Should Military Exemptions be Expanded to include Pop Culture?

[raspberry84]

When talking about military exemption in South Korea, classical musicians and ballet dancers can receive military exemptions after they reach a high level of success (often placing in the top 3 at prestigious international competitions).

Do you think this opportunity should be open up to others in the field of art such as k-pop idols, popular musicians, directors or actors? 

Personally, I don't see why that opportunity shouldn't be expanded to be more inclusive of the current forms of art coming out of South Korea. There really isn't a solid argument why someone should be receive an exemption for playing the violin but not for vocals or for their work in ballet but not in directing.

For the sake of transparency, I find mandatory military service extremely unethical and am not in the favor of the practice in general.

[Cobalt]

Quote

classical musicians and ballet dancers can receive military exemptions after they reach a high level of success 

I did not know that was the case. In that case it should extend to other forms of art, but the measure for exceptional success needs to be very foolproof. 

Edited October 27, 2019 by BlazingCobaltX

[Le kwan]

38 minutes ago, raspberry84 said:

For the sake of transparency, I find mandatory military service extremely unethical and am not in the favor of the practice in general.

I feel the same, I think mandatory military service should be at most 10-11 months it's crazy how in Sokor you have to waste 2 years of your life in the military it seems so unfair.

As for showbiz related exemptions, it's hard to define the criteria's for that. For classical dancers and musicians there is a set of competitions and rewards that you need to get in order to get an exemption and it's ambiguous enough as it is, now imagine how it will be for actors/singers/idols how will they define the level of success they need in order to get an exemption? Do they need a KMA daesang or a blue dragon daesang ? International awards? Be million seller ? Rank n1 on the Billboards charts? 

This is why there is an uproar about celebs getting exemptions because whatever the criteria is  it will be so vague and agencies are gonna find loopholes for their artists even if they are not qualified. I think the whole mandatory service system needs to disappear and instead offer perks to make people interested to apply for it willingly.

 

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by Le kwan

[Polaris_Tae]

Athletes get exempted provided they win specific events (e.g. the Olympics or Asian Games). Son Heung-Min just got exempted last year bc of this.

I want the SK govt to create a similar law for artists - where if they win a major award in their specific field (e.g. a Grammy, Oscar or Order of [insert country]), they would have the ability to be exempt from military service, they already have this in place for classical musicians and dancers, why not extend it to actors and other musicians...

2 years is a lifetime in the entertainment business & some peoples careers may never be at the same level as when they enter the military, so why not shave some time off the service length too...

Edited October 27, 2019 by Polaris_Tae

[raspberry84]

14 minutes ago, Le kwan said:

I feel the same, I think mandatory military service should be at most 10-11 months it's crazy how in Sokor you have to waste 2 years of your life in the military it seems so unfair.

As for showbiz related exemptions, it's hard to define the criteria's for that. For classical dancers and musicians there is a set of competitions and rewards that you need to get in order to get an exemption and it's ambiguous enough as it is, now imagine how it will be for actors/singers/idols how will they define the level of success they need in order to get an exemption? Do they need a KMA daesang or a blue dragon daesang ? International awards? Be million seller ? Rank n1 on the Billboards charts? 

This is why there is an uproar about celebs getting exemptions because whatever the criteria is  it will be so vague and agencies are gonna find loopholes for their artists even if they are not qualified. I think the whole mandatory service system needs to disappear and instead offer perks to make people interested to apply for it willingly.

 

 

I feel like it would be easier for directors or actors because there are film festivals they could compete in. I agree, it would be difficult with kpop simply because there isn't a "competition" and the awards for it are kinda all over the place when it comes to criteria.

I just can't understand people who defend mandatory military service. It forces people to go agains their beliefs and in some cases forces the men to pick jail time because their religion doesn't allow it. That's not even touching on the sexism and homophobia connected to their military and this mandatory service.

