Hazing in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces

Hazing in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces refers to hazing and bullying carried out within the military, often to conscripts and junior members. And bullying in military means any act that causes physical or mental pain or personal insults to others in an abnormal manner, and the abnormal method means a method that goes against the law or an excessive method that goes beyond common sense.[1]

Hazing was enforced mainly under the pretext of establishing military discipline, despite evidence that it did not achieve that goal. Hazing resulted in cases of fragging and suicide, which are referred to as non-combat casualties.[2]

History

The cause of the hazing in Republic of Korea Armed Forces starts from the beginning of Korean army. So we have to know the history of Korean army first.

Ministry of National Defense (South Korea) specifies the roots of its armed forces as the Korean Liberation Army. Which is an organization organized to liberate Korea from Japanese colonial rule.

Unlike this definition, however, in the process of the establishment of the Korean Army under the command of the U.S. military government after liberation, military generals from Manchukuo Imperial Army and Japanese Army were at the center of Korean Army.[3] In this process, the Japanese military culture were adopted to Korea army like beating, harsh behavior, strict ranking culture, inferior environment, and emphasis on mental power and it still remained.[4]

In addition, the system of conscription, which imposes only duties regardless of citizens' rights, and wages that are ridiculously low compared to other countries, have been combined, leading to an endless number of aimless hazing.

Starting with the most basic violence, all kinds of incomprehensible malicious harassment are the main actions.

There are also acts of torture among them. There are types of bullying beyond imagination, such as beating with a heated object[5] or forcing to eat bugs.[6]

These hazing actions have led to numerous incidents, including a series of suicides or gun shootings caused by bullying.

Current situation

About 60 percent of the deaths in the South Korean military are suicides each year.[7] According to the research, it has been confirmed that severe beatings, severe beating damage, beating experience, verbal abuse experience, and sexual violence experience have significant effects on the suicidal impulse of the respondent.[8]

　 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Total death 343 416 330 359 273 248 230 182 164 158 150 135 124 128 121 134 113 129 143 111 117 101 93 81 75 86 86
Suicide 129 155 100 103 92 102 101 82 66 79 69 67 64 77 80 75 81 82 97 72 79 67 57 54 51 56 62

The above data are an annual comparison of total deaths and suicides in the military.[9]

Currently, South Korea is in a truce, and it is unusual for so many non-combatant deaths to occur. Also, more than half of the number of suicides among deaths can be seen as a big problem.

South Korea's Defense Ministry wanted to bring suicide in the military to a personal level and compare it with the suicide rate in the outside world, but many experts refuted the claim.

When joining the Korean military, conscripts were already undergo mental evaluation to screen out mentally ill people. And since there are many suicide prevention systems in the military, it is not right to compare them with external suicide rates.

Psychology considers the cause of suicide as a distance, and the nearest cause is actually crucial to executing it. For soldiers, senior soldier is a more direct cause than the breakup of the outside world.[10]

Fortunately, the number of suicides in the military is gradually decreasing as a result of the lighting of military human rights and the establishment and activities of military human rights organizations

Government actions

South Korea's Defense Ministry issued a decree in 2011 to root out the above hazing actions.[11] To ensure anonymous reporting, the agency also provides a service called Defense Help Call to receive reports of all possible crimes and violence that could lead to a suicide.[12] And government has established a military human rights center to further ensure and interest in the human rights of soldiers.[13]

Contrary to these efforts, however, the proportion of conscripts has risen, leaving room for trouble. Currently, the government is preparing a policy to lower conscription standards, fearing that the nation's low birthrate will lead to fewer conscripts.

Experts say such actions will eventually lead to problems by recruiting personnel who are unable to adapt to the closed military.[14]

Since 80% of Korean men are conscripted soldiers[15] and most of them have experienced hazing, it is not difficult to find them in the media. Besides being mentioned simply, it is a list of creations whose subject is hazing itself.


TitleMedia typeDescriptionSite
The Unforgiven (2005 film)movieFamous film that focuses on hazing in militaryExample
WindowcartoonA short cartoon of Choi Kyu-seok and Yeon Sang-ho in a human rights cartoon book called 사이시옷. It deals with the abuse, beatings and torture issues that occur in the military.Example
푸른 거탑dramaA humorous drama about a Korean barracks.Example
노병가webtoonA webtoon about harsh hazing in conscripter policemen in the mid-200s.Example
이하동문입니다.movieFilm produced by the Army Headquarters of the Republic of Korea Army. Although there is a military-made one, there is a scene in which he assaulted a senior soldier in protest of the beating and prevented him from abusing his successor after being imprisoned.Example


Specific incidents resulting from hazing

See also

References
  1. "Definition of hazing". National Statute Information Center.
  2. 박휘락. (2014). 한국군의 악성 병영사고 예방책들의 평가와 대안. 한국의회학회보, 3(1), 155–177. Park, Hwee Rhak. (2014). An Evaluation and Alternatives on Preventive Measures of South Korean Armed Forces in the wake of Serious Accidents in the Barracks. The Korean Parliamentary Studies Review, 3(1), 155–177.
  3. "Foundation of Republic of Korea Armed Forces". Ilyo news.
  4. [한홍구.「」201112이게 다 식민지 잔재 때문일까? "이게 다 식민지 잔재 때문일까?"] Check |url= value (help). 이게 다 식민지 잔재 때문일까?.
  5. "Beat with heated spoon". Chosun Ilbo.
  6. "type of hazing". khan news.
  7. "Portion of suicide in military death". JoongAng Daily.
  8. "한국사회의 군대문화와 군의문사형성에 대한 사회학적 고찰". 윤민재.「」200712한국사회의 군대문화와 군의문사형성에 대한 사회학적 고찰.
  9. "Government stat".
  10. "Cause of suicide in military". Hani news.
  11. "New decree". Seoul news.
  12. "Military helpcall".
  13. "Military human rights center".
  14. "Lowering standards". yna news.
  15. "Percent of conscripted soldiers". cbinews.
  16. "해병대 '기수열외'가 비극 불렀다". hani.co.kr. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  17. "故 김지훈 일병 父 "단추 하나로 시작된 아들의 죽음"". nocutnews.co.kr. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  18. "GOP 총기난사 육군 22사단서 일병 자살… 선임병 가혹행위". news.kmib.co.kr. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  19. "6사단 GP서 선임들 가혹행위로 일병 자살". hani.co.kr. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  20. "가혹행위에 병사 자살, 또 22사단.. "軍, 조작‧은폐 의혹" - 고발뉴스닷컴". gobalnews.com. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
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