A shift on conscription in South Korea
Today, for the first time, a group of conscientious objectors in South Korea will begin to perform alternative service. For the next three years, these 64 men will be in prison, working at jobs like cook and janitor, but they will have no criminal record.
Alternative service is a seismic shift in South Korea, where military duty is considered a rite of passage for young men and more conscientious objectors have been jailed than in any other country. For decades, hundreds, almost all Jehovah’s Witnesses, were put behind bars annually, usually for 18 months.
More exemptions? The question of who should be excused from military service has long been a sensitive topic. Top athletes have long been excused on the grounds that they enhance national prestige. A senior lawmaker has floated the idea that K-pop stars, like members of the band BTS, should also be exempted.
The New York Times
