As you probably know, every Korean male has to go through two years of military service. Usually this involves brutal training, then sitting in a riot control bus for two years. You get paid a dollar per month and don't get leave very often. Of course there are more cushy positions available but they're hard to get.

Most Korean underground bands have to take two years out of their careers to do it. The punk scene was dead for two years when Rux went to the army.

The lead singer of the Explode is facing his military service soon. Instead, because he's an anarchist, he's decided to spend the two years in prison. It's not like he'll be losing any money, anyway.

I didnt know you could do that? You can opt to spend 2 years in prison?

Thats...actually an interesting thing for him to do. I wonder if more people will do the same now? What feedback is he getting?

I'm actually not sure now how long the prison sentence is. I'm going to write an article about it and get all the facts.

i asked my dad and he said the sentence is roughly about 28 months, which is equal to the mandatory military term. its unvarified though

Well, except for extreme medical circumstances that would exempt them from service. There is also voluntarily admittance for the two year service (women, though it is not common, and korean males holding citizenship in another country). But normally, it's frowned upon if you don't serve your mandatory service by the general Korean population. It is extremely bad karma to try to get out of it, and you'll be regarded as not loving your country enough to honor it, and the general disrespect you have for your ancestors that have fought through blood and tears for the Korea we have today.

Take for example, Yoo Seung Jun. One of the consequence of not serving his mandatory two-year term got him kicked out of Korea (and never allowed to return), and he lost thousands of Korean fans that he had worked so hard to earn. Since being prohibited from entering Korea, he's returned just once to attend a funeral (of whom, I can't recall) but he had to fly back right after so he couldn't even spend the night at a hotel or anything.

It may be hard, especially if you are a musician or celebrity to leave your fans for 2 years 3 months (approximately), but if you weigh the pros and cons, the pros would outweigh the cons. There are several other alternatives to serving a standard military term, such as working in government offices, serving your country for a 4 week intensive training period, but it is pretty rare - assigned to those that have physical ailments, and other circumstances that would compromise their activeness in a normal military.

I'm not very familiar about the technicalities of the Korean military but since I'm Korean, and learning all this through the media and researching about Korea's history myself, these are the basics that I know of.

Regarding Yoo Seung Jun, he's banned from Korea and all, but can the ban be lifted if he decided to take the 2 year military training? Or can he not do that either?

I'd also like to know WHEN you have to serve your military sentence. I always thought once a person turned 21 or 22, he had to leave for the Korean military, but then I hear a gasoo like Kim Bum Soo join the military at age 28.

Then they gave him his own reality TV show, so it all works out in the end

..................Okay, so it never aired, but still lol

Most take it after 1st year of uni... but there is no strict law stating when u have to go. You can postpone it... but u eventually have to go... i think before 30... but ive seen people go later...

And also im fairly sure its less than 28 months... i think that was a bit back in the day... because i heard that going to army used to be like losing years but now its only two...

AND to continue this i would like to make a bit of a rant... its not so much that people look @ u as showing no patriotism if u dont go to the army... its more like u havent gone through a major part of being a man... u havent had the experience of others... ur in a different less matured world....

AND!!! did u know if ur mum goes to the army... she can choose to have one of her sons exempt!!! and if ur dad is dead u dont have to go either... cool huh... not the dead dad part... but yeah

they can go in any time after 18, until about 33, I think--so ages vary. If you don't go by a certain age, you get a letter--like Eric and Dongwan of Shinhwa. Some guys have been in an out already.

slightly_homebrand and MythnoonA, thank you for clearing that up.

I think the rules are that you have to go between 18~21 if you don't go to college.
Other than that, it's sometime before 30 but they call for you if there's no word from you at 28-ish.
You can get out if you have certain disibilities or have been injured in a certain way in the past.
With some injuries, you still have to serve the time, but you're a civillian soldier and do things like community services.

Apparently, there is this way of paying people off and not doing your service, but it's really hard for celebs to go this route because they're famous.

What many parents were doing was going out of the country to give birth to sons so the child could get a double citizenship. Then, right before they turn legal age, the kid would give up their Korean citizenship to get out of the military.
The government caught onto that and passed a law that said that if a kid doesn't give up their Korean citizenship by like age 6 and are still living in the country, they had to serve anyways. Parents can't really use this method anymore now because it means that it'll be really hard for their kid to get an education.

At least with more famous celebrities, they can get the cushier jobs. Like singers and actors will become entainer soldiers and most of them will be assigned to the same division unless they ask for a more dangerous job like WonBin did. There are still pictures of them and stuff if they make any public apprearences for the military and so it's not completely loosing them for 2 years.
But with underground people, it really is like they're dropping off the planet for a time, and if some of them get assigned to slightly more dangerous positions, there is a chance they could get injured or killed.

Is that really true? I never knew that..

So let's say a 27 year old male hasn't gone to the army yet but his dad suddenly passes away the next year, he doesn't have to go the army?

