform.

Military service has been associated with the notion of physical hardship and extended detachment from social opportunities. Exemption for outstanding sports and artistic activities is regarded as a privilege, as is the disqualification from service for physical inferiority. President Roh's suggestion last month to shorten the period of compulsory military service, therefore, was instantly rebuked as simply a ploy to attract young voters in the forthcoming election.

Ironically, President Roh, who spent three years in the Army as an enlisted man, must feel relatively free to speak frankly about military service compared to his predecessors who were not in the regular army. And, as a former human rights advocate, he must have no great respect for the military brass, who in his eyes, earned their stars or held commanding positions because of their personal connections with military rulers.