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The female warriors of tomorrow train today

Jan. 24, 2011 - 11:08 By Robert Lee
First co-ed ROTC cadets go through military training side by side with men, look to change attitudes


SEONGNAM, Gyeonggi Province ― At a military training camp in the mountainous outskirts of Seoul, Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets in camouflage, equipped with K-2 assault rifles, strike at their imagined enemy with the butt of their weapons.

Closer examination of the future warriors reveals some of them are women in arms ― the nation’s first ever female ROTC cadets ― taking a big step for women’s rights in a society where the glass ceiling for women still exists.

“I applied to the ROTC to show that not only men but women also have the same opportunities because we are the same people. Through joining, my goal is to change people’s perception and open the door for women a little wider,” said Park Gi-eun, a student at Sookmyung Women’s University.

Braving the record-breaking chills, the 60 female cadets train side by side with men. The recruits are going through their three-week basic training and unsurprisingly both sexes struggle with their clumsy movements.

“I think the establishment of the female ROTC shows that women will not fall behind, and will be given the opportunity to challenge themselves in whatever they want,” said Min Ji-hyun from Sookmyung.

“I want to show that everyone can participate in everything, equally without discrimination and as a female cadet, I wish to work even harder to show that it’s true.”
A female ROTC cadet takes part in a bayonet drill in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, last week. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)


What women lack in strength, they make up for it in focus, according to a drill sergeant. But many of the female cadets found nothing daunting about the training; to them the hardest part was fighting the coldest weather in decades.

These women were not only physically fit enough to overcome the six-to-one competition ratio, they also had the courage to join the military and go against the grain of society.

According to Kim Bo-hyun, a female ROTC cadet at Sookmyung, many of her friends in her major ― arts and crafts ― had wished to apply for the program but could not muster up the same courage.

Reflecting that change in society, the female cadets have received tremendous support from their peers.

“I had several of my friends from within the major try out for the program, but many did not make the cut. They told the cadets to maintain their will and succeed in the female ROTC program,” said Park Gi-eun, a physical education major.

But for all their strength, courage and focus, they were no different from an average female student, each with a story of their own.

For Kim, 21, whose father had been in the military, joining the program was an easy choice.

“My father told me that contrary to a common belief, the military is not as dangerous as many think and that as long as I work hard I will see the benefits,” she said.

Kim hopes to design topographical maps on computers for the army, a marriage of her father’s military past and her mother’s fashion design occupation.

Park Ji-eun, 21, always had an interest in joining the service. She applied for a military academy, but was rejected, so she decided to attend Sookmyung.

Park, who majors in culture and tourism, said that through the program she is burdened with a new sense of responsibility to show that women can do just as well, in and outside of the program.

“My parents told me that no matter what I choose they would be supportive. Now they are proud of and pleased with my choice,” said Park.

The female cadets from seven different universities will train with no difference from their 2,400 male comrades for a total of 175 hours, and throughout a course of 28 months. By the end of their ROTC training they will have marched 80 kilometers in full gear.

Until last year, the ROTC program in Korea had been open only to male students.

For a woman to become a commissioned officer in Korea, she had to graduate from a military academy or apply to an officer commissioning program after graduating from a four-year university.

With the popularity of the ROTC program increasing among women, as seen by the fierce competition ratio, the Defense Ministry plans to increase the number of female cadets by sharing the quota of 4,000 male cadets.

The ministry has decided to appoint 5.6 percent of its commissioned and non-commissioned officers with women by 2016. The number of female soldiers currently stands at 6,162, nearly 10 percent of the total.

Some two months after the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, a group of about 500 female volunteer troops was set up in the southern port city of Busan.

Since 1990, female soldiers have engaged in a variety of military tasks ― including engineering, transportation, aviation and patrol ― areas considered challenging and where many thought women would have difficulty operating.

By Robert Lee (rjmlee@heraldcorp.com)

<한글 기사>

여성 첫 ROTC, 혹한속 훈련 ‘구슬땀’

힘찬 함성소리로 시작된 국군 총검술.

K2소총에 단검을 착검해 그 무게만도 만만치 않지만 한동작, 한동작 정확한 자세를 만드는데 온 정성을 쏟습니다.

오늘 총검술 훈련에 참가한 후보생은 지난해 우리나라 최초로 여성 학군후보생에 합격한 60여명.

지난 10일 입영한 이들은 3주간 남자후보생과 동일하게 동계 기초군사훈련에 돌입했습니다.

평균 6대 1의 높은 경쟁률을 뚫고 합격한 이들인 만큼 이번 입영훈련 기간 투철한 군인정신을 기르는 한편 강인한 체력과 리더십을 갖추는데 더 공을 들이고 있습니다.

<인터뷰> 조수연 후보생 / 강원대 분자생물학과 = "모든 것이 처음이고 생소하지만 군 기본자세를 배우겠다는 저의 의지는 더욱 강해짐을 느낍니다. 지금 어떤 임무가 주워진다고 해도 해낼 자신이 있습니다."

<인터뷰> 정희경 후보생 / 숙대 체육교육과= "최초 여성 ROTC 1기로서 여상만이 가진 이해심과 배려심을 십분 활용해 소대원들을 똘똘 뭉치게 하는 지휘자가 되도록 하겠습니다."

여군 학군후보생들은 이번 훈련기간 동안 사격술과 제식 및 경계교육, 지휘통제 훈련, 30km 행군 등 군사기초지식과 필수과목을 배우게 됩니다.

훈육관들은 이들 여군 후보생들이 체력적인 한계를 극복하고 능력있는 장교로 거듭날 수 있도록 교육하고 있습니다.

<인터뷰> 정주희 대위 / 학생군사학교 훈육장교="강인한 체력 배양과 학군교의 세계적인 프로그램 속에서 앞으로 2년뒤 멋지고 강한 소대장, 강단있는 여군으로 거듭날 것입니다."

현재 우리나라 여군은 모두 5560여명. 앞으로 군은 전군의 3%에 불과한 여군을 2020년까지 1만1600여명으로 늘릴 예정인 가운데 능력있는 여성 지휘자 양성에 매진할 방침입니다.

이들은 이번 3주간의 기초군사훈련을 끝나면 정식 후보생으로 임명되고 앞으로 2년간의 후보생 교육을 통해 2013년 여성 첫 학군후보생 소위로 임관하게 됩니다. (연합뉴스)