Gender dynamics in the national security apparatus of South Korea: the question of the military service

12/07/2023

Written by: Donia Agchar

Traduced by: Talia Gaudé

In South Korea, the military service is an institution deeply rooted in the national security of the country. Every South Korean young man in good health is obligated to do between eighteen and twenty-two months of service, depending on which armed forces they choose to join^[1]조문정보 | 국가법령정보센터. (23 mai 2012). [Provision information – National Legislation Information Center] … Continue reading. This politic of mandatory conscription, that encompasses about 90% of the men in an age group, is essential to ensure the defence of the country and is accompanied by heavy sanctions in case of non-compliance^[2]Mesmer, P. (2 février 2023). En Corée du Sud, l’objection de conscience reste un sujet sensible dans un pays toujours officiellement en guerre. Le Monde. … Continue reading.

As men fulfil the responsibility of the military service, many debates emerge among younger generations: in a country where competition is becoming more and more rough when it comes to entering the labour market^[3]Kim, Y. (2021, February 7). Youth Employment Issues & Competition in South Korea. Creatrip. https://creatrip.com/en/blog/9602, this obligation imposed to men is synonymous with injustice and waste of time for many of them, whereas it is not imposed to women^[4]Choo, J. (2020). The Spread of Feminism and the Silence of Gendered Militarism in theNeoliberal Era: Controversy Over Military Conscription Among Members of the Young Generation in South Korea. … Continue reading. The intrinsic implications of military service raised fascinating questions in terms of gender. Seeing as women are not subject to it, even though they are allowed to join voluntarily^[5]조문정보 | 국가법령정보센터. (23 mai 2012). [Provision information – National Legislation Information Center] … Continue reading, it leaves space for discussions regarding the possible implementation of military service for women, so they can also participate to the national defence effort.

The effects of military service on society do not limit themselves to the integration of women but also encompass the LGBTI+ community. The military service is particularly complex for LGBTI+ individuals because it raises conflicts between their gender identity and/or their sexual orientation and the strict and traditional norms of the national security apparatus. This reality questions the dynamics of gender inside the country and the inclusion of women and LGBTI+ people, as well as equality within this system.

So, in what way do the sociocultural implications of military service influence gender dynamics in South Korea?

Thoughts on gender and military service in South Korea: between masculinity and inclusion of women and LGBTI+ people

The mandatory conscription in South Korea initiates important sociocultural consequences on the whole of society, especially regarding the construction of masculine identity. Perceived as a real duty for South Korean men, a crucial step to prove their virility and their engagement to their country, the military service is the reflection of a social expectation^[6]군대 갔다 와야 남자 된다는 말 [The saying that you become a man once you go to the military] (2 décembre 2021). Hankyoreh 21. … Continue reading. Those who cannot serve the country or are trying to avoid this duty are not only subject to legal sanctions but also to social stigmatization^[7]Kim, N. (2013, August 28). Jail, stigma awaits South Korean men who refuse military service. Reuters. … Continue reading.

In parallel to the expectations the men are facing, South Korean society is strongly influenced by the traditional gender roles, rooted in the Confucian principles that structure society. Historically, men were placed – and still are – in positions of power and influence, often limiting the possibilities of participation and career evolution for women in the army and other related professions^[8]Kim. H. (2014). Confusianisme et féminisme en Corée. Diogène, 248, 71-80. https://doi.org/10.3917/dio.248.0071. For instance, in the journalism domain, more and more women are quitting^[9](Hokkanen, J. (2022, November 16). Why South Korean women journalists leave journalism. Journalism Research News. … Continue reading. The main reasons that are mentioned are the masculine work environment as well as the discrimination linked to their gender. The military service is another striking example because it reproduces the traditional gender roles. This system, though it is an integral part of the national South Korean security apparatus, remains reserved for men, limiting the possibility of participation of women.

This clear division between gender roles and the expectations associated with masculinity and femininity is contributing to reinforcing the gender stereotypes in South Korea while perpetuating a binary vision of society. This vision does not account for gay and trans people and their places in the military service. They are often excluded and marginalized in this environment which values masculine performativity but also heterosexuality^[10]Amnesty International. (2021, June 1). South Korea: Serving in silence: LGBTI people in South Korea’s military – Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa25/0529/2019/en/. In this sense, the construction of masculine identity can exercise further pressure on themselves to hide or repress their identity. Many testimonies exist and relate to harassment, sometimes severe, against gay and trans people^[11]Griffiths, J., Kwon, J., & Hancocks, P. (2019, July 11). Gay and trans soldiers say they were abused in the South Korean military. CNN. … Continue reading: Many prefer to hide their gender identity and/or sexual orientation to avoid this form of violence.

