DISCUSSION 4A

Question 2: What is the significance of military service for male Korean celebrities? What are the social and political implications of their enlistment on their image and their careers? Is there an equivalent of “military service” for female celebrities in Korea?

My name is Amy and this week I will be leading the discussion on Korean male celebrities’ mandatory military service by talking about its significance as well as indicating three different cases of social and political effects that can possibly happen to their career.

Military has been one of the most important national issues of South Korean. Basically, all South Korean men aged between 18 and 35 are expected to enlist for at least 21 months (Yeo 2017:294), and as being the citizens of this country, celebrities are not exempt. The concentration on universal mandatory military service is considered to remain significant when the political problems between North and South Korea have not yet reached final mutual agreements, and because of the fact that South Korea is among the countries that are still at de facto war (Yeo 2017:295). Moreover, if a Korean male celebrity refuses to fulfill this constitutional duty, he will not only be severely criticized but also end up in prison due to no acceptance of conscientious objection in South Korea (Yeo 2017:295).

According to Yeo (2017:299), there are particularly three cases of military service’s implications on Korean male celebrities that she named as “scandal, redemption, and promotion”. Regarding “scandal”, a famous example of this case was Yoo Seungjun. This male singer was refused to enter the Republic of Korea permanently for betraying his promise of serving in the military in 2002 by quietly relinquishing his South Korean citizenship that could freeing him from conscription (Yeo 2017:300). This serious condemnation to Yoo Seungjun was not only a punishment for him but also an emphasis to the public on the cost that ones have to pay if they evade the obligation of service (Yeo 2017:302). On the other hand, military service can function as an effective promotion if the male celebrities perform well in their active duty or show their willingness to join the challenging sectors of the military (Yeo 2017:298). Actor Hyunbin still managed to maintain public attention during and after his enlistment, as he voluntarily attempted to become a marine (Yeo 2017:304-305). This opposite aspect of the attitude towards military service also provides the spectacle of “patriotic” and “commendable” men serving his motherland regardless social classes to the audience (Yeo 2017:304). And last but not least, entering the military can become the “redemption” for the male stars to transform into a “fully acceptable” man of society and be forgiven by the audience to restore their career from the past mistake (Yeo 2017:304), as in the case of Psy for faithfully reenlisting and serving for 55 months in total as an apology for his previous undutiful performance (Yeo 2017:303), which then gave him the chance to go back to the industry and become hugely popular with the hit song “Gangnam Style” in 2012 (Yeo 2017:304).

In conclusion, despite being the citizens of South Korean like other men, male celebrities are still under the pressure of being the representatives of the nations as Korean Wave becomes globally popular, and therefore being exposed by the media to promote social equality that encourages the responsibility of the young generations to serve the army (Yeo 2017:298).

Blibiography:
Yeo, Yezi. 2017. The good, the bad, and the forgiven: The media spectacle of south korean male celebrities’ compulsory military service. Media, War & Conflict 10 (3): 293-313.

Suggested questions for discussion:
– Can you give some other examples of male celebrities related to three cases of military service’s implications on their careers that I have mentioned above? Indicate your opinion about each particular example.
– Is there an equivalent of “military service” for female celebrities in Korea?

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COMMENTS

Francis: Thanks for the wonderful insight Amy. Your discussion really introduces both the negative and positive ways of what can happen before, during and after once celebrities enlist in the military. South Korea is one of the few countries that has mandatory military service for men. I find this topic to be very relatable as studying at UBC has gifted me a great diversity in friends, including men from South Korea. I personally haven’t had any of my friends leave halfway in their educational careers to complete their military service, but I can imagine how emotional it can get. What do I see often is idols and celebrities get drafted into the military. Since the military service period is about 2 years, a lot can change in entertainment once these celebrities go on duty but they can’t be an exception because of fame and have to go through the struggles like all other Korean men enlisting. Learning a lot regarding to how influential these celebrities are through not just their performance but also persona, it’s basically expected that these celebrities set a good example for the rest of the country, otherwise they’ll go to jail or face other several punishment (Yeo 2017:295). Another example of idol serving their military duty and being seen as “patriotic” is 2PM’s Taecyeon. As discussed in class, he didn’t have to complete the service but he did anyways; yielding a positive effect to his charisma. Adding on that new media such as television shows and movies are promoting the military service with celebrities to target the youth audience as discussed in class, it seems to be that this is aiming at young men but not women. According to the current laws, South Korean women don’t need to serve in the military. There’s been many instances in Korean history where Korean female celebrities show up to the military camp to perform and raise the morale for the men there to complete their service and fight through the war they’re fighting. This practice is still in place today and recent celebrities such as BLACKPINK has participated in these performance. With performances like these, I think some may come to a conclusion that female celebrities are obligated to do these performances and that maybe the invisible and unspoken equivalent to the mandatory male military service.

Zoe: Thank you for the essay Amy. Something I want to bring up about military service in Korea is that I have always thought about why idols and fans seem so devastated whenever idols reaches a certain age and have to be enlisted into military. Although I know that two years is a long time for an artist to not be on any exposure on broadcasting, I always thought that two years isn’t that long of a time to be that sad about. However, after learning more about the military service and the entire entertainment industry in Korea, I realise how fast and easy it is for artists to fade out from the spotlight and be replaced by other new-rising artists. So that’s why I guess so many idols dreads to go in military and even go out of their way to not enlist, but eventually resulted in getting hate for not being patriotic and do their job as a man.

Rachel: Thank you, Amy, for the excellent discussion essay. Going to the military for Korean male celebrities, unfortunately, decide their images that can last for ages in Korea. The reason why Koreans think going to the military as a serious commitment is because it does not merely mean, fighting, but it is showing that they are training for the country to save the nation. However, for whatever reasons if male celebrities back out of the military and show no devotions toward the country always end up disappointing the crowds. Also, it seems like breaking the agreement or promise that everyone else followed as one of the citizens in Korea. The more famous and well known you are to the audience, the more obligations you will have to achieve.

Diego – South Korea male conscription is an important part of South Korean society, especially now since South Korea’s birthrate is less than ‘1.’ A healthy country should have birthrates at ‘2’ or above to replace the population, but since the birth rate is only at ‘1’ or less, South Korea’s population is on the decline. The declining birth rate means that it’s even more important for men to go to the army, as there isn’t enough people to defend the country if a war does break out between the North and the South.


However, it is also important for the government to understand that to entice young South Korean men to the army, it is important to give them a reason and to show them that going to the army is important. In our lectures, Dr. Saeji spoke about how enlisting in the army was an important part of survival as they were served three meals per day and had a roof over their heads and a proper place to sleep. As the quality of life in South Korea increased, the quality of life in enlistment camps did not increase, creating a reason to avoid enlisting in the army. 


Amy made the point that celebrities entering the army shows that no one is above the law, and even people with power and influence are still expected to go into the army. Celebrities have a lot of attention from the media, so celebrities who do well in the army are positive influencers to the male society in South Korea. Ok Taecyeon is a positive influence to the male population, showing elements of patriotism and dedication to the country. Taecyeon’s publicity helps the romanticization of the army and serves as good positive propaganda to the male society and shows that when you join the military you can become beloved by fans and by the people around you.