On September 10th of 2013, my Korean friend Hoon will enter the South Korean army for his mandatory service. He is now 26, some years older than the average conscript. He worked as an assistant at the language-institute here for a number of months in 2012. He was the head assistant, and was consistently kind to me/us, one of the few who were.
Twenty-one months is the term of service for all able-bodied, full-blooded, male South Korean citizens. Foreign citizen ethnic-Koreans (“Gyopos”), and mixed-race citizens, are exempt.
I met him for a final meal recently, and he seemed in good spirits.