President Lee Jae Myung greets troops during a visit to the Marine Corps' Yeonpyeong unit, a frontline outpost near North Korea, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korea has one of the lowest birthrates in the world and a mandatory military service requirement that has shaped the lives of virtually every man in the country for generations. Now those two facts are on a collision course.
Every able-bodied Korean man between the ages of 18 and 38 is required by law to serve in the military. Most undergo a physical examination around age 19 and complete their service in their 20s, typically spending 18 months as rank-and-file personnel in the Army or Marine Corps, or slightly longer, in the Navy for 20 months or the Air Force for 21 months.
Those who qualify and apply can serve instead as noncommissioned officers (NCOs) — a rank between enlisted personnel and commissioned officers — or as commissioned officers, with initial commitments of four and three years, respectively.
But because the rank-and-file route is relatively shorter and requires no selection process, most conscripts take it, despite the limited personal freedom, a strict environment and a long history of hazing and violence within military units.
