Korea: Advantages for Servicemen in Civil Service Exams?

As I wrote in an earlier posting, military service is a sensitive issue in Korea. Recently, a lawyer became a hero in Korea through his outspoken comments about these two issues.

Recently, the government considered adding two points to civil service exam results for those male candidates who had gone through normal military service (two or more years of military service). This suggestion made some people angry. Women’s associations were especially unhappy about that. They asked why men should have more benefits and why women do not get any points for giving birth.

There was a TV panel about this issue and hot arguments among panelists. One participant was a male lawyer, Jeon Won-chaek. He spoke out how fair the system is (actually, two percent is not enough according to him). What he said in the panel became material for a collection of quotations on the internet. Many people have been applauding him for ‘scratching an itch in society,’ and he is called Jeon Geo-seong (in reference to an outspoken comedian).

A blooger, dolba, summarized Jeon Geo-seong arguments.

상황 1)
남윤인순 : 가고 싶은 군대를 만들어야 합니다.
전원책 : (격렬하게) 나 참. 말씀을 그렇게 하시면 안되죠? 이 세상에 가고 싶은 군대가 어딨습니까? 군대가면 자도 자도 졸리고, 먹어도 먹어도 배고픈 곳입니다.
남윤인순 : …..

Situation 1)
Nam (a representative of the Korea Women’s Associations United): We should make an army that men would like to go.
Jeon: (aggressively) Na cham! How could you say like that? Do you think such a kind of army exists in this world? The army is a place where you hunger for sleeping and eating.
Nam: ….

상황 2)
사회자 : 전 변호사님 흥분을 가라앉히시구요.
전원책 : 흥분을 안하게 생겼습니까 지금.

Situation 2)
Host: Laywer Jeon. Calm down.
Jeon: Do you think it’s possible to calm down now?

상황 3)
전원책 : 자꾸 여성분들은 군복무가 안된다거나 간호장교 쪽들만 생각하시는데, 제가 봤는데 요즘 여자도 특전사 많이 갑니다. 하는거 봤는데… 잘해요~~!!!

Situation 3)
Jeon: women think that women can’t perform military duty or just think about nursing officers. I saw women who are in the special army. I saw them… They’re really good!!!

상황 4)
송호창 : 군대가면 인간이 되서 나온다고 그러셨는데, 어떤 인간이 되서 나오느냐가 중요하죠.
전원책 : (미친듯이 분노하며) 송변호사님 말씀이 너무 지나치십니다. 미국 법률로~~~ (어쩌구 저쩌구 청산유수~~~) 그리고, 군대에서 학점이수 뭐 어쩌구요?? 그거 다 보기 좋으라고 그러는겁니다. 하루종일 힘들게 고생해서 저녁에 무슨놈의 학점이숩니까? 취업교육이요?? 다시 한번 말씀드리지만, 군대는 폭력을 가르치는 폭력집단입니다. 학점이수 운운하는 국방부장관 있으면 정말 국방부장관 자격이 없는겁니다.

Situation 4)
Song (another lawyer): Going through military service, men become men. It’s important what kind of people they become.
Jeon: (angrily) Lawyer Song. it’s too much. According to the law in the U.S.A. (…speaks very fluently) and getting college credits during the army duty?? It’s not realistic, it’s for propaganda. How can they get college credits after going through hard jobs whole day? Recruitment training?? I speak again, the army is a group to teach violence. If the minister of the Military Defense Department speaks about credits, he doesn’t have the qualification to keep the job.

상황 5)
전원책 : (무슨 이유에서 나왔는지는 모르겠지만…) 라이언 일병 구하기 보셨습니까? (후략)

Situation 5)
Jeon: (we don’t know why he suddenly talks about this) Have you seen the movie “Saving Private Ryan”?

상황 6)
전원책 : 토론하시러 나온 양반들이 자료하나 정확히 못 가지고 나오십니까. 군대 실정을 몰라도 너무 모르시는 것 같습니다.

Situation 6)
Jeon: Panelists here don’t even bring any accurate references. You guys don’t know anything about the army at all.

그외의 발언 내용
“군대는 폭력을 가르치는 집단입니다.”
“가산점을 사기업까지 확대해야하고 2%적습니다.이 번 법안 5%로 수정해서 올리세요.”
미필자 참석자에게 “군대 가보셨습니까?”

Others:
“The military service is a group to teach violence.”
“The additional score should be applied to private companies and 2 percent is not enough. It should be more than 5 percent.”
Military service is a place to take freedom away. Humans are fundamentally looking for freedom. Who would go to a place that doesn’t have freedom?”
Toward male panelists who didn’t go to military service “did you go to military service?”

