Second women‘s university launches ROTC unit

A Seoul women’s university will launch a unit of female cadets for an officer-training program this week, becoming only the second local women-only college to do so, the Army said Wednesday.

The Army said Sungshin Women‘s University will have the launching ceremony for its Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program Thursday. The Army has picked 30 cadets from the school.

Sungshin joins Sookmyung Women’s University, also based in Seoul, as the only female-only schools to run the ROTC program. Sookmyung started its ROTC program last December and produced 30 cadets, while 30 other female cadets were chosen from other co-ed schools.

Among the 30 from Sungshin is 21-year-old Kim Ji-won, whose father and older brother have gone through the ROTC. Her father, Kim In-sik, joined the ROTC in 1987 and retired as a first lieutenant. Her brother, Kim Jin-woo, will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in March.

“I‘ve long admired the ROTC, having seen my father and brother go through it, and I am happy to have realized my dream of joining the Army myself,” Kim Ji-won said. “I know the training will be difficult but I will try to stay positive and enthusiastic through it all.”

The Army said the cadets will be trained from Jan. 2 to Jan. 15, and then from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11 next year.

The military in September announced plans to place female officers in combat duties that had been closed to them before.

According to the defense ministry, there are just under 7,000 female soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. By 2020, the number is expected to reach 11,500.

All healthy South Korean men between 18 and 38 are conscripted for around two years, depending on the branch of the service. Women are not required to serve but may sign up to become commissioned or non-commissioned officers.

In 2012, the ROTC plans to select 260 female cadets -- 250 for the Army and five each for the Navy and the Air Force. (Yonhap News)