South Korea's Sexist Military (한국군대와 여성의 역활)

(이글은 저하고 같이 근무한 정신과의사, 여자, 분이 저에게 보내준 뉴옥타임스 신문기사임니다.)

한국공군사관학교에서 학업성적이 일등으로 종업하는 분이 여자이게 때문에
남학생으로 갈아치우고 대통령상을 주려다가 들켜서(?) 다시 여학생으로 복귀 결론 햇단 얘기인데, 한국에서 여자 대통령이 나온 시기가 적절하다고 생각.

여자의 능력을 100% 이용하면 한국이 외국에서 인력을 수입할 필요도 없을 텐데.

신라때만 해도 여자가 왕이 될수잇엇는데, 유교의 영향으로 여왕이란 개념자체가 1000 년 자취를 감추엇는데, 중국과 일본에서 여자가 대통령이 될때는 아마 우리세대에는 보지 못할것 같음.

MARCH 5, 2014

But to many South Koreans, the real reason for the choice was obvious: The valedictorian was a woman and the salutatorian a man.

South Korea first allowed women into the military in 1950 during the Korean War. Back then, female soldiers mainly held administrative and support positions. Women began to take on combat roles in the 1990s when the three military academies, exclusive to men, began accepting women. In 2013, female soldiers numbered more than 8,200 in a total military force of 639,000 soldiers.

Women now serve in nearly every branch of the military (they are banned from select marine and commando units because of the strength requirements) and their enrollment has climbed steadily. But as the number of women in the military has grown, discrimination against them has not eased.

An investigation by the National Human Rights Commission, released in November 2013, found that close to 12 percent of women in the military experienced sexual harassment, and that 71 percent of female soldiers were aware that their superiors preferred male subordinates to female. Thirty-four percent of the women who experienced sexual harassment said that, since they did not believe the military would ever change, they would just endure the discrimination.

The problems faced by female soldiers are mirrored in the military academies. While these institutions have not completely ignored the issue of mistreatment of women, their approach has been misguided.

Last May, after a second-year female student was raped by a fourth-year male student, the Korea Military Academy announced stricter enforcement of its “three prohibitions” — on marriage, smoking and drinking. (It also took disciplinary action against the participants.) Shortly after, the navy and army announced similar measures.

In June, the Naval Academy published a “Female Students’ Guidebook for Relations with the Opposite Gender.” Women were strongly advised to apply only basic makeup, use neutral-colored nail polish and wear subtle shades of lipstick. Strongly scented perfumes were banned and undergarments should “not sully the student’s dignity,” the pamphlet added.

While a ban on smoking and drinking may make sense in a military academy, the logic of forbidding marriage is confusing. Married cadets are much less likely to cause trouble, and the ban shows just how far out of touch the administrators are. But the Naval Academy’s booklet for women is patently offensive: It suggests that women who are sexually assaulted have only themselves to blame.

From the early 1960s to the mid-1980s — the era of military dictatorship when South Korea was rebuilding itself from a postwar economic basket case to a humming, modern nation — military schools were the track of choice for ambitious young men. Bright, talented boys without enough money for private school tuition competed for the free education, housing and living stipend offered by the academies — and the status that came with enrollment. President Park Chung-hee, who held office from 1963-79, and the two presidents after him graduated from the Korea Military Academy.

Yet the military academies are very popular with women. As South Korea’s economic growth has slowed, full-time jobs have become scarce, especially for women. In contrast to the rate of male labor participation (the labor force as a percentage of the whole population) of 73.3 percent, the rate for women is 49.9 percent. Even young women who find good jobs can have their careers sidelined by maternity leave and child care.

But the military comes with attractive benefits, especially for women, who are rarely derailed from advancement when they have babies. The 2010 census showed that women in the military have a fertility rate of 1.61 children, compared with a national rate of 1.15 children per woman. A military career offers the stability many South Korean women crave.

On Feb. 25, the first anniversary of her administration, President Park Geun-hye announced, “If the key is to utilize the female work force in order to maintain economic growth, we have to ensure that talented women do not have to endure a disruption to their careers.”

The military is a testing ground for the commander in chief’s promises. If the military, the country’s most male-centric and conservative organization, cleans up its sexual discrimination practices and provides equal opportunity regardless of gender, the effect on society at large will be enormous.

In the end, the Air Force Academy reviewed its original decision over the presidential award and gave it to the female valedictorian. That was a welcome step in the right direction, but much more has to change. South Korea’s women are waiting.

Young-ha Kim is a novelist and short-story writer. This article was translated by Krys Lee from the Korean.