I remember reading some time ago in various newspapers about the Korean conscription system and about how Korea has the highest population of conscientious objectors to conscription currently serving time in prison not per capita but by sheer number alone. This seemed unjust to me but the way the articles went (everything from BBC World to the Taipei Times) it seemed as though the government here was starting to realize that things aren¡¯t the same as they were in the 1950s when the current conscription laws were drawn up, and that perhaps it was time to ease up or at least allow for a conscientious objector to have some kind of alternative to serving other than three years in jail. Yet years have passed and I haven¡¯t seen any real change, nor have I seen evidence that there are any real options for those who for either religious or moral reasons refuse their (still) mandatory 2 year 2 month service.

There have been the usual kinds of objectors in the past--most of them religious-based, some of them moral. I had the chance to talk to a few of my friends who have various points of view on the subject. It seems to me that the basic issue here comes from the apparent contradiction in the constitution that guarantees freedom of speech and action, yet strictly mandates that all young men who are of able body and mind serve their 22-26 months by the time they reach the age of 30. Is it fair? Well, to most Koreans it¡¯s not a question of ¡°fair¡± as much as it¡¯s a question of defending the country from any further attack on the heels of the stillunresovled (no peace treaty has been officially signed) Korean War. But it¡¯s been how long now and has North Korea made any advances towards the South? Any military aggression? Other than digging their not-so dreaded ¡°tunnels of aggression¡± and amassing up to 70% of their 1.1 million-plusstrong army within about 160 km of the border, there hasn¡¯t been a definite air of fear of war among the population south of the 38th parallel for quite some time. So why do they still have to serve in the army? To my brother-in-law, for example, he didn¡¯t really even question why he was going or vocalize any sort of complaint when he went--he just did it and got it over with. Since realistically, the prospect here of a full-out war is pretty slim, it¡¯s become more of a ¡°rite of passage¡± for young men who finish high school--take a couple years of university or goof around for a while, go to the army, then start your life as a ¡°man¡±. Of course this seems kind of silly to us Westerners who don¡¯t have a conscription system.

My friend Yisang has a grandfather who was a Yangban scholar in Pyongyang before the war. At that time, communist troops stormed through the city and essentially put an end to that class of people. Had his grandfather not escaped, he says ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been born,¡± and thus ¡°the war weighs heavy on my consciousness.¡± Yisang is refusing his military service not only for moral reasons, but also because he sees the folly in the various exemptions and concessions they grant athletes and celebrities. Not that they¡¯re exempt entirely, but compared to the average person, they¡¯re given extremely light duties and are allowed to leave when they have to play games or perform. He says, ¡°Among the general population, there is nobody to whom this kind of exemption or lighter treatment applies. Especially punks.¡± Punks, now that we bring it up, are generally not too keen on the conscription system here. As Yisang says, ¡°the scene here is already young and fragile. The last thing we need are bands constantly being broken up and people being chased down the streets and taken away just because they must do their military service for two years.¡± Yisang considers conscription to be a muzzle not only on the independent music scene in Korea, but on personal freedom in general.

Another Korean punk, who because his name is so common goes by the name Crowpunks, is planning on conscientious objection. Why? ¡°For moral reasons. The military does not support personal freedom.¡± Furthermore, Crowpunks thinks that the conscription system has reached the point where ¡°among all people [in Korea], it¡¯s become an accepted social institution under the pretense that it¡¯s a necessary anti-communist measure. This is simply due to carelessness people have in forming their opinions.¡± So although standards of labor and quality of life have improved drastically in Korea in the last 20-30 years, many of the institutions and limitations of liberty from an era long since gone still remain today. Yisang tells me that ¡°if North Korea concedes to a more open policy and finally concludes a peace treaty with the South, then perhaps the conscription system will be abrogated. Being mindful of Japan, China, and Taiwan, I think Korea can still change for the better.¡±

But not all punks share his point of view. ¡°Even after the war is ended,¡± says Donghyun, lead singer of Captain Bootbois, ¡°it will be hard to get rid of conscription before unification. However, if there is a peaceful mood, then the size of the military can be reduced, and it can become a volunteer army. Korea is still at war. Therefore, going to the army is not a choice but a duty. Many of my friends don¡¯t want to go to the army and neither did I, but you should go to the army as a Korean citizen. I think it¡¯s a contradiction to make any judgement about Korea without completing your duty.¡± Obviously, whatever point of view you come from, although Korea is seemingly a relatively calm and peaceful society, most people here do actually live very aware of war and the long history of warfare that the country has stood up to throughout history.