Korean Military at Work

When the need arose, South Korean sent its military troops overseas to assist the American military. In the past 50 years, The South Korean military has been involved in the major conflicts that the U.S. has been a part of. All in all, South Korean has deployed around 320 thousand troops to fight with American, Australia and South Vietnamese soldiers in the Vietnam War. Just recently, 3,300 troops were sent to help re-build the destroyed towns in northern Iraq.

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A Look into South Korean Military

Like most military forces in the world, the South Korean military has different branches or divisions: the Army (ROKA), the navy (ROKN), the Air force (ROKAF) and the Marine Corps (ROKMC). There is also the reserve forces. Near the demilitarized zone in the North Korean border, these forces are mostly concentrated. The military is so important that all males are required to serve for two years. Some Koreans believe that the 2 years mandatory service should be shortened or even completely abolished. The government has actually allowed some male students who were about to graduate with a bachelor's degree and with a master's degree to skip the 2-year military service so that they could focus on their studies and further their knowledge on their chosen specialization.

More About Korean Pop Music

Koreans who disagree with the negative claim about Teuroteu, believe that the music was invented years before the Japanese occupation. The name Teuroteu is derived from the Korean word which means "foxtrot" or "trot" which is a ballroom dance that characterizes the simple beat of the genre. Because of Western pop music, Teuroteu has gradually lost its popularity, with the onset of local young pop Korean stars taking the music scene by storm. However, recently there has been a revival of the genre by artists like Jang Yoon Joeng and popular child actress Lee Jae Eun who recorded "trot" albums.