... it sounds like you're cooking up a scheme. o_o


So, what would happen if you moved to Korea and got your citizenship after you were 33 (or whatever age it is)?
It's sort of sad that I'm Korean and don't know these things. Ahaha. ;\

Considering that the Korea's are still at war, I'm not surprised that they require this 2-year mandatory military training.
I think that people should go in with pride knowing that what they're doing is for their country, even despite the fact that if a war did start, it would be a nuclear war and nearly all of their training would be worthless on a non-existing battlefield.

^off topic but i doubt north korea would need nukes to defeat the south korean army.. their army is like the 4th largest army in the world...

anyway
im fairly sure that its still 28 months...
one of my cousins just enlisted and i think they said something about a little over 2 years or so

something im not sure of though...
i have both korean and american citizenship but i live in california. if i were to study abroad at korea does that mean i may get enlisted?

No, it's down to 24 months. I have a couple friends who went in in 2005 and they're getting out this year after two years. By the way, I didn't know either Korea or the US recognised dual citizenship.

Also, I think South Korea could kick North Korea's ass in a one-on-one war. North Korea could not deploy their nukes, and their army would fail to cross the DMZ. It may be the world's fourth largest but that doesn't make it the fourth best. They would probably flatten Seoul with artillery though.

is prison better than going to the army??

they both do, but i hear Korea's starting to get nitpicky about it

It would be close. One of my friends who spent a few months in prison said the food was good, and he actually gained weight during his stay. Plus there's no work. On the down side, if you have a criminal record you'd probably be stuck in Korea the rest of your life.

I'm just trying to confirm this. But it sounds a little off..?
So no one confirmed it, but is it true? If your dad passes away even in your twenties, you don't have to go to the army??

If anyone is looking for a way to get out of serving, getting a large tattoo could work. Apparently ROK military law states that men with 'excessively large' tattoos are exempt from conscription. I found it in a blog (http://marmotshole.blogspot.com/2003_06_22_marmotshole_archive.html) in a post from 2003. Apparently the government was cracking down on men who had found to be "willfully tampering with their bodies to avoid military duty," and had arrested 170 young men so accused.

rreallY? when was this law passed?

They figured out too many people were getting these tattoos so the laws have been relaxed significantly. Now you'd probably need a full-body tattoo to be kicked out.

I always want to know where is Yoo Seung Jun now. I know he got a Mandarine album but that's all. Say if, only IF Yoo-sshi decide to take on that 2yrs military does that mean he allow to be back as Korean citizen again? I also read somewhere that he also an US citizen, that's why he use that to dismiss his military duty. I always like him and his music, it's ashame that he's no longer active in korea.

well from what i know and heard, he's been living with his parents in california
he got married sometime after
he did start a career in china and even went to a concert that featured asian artists, his first contact with korea and other korean singers after this whole mess of not going to the army and getting kicked out of korea but it was short
i think its too late for him to go back and enter the army, he's probably over 30 now
well the whole thing started when he said publicly that he would enter the army
somehow he got cold feet ( 1. fear of what he would do during the two years (it used to be around 3-4, the change to 2 years is kinda recent) 2. loss of fans due to not performing) so at the last moment he received a U.S. citizenship like danny and park joon hyung from god (if you have a duel citizenship, i dont think you have to join the army and do the years but you do have to travel back and forth from the two countries to make sure they stay valid (i think danny and joon hyung went to america every six months or something) )
yea well yoo seung joon got his U.S. citizenship and the whole thing backfired
he broke his promise that he would join for the number of years
the korean government 'kicked' him out of the country, not allowing him to ever come back
i dont know how the situation is now so far but thats a .. like a whole summary thing

He's a pastor now in the United States. Good riddance!

From http://seoul.usembassy.gov/dual_citizens_.html:

"The Government of the Republic of Korea does not permit dual citizenship after the age of 21. American citizens of Korean descent who hold dual citizenship under South Korean law and work or study in South Korea are usually compelled by the Republic of Korea to choose one or the other nationality soon after reaching that age.

In addition, South Korean men over the age of 18, including American citizens of Korean descent, are subject to compulsory military service. A dual national may not be allowed to abandon his ROK nationality until he finishes his military service, or has received a special exemption from military service. There have been several instances in which young American men of Korean descent, who were born and lived all of their lives in the United States, arrived in the ROK for a tourist visit only to find themselves drafted into the South Korean army."

And as for the prison method of getting out of the army- it is considered unpatriotic and all that by some, but I'm told that the real problem is that you get a mark on your record. There is an offical ID that everyone carries, and when you get put away they put a big "I WENT TO PRISON" mark on your ID. Which, if you're applying for any kind of grown-up job or trying to get a visa out of the country, makes life a little harder.

well thats messed up, but i guess if you just do what you have to do and get it over with there shouldnt be a problem. I mean life is life. just get it over with. the quicker the better.

Can anyone explain how visa's work? i wanna go to korea one day and study at a college... while learning the language.

That's a harsh (I want to say crazy) reality.