Influence of the military service on gender dynamics in South Korean society: between media representations, obligations and calls for equality

One of the manifestations of the influence of the military service on gender dynamics in South Korea can be observed through media representations of the military service, which contribute to shaping the public perception of gender questions. TV emissions such as Real Man^[12](Wikipedia contributors. (2023). Real Man (TV series). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Man_(TV_series) which celebrities are enrolled in the army, illustrate a certain representation of masculinity associated with military service, thus reinforcing traditional stereotypes.

It is also worth noting the situation of trans women in South Korea. Trans women, who have not yet obtained legal recognition of their gender identity, are still considered as men on the judicial plane and so they are submitted to the obligations of military service. This reality raises important questions regarding the way the military service influences the diversity of gender identities and the inclusion of trans people in South Korean society.

The social division based on gender, in great part linked to questions of national security, is also clear in this context of military service^[13]Kim, H. (2009). Analyzing the Gender Division of Labor: The Cases of the United States and South Korea. Asian Perspective 33(2), 181-229. doi:10.1353/apr.2009.0022,^[14]In South Korea, women in the military becomes a gender battleground. (2021, May 24). South China Morning Post. … Continue reading. The mandatory conscription for men is considered a patriotic duty, while women are bound to their traditional roles of supporting the family and participating to domestic tasks^[15]Lee, J. & Lee, J. (2021, May 19). Women in Military Becomes Gender Battleground in South Korea. Bloomberg.com. … Continue reading. The possibilities of evolution and participation of women are limited by this division of duties attributed according to gender-specific stereotypes.

As a consequence, the calls in favour of extending mandatory military service to women are directly linked to feminism and the fight for gender equality^[16]Lee, M. Y. H. (2023, April 8). South Korea exempts women from the draft. Is that fair? Washington Post. … Continue reading, seeing as they underline the importance of rethinking gender roles in the context of military service and promoting equal participation.

Furthermore, in the current context of demographic decline in South Korea, with a birth rate in a steady decline, and a population that is growing increasingly older^[17]Park, H. (2021, December 16). Marriages down 43%, births 64% in Seoul over 20 years. The Korea Herald. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20211216000079, it is essential to reconsider politics linked to the military service. The decrease in the number of soldiers capable of protecting the country is intrinsically linked to the question of the expansion of mandatory military service to all individuals, regardless of their gender^[18]Martin, T. W., & Jeong, A. (2021, June 3). South Korea’s Military Is Shrinking and Some Say Women Must Answer the Call of Duty. The Wall Street Journal. … Continue reading. The instauration of gender-neutral conscription could not only respond to this problematic by palliating this shortage of military personnel but would also mostly favour gender equality inside the army.

However, even with many calls in favour of reform, the South Korean authorities persist in their refusal to extend the mandatory military service to women^[19]Nam, H.W. (2023, May 14). South Korea rules out conscription of women, longer periods of military service. Koreatimes. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/06/113_350854.html, and this without any specific arguments^[20]Choi, S. Y. (2022, May 8). [Newsmaker] Too soon to draft women into military: Defense Ministry. The Korea Herald. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20210420000944. This position raises questions on equality and gender justice in society, as well as the opportunity to call the traditional norms and gender stereotypes in the country into question.

Thus, to progress towards a society that is more inclusive and equal, it is crucial to question these gender norms and favour an equal participation of all individuals, regardless of their gender and their sexual orientation.

Towards a more equal society: the issues of the inclusion of women and LGBTI+ people in the army

The military service in South Korea raises crucial social issues that lead to a larger reassessment of the South Korean society. One of these issues is regarding the participation of women within the army. According to the official numbers from 2019, women only represented 6,8% of the armed forces, which is considerably lower than the 17% observed in the United States of America^[21]Female soldiers account for 6.8 percent of S. Korea’s armed forces (2020, January 29). Yonhap News Agency. https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200129008600325.

Despite this disparity, there is a willingness to increase this number and to promote the inclusion of women in the military apparatus of the country: thus, recent politics and evolution have been put in place to favour this inclusion, as the country faces a shortage in military personnel^[22]Ji, D. G. (2023, May 12). S. Korea says not considering conscripting women amid ongoing debate. The Korea Herald. Thttps://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230512000602)). The South Korean Ministry … Continue reading. However, these measures are largely insufficient, especially with the growing threat of its neighbour, North Korea^[23]Choi, S. H. (2022, November 3). North Korea Launches 23 Missiles, Triggering Air-Raid Alarm in South. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/world/asia/north-korea-missile-launch.html.

