예비군 훈련(reserved army training)
Saturday, September 27th, 2008Hi. 현우 here : ) Haha. You do see these pictures? Yes, that’s me in my military suit. Haha.
So why am I wearing my military suit (=군복) again? Well I had to attend the annual reserved army training (예비군 훈련) this past Thursday, and I took a couple of photos before taking the uniform off.
I’m sure many of you already have some knowledge about the Korean military system, but to briefly mention what it works like, every *healthy* man in this country has to serve the army for roughly 2 years (now it’s getting shorter and shorter), and after the service is over, they have to attend the annual trainings for the next 5~6 years. It’s *very* difficult to find somone who doesn’t have any sweet memory at all from his military service, and even the tedious and long military service can have its enjoyable moments at times but it doesn’t seem to be the case for this 예비군 훈련(reserved army training), HAHA - everybody hates it, and that includes me as well. I guess this is because you’re working, or studying at school, or doing whatever that is NOT related to the army in any way, and you’re called once a year to wear that unfashionable miltary suit and those uncomfortable/heavy military boots and go to the training center(훈련장) on a regular working day 
A day at the 예비군 training camp isn’t exactly filled with meaningful tasks, in other words it’s extremely boring but tiring at the same time, but whenever I have these 예비군 trainings, it brings back my memories of the time when I was actually in the army (which was from 2001 to 2003), so I get to call up or send text messages to some of my friends from the military service - which is also how I know that a friend of mine just took his 예비군 training when I hear from him all of a sudden. 
Posted by Hyunwoo in How Koreans Do It |
September 27th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Awesome uniform 현우 씨!
What are some typical duties for reservists?
September 27th, 2008 at 2:04 am
오빠! I like a man in uniform~ XD
I didn’t realise that you guys have to go back again, I thought you just did your 2 years and then that was it, forever!
September 27th, 2008 at 4:39 am
I was stationed in Alaska during my 2 year stint, in the US Army. I hated it, but now sometimes I miss it.
September 27th, 2008 at 5:46 am
Matthew
Do you mean duties in the case of an actual war? : ) It all depends on the person, and everybody has a specific position to fill, but usually not in the frontlines.
Taliana
That’s what I thought before I started the 2-year service!! I thought it would be it! Haha. But these 예비군 trainings are not so tough, so it’s fine XD
John
Yeah I know what you mean : ) - I really do miss those days sometimes!! And the people…
September 27th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I could join the military…if they ever needed a sergeant for their Special Flamenco Forces.
Seriously, military duty is no small task, even if it’s infrequent. Kudos to you. (And yes, your uniform becomes you!
)
September 27th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
My husband just completed 3 weeks of reservist training. He’s a medic, which means that in times of war, he’ll be in the battlefield tending to the wounded…
In Singapore, all boys go through 2 years of military training when they are around 17 or 18, after which they have to serve 14 cycles of reservist training (or until they turn 40 years old, whichever comes first). And each year, they can be called back for a maximum of 6 weeks, which can also include training in overseas locations such as Taiwan, Australia and Brunei. My poor husband will be going for another 2 weeks’ training in November, making it a total of 5 weeks this year. Different people get called back for different durations, often depending on their vocation. In Singapore, where we have such a small population, every man counts, haha! So reservist training in Korea doesn’t sound that bad….
September 28th, 2008 at 12:11 am
현우 씨 - Well, I’m curious as to what typical duties are for reservists right now. Do you help build bridges? Do you do community service like visiting schools and helping at shelters?
Shan - Singapore’s reservist army sounds very time-demanding. What is the overall feeling from the soldiers? Do they enjoy the time spent training or would they rather be at home? How do their regular jobs cope with the loss of their staff due to reservist training?
September 28th, 2008 at 3:01 am
우와! 잘 생겼네요!
September 29th, 2008 at 12:26 am
오.. 현우씨
아직 예비군?
저는 민방위 ㅋㅋ
September 29th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Matthew: everyone would prefer being at home rather than serve in the army, especially if it’s a stay-in or overseas stint!! But as to whether they prefer reservist training to their regular jobs… it really depends on what they do. Some have very laid back army vocations and they treat reservist training as a welcomed break from work.
The 2 year army training and years of reservist after that is very ingrained in the Singaporean culture, so people don’t usually have any trouble with their regular jobs when they are called back. Of course you can apply to defer your training to another time if you are really indispensable in the office at a particular time.. but some swear that if you defer, you get it worse the next time!
There have been some families who choose to migrate just because they don’t want their boys to go through NS (national service, that’s what we call it here, haha!). And once boys reach a certain age (I think it’s 12), they have to apply for an “exit permit” each time they leave the country. It’s very easy to do, but it just shows how serious the government takes this NS obligation. It’s a kind of rite of passage too.. when they get sent off in the 3-tonners by their weeping moms they are boys, but when they complete their 2-year training, they sort of become men…
September 29th, 2008 at 5:34 am
Bouks
Haha. Just imagining a troop like that makes me laugh haha. That kind of troop will excell at flamenco of course, but they’ll make flamenco so much less interesting due to lack of creativity… hehe… or at least that’s the image that I still have about the military.
Shan
WOW! That’s a lot !!!!!! Yeah I realized how little training we get over here in Korean after learning about the training in Singapore.
Here the maximum number of hours that we get each year is 32 hours, which can either be spent through 3 consequtive days of training including sleeping at the site or through 4 consequtive days of going to the training site everyday from home 
and if you’re a student, you get to have it reduced to 8 hours a year - maybe that’s why we don’t appreciate it so much - it’s so little to mean anything, yet it still comes around each year… 
Matthew
It really depends on each individual what a reservist does in times of war, but reservists don’t do much of the actual combat activity, and instead mostly do the stuff that is necessary for maintining the forces - helping the soldiers that are *in action*.
My duty changes all the time (or at least I feel it does).
Soo-jan
하하… 고맙습니다 ^^;;!!
Manyakumi
하하 네 ㅋㅋ 아직도 예비군이에요. ^^ 벌써 민방위이시군요. 부럽습니다~!
September 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I, for one, can’t imagine myself doing obligatory military service.
I know that it’s simply an accident for my residing in a place that doesn’t have it, but still, it’s a bit strange to me. I honestly would not know what I would do with myself in this situation.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:47 am
Hyunwoo Sun!
Congratulations my friend you look handsome on that uniform keep up this great job
S_R_C
October 12th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
haha! my friends are in the army now and they’re totally trying to get medical leave.
nice uniform btw!