18. MILITARY LIFE
Seo Tae-Won
The Korean peninsula is one of the most militarized regions of the world. Two large armies have been standing off against each other for over fifty years since the two Koreas remain technically at war. South Korea has the sixth largest army in the world, while North Korea has the fourth largest. In both Koreas, all men are required to serve in the military; as of the year 2010, the length of mandatory service in the South is twenty-one months for the army, slightly longer for the navy and the air force. Virtually all young men in South Korea are concerned about their mandatory military service, par- ticularly after they turn nineteen, the first year of their eligibility. Although protecting the country’s borders is considered a sacred duty, they feel a psy- chological burden because of the stresses of military life and a separation from their normal lives. Several methods have emerged to avoid military service; occasionally, a celebrity or other public figure will cause a contro- versy because of the extreme lengths he is willing to go. In South Korea, a man’s duty to the state does not end with his discharge from the military; men must serve in the reserves until they are thirty-five years of age. The military was one of the main groups behind the founding of the Joseon kingdom. All Korean school children are taught the story of Yi Seonggye, the founder of the country. He was a general at the end of the Goryeo era who was sent to fight against Ming China; however, he turned back and overthrew the government to found a new kingdom. Though Joseon is often associated with the literati, the military also loomed large over social and political life. This was especially true for commoners who had to pay the military tax and bore most of the cost of supporting the military. This chapter examines the differences between the military of the Joseon period and that of today and the ways that people at the time tried to avoid military service.
The Basics of Military Life
Military life during the Joseon period was very different from that of today. Information about the basics of military life can be found in texts such as
208 seo tae-won the Gyeongguk daejeon, the code of laws of the Joseon era. First, the length of military service was long. In principle, commoner men were eligible for military duty between the ages of sixteen and sixty, serving far longer than they do now. In contrast to today, men in the Joseon period served for two to six months each year before being replaced. Service was regarded as an onerous duty since it lasted for so long. Second, the government generally did not give a salary to rank-and-file soldiers. In the Joseon period, bo were assigned only to the main army, varying in amount according to the type of soldier. The term bo referred to the men who fulfilled their military ser- vice by tending to the material needs of the armed forces. The government did not give a separate salary to regular soldiers until the formation of the Hullyeon Dogam army during the Imjin War (1592–1598). Today, all active soldiers receive at least a small salary, including full-time reservists and those who fulfill their military service by working in government offices, but in the Joseon period, most low-ranking soldiers did not receive any direct benefits from the government. Instead, soldiers had to depend on each other for support. Third, soldiers in the Joseon period had to provide their own uniforms and weapons. They did so in order to avoid punishment during inspec- tions by their commanders. One example can be found in a passage about the Sogo Army in the Veritable Records of King Hyojong for the year 1657: If the army’s weapons were even a little dull or if their uniforms were slightly dirty, the commander beat the soldiers severely. So they pawned their cows and horses or sold their fields to procure weapons, uniforms, and military supplies. Soldiers used their families’ entire wealth to obtain weapons and uniforms themselves since their commanders would have punished them severely if they were below standard. The government did give tax exemptions to sol- diers who purchased expensive weapons with their own money, such as rifles. Fourth, armies in the Joseon period were organized according to social status. Armies made up of yangban included the Gapsa, Byeolsiwi, Naegeumwi, Chunguiwi, Chungchanwi, Chungsunwi, Doseongwi, and the Hoikwi. Commoners served in the regular army, and the Japsaek Army and the Sogo Army were made up of people of lowborn status. There were times when existing armies were disbanded, and new ones were formed. There were also cases such as the Sogo Army, which originally consisted of both commoners and lowborn and was later reorganized to have only