자.. 이제 각 발언에 대해서 냉정하게 생각해보자. 왜 수많은 사람이 그의 발언에 대해 호응하고 찬성하는지…

So… let’s think about his comments. Why are so many people are crazy over his comments and support him…

Some bloggers, like hi8001, took it as a sex battle.

굳이 나야 현역으로 나오지 않았으니 별 달리 할말은 없지만 정말로 현역으로 2년을 군에서 복무한 사람들의 박탈감은 있을듯 싶다. 문제는 국가는 그 사람들을 기억해 주지 않는다는 것이다. 뭔가 해 줄려고 하면 꼭 여성단체같은 곳에서 태클이 걸린다. 물론 여자는 아이를 낳는다라는 말을 할수도 있다. 그런데 말이다… 출산은 의무가 아니지 않은가? 출산은 선택이다. 그러나 남자의 군복무는 의무다.

I didn’t finish two years of military service, so I don’t have a lot of things to comment. But it seems that men who finished the regular military service feel divestment from society. The problem is that the nation doesn’t remember them. Whenever the government tries to do something, female groups tackle this issue. Of course they can say women should go through child bearing labor. But… is birth a duty? Birth is a choice, but military service is a duty.

Another blooger, solsolsiryo, said,

유치원도.. 초등학교도.. 중학교도.. 고등학교도.. 대학교도.. 직장도..
모두 남녀모두 다니고 있습니다.
하지만 시간만 버리고 정신상태 안좋아지는 군대에는 남자는 가고
이런 기회를 살려 공부도 하고 연애도 하며.. 임신 등들을 하는 여자는 안갑니다.
꼭 군대가 아니라도 좋습니다.
여자도 군대처럼 꼭 의무적으로 가야 하는곳을 만들어 의무적으로 교육받게 하는건 좋지 않나 생각해보네요.
뭐 어떤것이라도 평등하지 않지만 맞춰나아가도록 노력해봅시다.

Kindergarten…primary school… middle school… high school… university…company…
Men and women all go through these passages. But men should go to the army, wasting time and make our mentality bad. Using this chance, women study, have their own lives… and give birth.
For women, it doesn’t have to be the army. Women should also go to some places as a duty. We should make efforts to make equality.

As a matter of fact, this is not the battle between men and women. A blogger talks about this.

병영혜택문제를 가지고 전원책변호사의 의견은 남성을 대변하기에는 그 보다 더 좋을 수는 없겠지요.하지만 이를 자꾸 남성과 연결시켜 부각시키려는 언론은 얄밉습니다. 마치 이간질 시키는 느낌을 지울 수가 없어요.

His opinion about military benefit couldn’t be better than anything else to represent men, but I hate the mass media for emphasizing it as a ‘men’s issue.’ It is likely to make bad blood between men and women.

Another blogger takes this issue more objectively.

지금 당장은 찬반으로 나뉘어져 여러 의견이 오가고 있지만 분명 군복무 가산점은 인정되고 말것입니다. 군복무 가산점에 대해서는 남/녀의 이분법적인 생각보다는 다른 방법으로 접근해야 옳다는 것도 저 역시 동감합니다.
남성은 군대를 가는 대신 여성은 출산을 하지 않느냐?
여자도 군대를 갔다오면 평등하다.라는 유치한 생각을 가지신 분들은 없으리라 믿고 있습니다.

불과 몇년 전입니다. 태어날 아이들의 병역기피를 목적으로 해외에서 출산을 하는 원정출산이 붐이었던 적이 있습니다. 지금 당장은 군복무를 하는 남자들이 대부분일지는 몰라도 원정출산이 붐이었던 세대가 군대를 가야할 나이까지 성장한 때가 오면 대한민국에 사는 남성들이라도 군대를 가지 않는 남자들이 많아질 날이 올껍니다. 그때가 되면 소수의 군복무를 마친 남성들에겐 어떻게든 보상을 해 주어야겠지요. 그들은 사회적으로 많은 불이익을 받는 세대일테니까요. 다른이들보다 2년이나 늦게 사회진출을 하게 되는데요.

Even though there are opposite opinions now, additional score for military service duty men will be recognized. I agree that we should approach this issue in other methods rather than male/female dichotomy. Instead of military service, don’t women give birth? Or women should go to military service for equality. I believe that there are not a lot of people who have such a cheesy thought.

In order to avoid military service, some women go abroad to give birth. Even though most men go to military service at present, when this new generation comes across military service, there would be a lot of men who do not go to military service. If the time comes, the government should give some rewards for the men who finish military service. They will be the generation who should put up with the disadvantages in society because they can step into society two years later.

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