Young Koreans have been flocking to enter military academies in recent years.
A total of 6,403 youths applied for the Korea Military Academy this year, recording the highest competition rate of 22.1 for each place in nearly three decades. Last year, the KMA decided to increase the number of entrants by 10 percent to 290 to give enthusiastic applicants more opportunities to become cadets.
The Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy, which plans to select 160 and 175 cadets, respectively, also recorded competition rates of 27.2 and 25.7.
After applications closed last week, officials at the academies said it appeared more young people are finding it attractive to become military officers amid prolonged economic difficulties that have pushed up the youth jobless rate.
Their reasoning may make some sense. But the high numbers of applicants for military schools can also be seen as reflecting the desire of our young generation to lead a life in courageous and responsible ways that strengthen their sense of self-esteem.
While bearing the brunt of economic hardship and being driven into fierce competition, young Koreans born in the 1980s and thereafter are, as described by a novelist, the smartest and most cosmopolitan generation the nation has ever seen.
Blind patriotism is something that is far from their values. Equipped with no-nonsense attitude, however, most of them are committed to contributing to keeping the nation safe and prosperous. Familiar with global standards, they are also active in finding roles in the international community.
Smart and promising young Koreans appear to regard mandatory military service as a prerequisite for becoming a full member of society let alone taking leadership posts.
It has become common for celebrities to apply for the hardest military assignments and soldiers to compete for places in peacekeeping and reconstruction units dispatched to conflicts across the world.
This character of the young generation was demonstrated when North Korea bombarded an island south of the inter-Korean maritime border in 2010, killing two Marine troops and injuring a dozen others. The number of applicants for the Marine Corps soared in the months after the shelling, in a move which must have surprised North Korean leaders. It showed military threats and provocations would not make our young people wince back, only strengthening their posture against what they began to regard as main enemy.
With this generation shouldering the future of the nation, it may be assured that Korea will surmount challenges ahead and achieve its eventual goal of becoming a truly advanced and respectable member of the international community.
