[Korean Culture & Langauge] Military culture in korea

 

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!

Do you remember “상명하복(When seniors order, juniors must obey)” from my last article?

Below is a discussion between five Korean men in their late 20s on how the “상명하복식” military culture affects their everyday lives after they are discharged from the military. 

https://www.news-ade.com/1000002897

The question reads: How(얼마나) deeply(짙게) do you think the military culture(군대 문화) is rooted in the community(조직) that you belong?  

A gives an example by telling his story. He says it’s rooted so deeply that he even practices it sometimes. He became close to one of the newcomers at his work who’s older than him. They used to call each other "형, 동생(brothers)”. But the newcomer started sitting in bad postures, even taking off his socks and shoes while working. So A asked, “Have you not served in the military?,” implying, “Have you not learned to sit properly, especially in front of his superiors?”. The newcomer said he did. A told him to straighten out a little bit, and the newcomer did. Since then, they both realized the ‘rank’ between a senior and a junior.

B says, “He must have got beaten up a lot while serving the military.”

C says, “That’s exactly the problem of the military culture. Why didn’t you simply help him as a person, instead of as a subordinate?” 

A says, “Right. I was surprised and felt a little guilty when a senior who was watching me said that I’m like an officer.”

D criticizes the hierarchy at work. He says when he submits a work, it goes through so many people that it turns out bad at the end. Then ‘내리갈굼 (downward bullying)’ starts.

E says, “Since I’m a freelancer, I work with a diverse group of workers from various companies. Everyone procrastinates, just like in the military. As we rank up to become corporals and sergeants, all we do is try and kill time by doing nothing.   

C agrees and says that it’s the same for business. “Some people are rude to me only because I look younger than my age. I cut off people who have too much of a ‘military-style mindset’.” 

They even say that ‘군필(fulfilled)’ is like a ‘badge of rank’. If someone makes a mistake and he happens to have served as a 공익(public interest service personnel) instead of as a 군인 (soldier), some would condemn them and say, “You make those mistakes because you have never served in the military”. It’s also called 군부심. 군부심 comes from the word 자부심(pride), but with ‘군(military)’. Having a 군부심 means that they take pride in the unit they have served. The problem is that sometimes they take too much 군부심 that they end up looking down on other units, public interest service personnel, technical research personnel, etc.

To what extent do you think the military culture affects Korean society? Have you ever met someone with a 군부심? How did you react to or deal with the person?