People have continuously strived to create a better world—a world in which inequality is nowhere to be found, be it racial, gender-related or economic. The attempts remain to this day, as social inequality still exists. Korea is not an exception. Since the Korean War, it has been mandatory for all Korean men to fulfill military duty in their early 20s, yet they have not received a sufficient amount of compensation in return. As a way to acknowledge men for their work, officials of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) have proposed to give college credits to students who complete their military service.  

On February 8, Han Min Gu, the current Minister of National Defense, declared that a system in which soldiers could earn college credits while serving in the military should be implemented by 2017. After completing the whole required course, soldiers receive a total of 18 credits: six for taking online lectures and passing the exams, three for completing military education, and nine for serving in the military service. This year, Seoul National University (SNU) decided to carry out a test run, which is worthy of notice as it is the first major university in Seoul to do so.

Without a doubt, Korean men deserve rewards for their service. Although their duties are meaningful, Korean men sacrifice two of the most precious years of their lives for the nation. They are forced to go through exhausting training and make a relatively late start on their careers. Our society, however, has been regarding the conscription system as a duty that men are bound to perform and has taken their sacrifice for granted. 

Of course, MND did make persistent efforts to come up with a way to compensate men for their service, yet its acts were passive. For instance, the “veterans extra point system” was practiced in 1961, in which extra points were given to male applicants during entrance exams for state jobs if they completed military service. This system was ruled unconstitutional in 1999, and ever since then no alternative has been set to replace it. 

This being so, MND’s new measure 39 years later is pleasant to hear. Nonetheless, improvements need to be made for this halfbaked matter to be settled. Currently, soldiers who undergo the test receive either pass or fail for their academic and military performance. Although soldiers need to listen to lectures and hand in assignments in order to receive six academic credits, they earn 12 credits simply for serving in the military. Basically, this system is not much different from the veterans extra point system in that it gives 12 credits solely for soldiers’ service. 

Sure, it imposes less direct influence than the extra point system with respect to applying for jobs. Still, soldiers will be likely to receive good grades under the pass-fail grading system, which puts them in a relatively favorable position. Females and those exempted from military service will likely protest against this newly suggested system and ultimately abolish it like they did for veterans extra point system.

The reward system for military men has always been controversial because many question whether it is right to give them some advantages for their legal obligation. Thus, in order to reform the current military system and satisfy those who see the reward system in a negative light concurrently, MND should not merely throw out benefits, but rather create an “opportunity” for soldiers to make up for their two years.

MND could transfer the grading system to the traditional letter-grade system and set a clear guideline as to how a soldier’s performance will be assessed by professors and military officials. While a pass-fail grading system is simply about getting the work done, a letter-grade system, ranging from A to F, has more to do with assigning grades depending on the student’s learning ability. For a student to receive a good grade, an A+ for instance, he or she must try exceptionally hard and meet all the criteria under this category. This way, soldiers will need to put in some effort to get good credit just like any other university student, and perhaps criticisms that credits are given freely will finally come to an end.

 

 

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