Paradoxes of War
Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by war; not the violence and the risk of death but the implied idea of the honor and heroism behind war. I think I began to think about war this way because of all the ancient Greek myths and heroes I grew up reading; my favorites always included the Iliad, anything about Achilles, Julius Caesar, and the one and only Alexander the Great (yes, he was a Macedonian, but he honored the Greek culture and propagated it to the rest of the Western world). In most countries, they honor their soldiers and glorify their service to give meaning to their sacrifice. This is especially true in America, but it isn’t like that everywhere in the world. When I first came to America to study several years ago, I was shocked by how respected and honored the soldiers were. I was in a restaurant once and when a soldier walked in (he was wearing his army fatigue), everyone in the restaurant began to clap and called out “thank you for your service.” Customers fought to buy him a meal or pay for his food. I was really moved and promised myself that the next time I saw a soldier in my home in South Korea, I would offer him my sincere thanks.
In South Korea, young men between the ages of 19 to 28 are made to serve in the National Korean Army for about two years. They remain as part of the reserve forces for another few years after that. While this enforced military duty seemed really important after the Korean War, in recent years, there has been a lot of resentment among the young men here who feel that they are losing two years of their lives to prepare for a war that will most likely never happen. While most people around the world worry about the ever-increasing threat of North Korea and its growing nuclear arsenal, we are pretty blasé here in the South. One reason may be that after living under a cloud of ever-present danger, people here have just lost interest or the edge of fear, and now have learned to compartmentalize the dangers of North Korea on par with a serious car accident-possible but not really probable.
Recently, more public attention has been given to the soldiers here and their sacrifice is being publicly lauded by the media and the government. After a blitz of positive government-funded advertising, more young people are deciding to choose a career in the military instead of taking the usual route of university and a 9–5 job. Part of the positive image makeover has been to recognize that our soldiers are heroes and our continued freedom and ease of mind in the South depends on their service. This is a new idea here. In the past, the government focused on the idea of duty and sacrifice, but have since realized that heroes and freedom are much more attractive and palatable ideas for mothers, fathers, sisters, and wives who must send their sons, brothers, and husbands away for two years.
When I saw the course Paradoxes of War pop up on Coursera, I knew this was something I wanted to register for. I think this course will give me a lot to think about.
