Just a little mini-rant I need to get off my chest^^ It really confuses me why people find the need to get so critical when celebrities are exempted from military service. I get that there have been plenty of instances of people trying to find ways out of their military service, but it angers me when people start accusing others of fabricating an illness or getting special treatment just because they think the person is perfectly fine to serve.
I wish people would consider that there are many reasons that could go into a decision to exempt someone instead of jumping to conclusions. For instance, having acne is a disqualifying condition for the military where I am, the reason being that military is your job during your term in which they provide salary and insurance and the military will reject anyone that they think has medications (or has a possibility of needing meds in the future) that they don’t want to have to pay for. Enlistment is not a simple cut-and-dry process and no one but the military institution itself really knows the reasoning behind all the decisions they make so I wish people would respect that more
I think it might be because for Koreans it’s a real life situation in every family. Every single Korean men (if not exempted) has to enlist. And military (from what I’ve read and seen in dramas) is no joke. It’s difficult and cruel, just as most things in Korea are. The newcomers get bullied. The soldiers’ families miss them, their girlfriends either wait for them
(which is painful) or cheat on them or leave them.
That’s why Koreans are extremely sensitive to someone getting special treatment. Way too much. I believe there must have been some corruption cases and that’s why if a celebrity gets exempted, it draws negative reactions.
I don’t like it either, but that’s the way South Korean society works, I guess.
Yeah, military service is neither easy nor painless for anyone involved, but it just irritates me when I see people pass judgments on others without understanding how the system works. Although I really shouldn’t waste my energy getting upset about it since I’m pretty sure people that spread negativity like that just do it for the sake of creating scandals…
Yes, acne being a potential disqualifier is 100% true lol .So are things like being overweight, wearing glasses, having stitches before, having prescription med history, cavities etc…. Those are all pretty easily waiverable conditions (you’d be shocked at the amount of paperwork and time necessary to get a waiver for them though!) but the fact remains that the military asks so many seemingly inane health-related questions that it’s pretty rare for people to enlist with a completely clean bill of health.
Even among ordinary men, there’s plenty of people that end up getting exempted from active-duty for various reasons so I’m always side-eyeing people that think actors and idols that live lives with much more physical and mental stress than the ordinary person can’t possibly have a legitimate disqualifying condition. Just because a person looks perfectly healthy going about their daily life, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re active-duty qualified.
Anyway, daily life reminder: Don’t judge a book by it’s cover~
Hobakky
July 7, 2018 at 12:51 PM
Just a little mini-rant I need to get off my chest^^ It really confuses me why people find the need to get so critical when celebrities are exempted from military service. I get that there have been plenty of instances of people trying to find ways out of their military service, but it angers me when people start accusing others of fabricating an illness or getting special treatment just because they think the person is perfectly fine to serve.
I wish people would consider that there are many reasons that could go into a decision to exempt someone instead of jumping to conclusions. For instance, having acne is a disqualifying condition for the military where I am, the reason being that military is your job during your term in which they provide salary and insurance and the military will reject anyone that they think has medications (or has a possibility of needing meds in the future) that they don’t want to have to pay for. Enlistment is not a simple cut-and-dry process and no one but the military institution itself really knows the reasoning behind all the decisions they make so I wish people would respect that more
ST
July 7, 2018 at 1:19 PM
I think it might be because for Koreans it’s a real life situation in every family. Every single Korean men (if not exempted) has to enlist. And military (from what I’ve read and seen in dramas) is no joke. It’s difficult and cruel, just as most things in Korea are. The newcomers get bullied. The soldiers’ families miss them, their girlfriends either wait for them
(which is painful) or cheat on them or leave them.
That’s why Koreans are extremely sensitive to someone getting special treatment. Way too much. I believe there must have been some corruption cases and that’s why if a celebrity gets exempted, it draws negative reactions.
I don’t like it either, but that’s the way South Korean society works, I guess.
Acne? Really? Lol.
Hobakky
July 8, 2018 at 6:56 AM
Yeah, military service is neither easy nor painless for anyone involved, but it just irritates me when I see people pass judgments on others without understanding how the system works. Although I really shouldn’t waste my energy getting upset about it since I’m pretty sure people that spread negativity like that just do it for the sake of creating scandals…
Yes, acne being a potential disqualifier is 100% true lol .So are things like being overweight, wearing glasses, having stitches before, having prescription med history, cavities etc…. Those are all pretty easily waiverable conditions (you’d be shocked at the amount of paperwork and time necessary to get a waiver for them though!) but the fact remains that the military asks so many seemingly inane health-related questions that it’s pretty rare for people to enlist with a completely clean bill of health.
Even among ordinary men, there’s plenty of people that end up getting exempted from active-duty for various reasons so I’m always side-eyeing people that think actors and idols that live lives with much more physical and mental stress than the ordinary person can’t possibly have a legitimate disqualifying condition. Just because a person looks perfectly healthy going about their daily life, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re active-duty qualified.
Anyway, daily life reminder: Don’t judge a book by it’s cover~
ST
July 8, 2018 at 7:37 AM
Do you mean international fans? I think the people who create the most negativity about it are Koreans and they understand their system, I think…
I see. Is enlistment mandatory in your country? It sounds like that.
I’m with you on that. You never know a person’s life from what you see in the media.