The lack of measures is partly explained by the fact that the South Korean population is less inclined to consider women as the solution to the lack of military recruits. According to a survey by RealMeter done on the 6^th of July 2023, close to 54,9% of the 503 polled people are “against” the system of circumscription for women^[24]Kwak, H. S. (2023, July 10). 역시 ‘그사세’였나. . .국민 절반 이상 “여성 징병제 반대. “[As expected, was it really “this state of society?” … more than half of the … Continue reading. It is worth noting that this disapproval prevails as much within men as within women, with respectively 56,3% and 53,4% of persons disapproving this idea^[25]Bandow, D. (2021, April 12). Even With Seoul Paying More, America Can’t Afford to Defend South Korea : It’s Time for South Korea to Defend Itself. Foreign Policy. … Continue reading. The absence of measures taken by the South Korean army to palliate the lack of internal personnel demonstrates this, as it prefers to count on the support of foreign allies and especially the United States of America. It underlines the need for an in-depth reflection inside the South Korean society regarding the inclusion of women in the army and could then lead to more ambitious inclusion politics.

Along with this, the women enrolled in the South Korean army have to face many barriers and challenges. They are confronted to discriminations and gender-based violence, often linked to the notion of toxic masculinity and military hierarchy, sometimes fuelling the sexual abuses happening within the South Korean army^[26]Chung, Y. & Bremer, I. (2023, April 6). How hierarchy and toxic masculinity fuel sexual abuse in South Korea’s military. KOREA PRO. … Continue reading. It is essential to address these issues to ensure a safe and equal environment for the women enrolled in the military service.

The debate on homosexuality in the South Korean army is also an important question to discuss. Contrary to the civil sphere, homosexual relations are penalized in the military sphere in South Korea, under article 92-6 of the military penal code^[27]Statutes of the Republic of Korea. (n.d.). Military Service Act. https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=40239&lang=ENG. Even though the Supreme Court ruled in April 2022 that this law could not be applied to consensual acts happening outside of military facilities during rest hours, it has yet to decriminalize homosexual relations^[28]Thoreson, R. (2022, April 25). South Korean Court Limits Military ‘Sodomy’ Law.
Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/25/south-korean-court-limits-military-sodomy-law. The legislators of the South Korean Supreme Court are struggling to tackle the question of discriminations and stigmatization of LGBTI+ people, and the need to enact a non-discriminatory law still takes on a crucial importance^[29]National Assembly of South Korea should act swiftly to enact anti-discrimination legislation. (2021, November 11). Human Rights Watch. … Continue reading.

Article 92-6 is in contradiction with several dispositions of international law and the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations, of which South Korea is a member^[30]Repealing Article 92-6 of the Republic of Korea’s Military Criminal Act. (2020, October 28). Human Rights Watch. … Continue reading. Moreover, the discriminations against LGBTI+ people within the army are persisting and there are no adequate measures yet to remedy this situation^[31]Bong, Y. D. (2008). The Gay Rights Movement in Democratizing Korea. Korean Studies. 32, 86-103. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23718932. The people that are part of a sexual or gender minority can be marked as having a “mental handicap” or a “personality disorder” during the medical examination at the beginning of their enrolment, which determines their status and duties as “personnel members” rather than “soldiers”^[32]Yi, H., & Gitzen, T. (2018) Sex/Gender Insecurities. Transgender Studies Quarterly, 5(3), 378-393. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-6900752. Some of them might be placed in psychiatric institutions or be demobilized for disease-related reasons, thus exempting them from accomplishing their military service duty.

Promoting inclusion and equality: Recommendations for the South Korean Army

The inclusion of women and LGBTI+ people in the army is a major issue. Even though recent politics and evolutions are going in the right direction, they are still insufficient.

Thus, to truly progress towards a more just and respectful of human rights society, it is imperative to treat gender and sexual orientation-based discriminations urgently and efficiently, as well as the barriers which enrolled women and LGBTI+ people are confronted to. It requires a firm political will and the implementation of concrete measures.

In this optic, some essential recommendations can be formulated. First of all, it is essential to repeal article 92-6 that criminalizes homosexual relations in the army and to establish an anti-discrimination law guaranteeing concrete protection of people regarding their gender identity or sexual orientation, in accordance with the recommendations of Amnesty International addressed to the National Assembly and to the Ministry of Defence and Justice^[33]Amnesty International. (2021, June 1). South Korea: Serving in silence: LGBTI people in South Korea’s military – Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa25/0529/2019/en/.

Moreover, in order to encourage inclusivity, it is necessary to make military service mandatory, regardless of gender identity, which would solve the understaffing issue while also avoiding discriminations based on gender identity that trans and intersex people are facing. It would also participate in the evolution of the South Korean population’s mentalities regarding the role of women outside of the representations that are traditionally assigned to them. In parallel, enrolment politics must be developed to actively encourage women to enrol in the army.

Finally, it is crucial to introduce education policies within the armed forces, orientated towards feminist and LGBTI+ questions in order to create a more open, respectful, and inclusive environment. The rigid hierarchy currently in place must be revisited to favour a more equal and less severe military system. The same education policies could also be used as a basis for harassment prevention, along with conviction measures in cases of physical, verbal, and/or moral harassment.

By rethinking its military service, South Korean society can reinforce its defence capacity while also favouring diversity and inclusion.