Having the shortest term of enlistment is the biggest merit of serving in the Army. You will realize that the one who gets discharged the quickest is the “winner.” Physical strength is greatly increased due to the exercise one is required to do every morning and evening. Also, diverse people from many different regions, age groups, and occupations are gathered together in the Army, so one can learn a lot of things from others. Nonetheless, having fewer days off is the main disadvantage of the Army. Basically, you receive only four furloughs; therefore, one is fundamentally cut off from society. Byun Ho Seok (’09, Business Administration)

 

Conscripted Police officers  

I think that both the biggest advantage and disadvantage of serving as a conscripted police officer are the fact that you are connected with society. Since you are deployed in your area of residence, it feels less lonely in comparison with serving in the army somewhere in isolated mountainous regions. When one receives leave, a sleeping out, or a furlough, it is easier for conscripted policemen to meet friends. Meanwhile, frequent exposure to society also creates frustrations, such as “I only need to change my clothes to join the civilians.” Also, there is no PX in a police unit, so one spends much more money than they make. Lee Hyun Lee(’07, English Language Education)

 

Among The Granite Tower’s (GT) four interviewees, three interviewees recommended their juniors to start their national service after the first semester of their second year. Since you can meet the freshmen and have time to get familiar with them, you will have people to get along with even after you are discharged. Also, one can have more time to prepare for going into the world when compared with enlisting after finishing two full years. Another suggestion is that those who are still undecided on when to finish their service should enlist as soon as possible and get it over with!

 

Air force

The merit of serving in the Air Force is that one receives a lot of furloughs. Air Force personnel usually go on leave every six weeks. Besides, I think the Air Force has the most rational and gentlemanlike organizational culture, giving soldiers the best opportunity for self-improvement. On the other hand, the relatively longer term of enlistment is the biggest disadvantage of the Air Force. Different from other branches of the military, in which personnel generally serve for 21 months, those in the Air Force have to serve for full two years. Park Se Yoon (’08, Business Administration)

 

Overall, “KATUSAs” have more free time compared with those in the other branches of the military. Most work ends at 5 P.M., enabling the soldiers to have rest or leisure time. Making new foreign friends and having the opportunity to take them on tours are some other advantages. For KATUSAs who pass their physicals, free weekend time off the base can be the best merit. But having too much free time and less “top-to-bottom” military structure might be a bad point. It depends on the person, but too often I have seen people using this merit inappropriately. Being looked down upon from some U.S. soldiers because of our nationality is also a minus factor that KATUSAs must face. Lee Sung Hak (’09, Electrical

Electronics Engineering)