Edited October 27, 2019 by raspberry84

[JoJo29]

there's no competition for idols as prestigious nor international as sports events, grammys and oscars are like another local award in any country, why will south korean government care about those?

Edited October 27, 2019 by JoJo29

[raspberry84]

9 minutes ago, JoJo29 said:

there's no competition for idols as prestigious nor international as sports events, grammys and oscars are like another local award in any country, why will south korean government care about those?

We're not comparing it to the criteria for getting an exemption for sports, I'm comparing it to exemptions that are given for arts.

That uses both domestic but also international competitions as criteria for receiving exemptions.

[sasha]

you can be against mandatory service for any sorts of reasons but those won't hold against simple necessity certain countries have for strong active military force that can't be met with contractual military personnel.

 

when you look at the reasoning behind such exemptions it goes smth like "rising prestige of SK" and so yeah, you're absolutely right, there is no reason why many distinguished artists shouldn't get the exemption just because they are in the field of current art forms. 

the problem with modern arts though is that there is lack of at least somewhat objective competitions. with sports it's straightforward. classical arts have certain longstanding traditions and schools and thus high standard criterion when it comes to competitions. i guess for musicians - Grammys, for actors/directors/etc. - Oscars/Cannes might be it. 

[Just Peachy]

Imo yes. Either there should be no exemptions at all (except for health reasons), or they should expand it to include other industries too. It makes no sense to me that athletes (and not even all types), ballet dancers and classical musicians get special rules, but modern dancers, modern musicians, actors and modern athletes don't.

I think in general the enlistment and exemption laws need to be updated to better suit the current societal and economic landscape of the country. Like if it's true that there's going to be a shortage of men to draft from, bc of lowering birth rates, then I think it's worth considering making it mandatory for women to enlist too. Also all these laws can be customized to each industry, gender, age etc., they don't all need to be identical. For example, I think it would be wiser to base exemption for entertainers on a specific economic impact rate than on awards, since it would be harder to achieve and also guarantee the country actually benefits from exempting those individuals. There's also the option of not giving exemption, but rather offer enlistment delays for the individuals who fulfill certain criteria.

[satoori]

1 hour ago, raspberry84 said:

...There really isn't a solid argument why someone should be receive an exemption for playing the violin but not for vocals or for their work in ballet but not in directing.

True

Tbh the only reason idols were not exempt a long time ago is because for so long in Korea there was a stigma against them. The male population specifically are the ones holding it back. 

Classical musicians and ballet dancers were viewed as more honorable...

However with time the public and government is seeing how much impact kpop/kdramas/movies have on korea's economy.

I feel one day the rules will change. Not having idols/actors serve will not weaken Korea's military.

If not full exempt then less time.

Edited October 27, 2019 by satoori

[Drama Drama Drama]

I don't understand criteria but 2 years of service is so long time. But last year MMA cut the service to 18 months. It's a little advance.

The reason of not exemptions to idols despite their success and financial impact maybe is the general public vision (idols and actors are clowns for entertain their thrist to hate something not artist who impacted the country). And the elitism of sports and ballet maybe.

Edited October 27, 2019 by Drama Drama Drama

[HarukaNanase]

They should make the service optional or reduce it to 1 year before.

[Miss.Miss]

What would be the criteria of exemption for celebrities? I would imagine that athletes and classic musicians are exempted because they are required to reach a certain level of skill first before they are able to represent the country in any competion? Also in those competitions they have clear opponents and there's usually a way of measuring the level of skill of one person compared to another? So winning a competition people are more likely to accept that it means you have more skill than those you competed against.

 

Do those in other forms of art get exempted? 

[raspberry84]

18 minutes ago, Miss.Miss said:

What would be the criteria of exemption for celebrities? I would imagine that athletes and classic musicians are exempted because they are required to reach a certain level of skill first before they are able to represent the country in any competion? Also in those competitions they have clear opponents and there's usually a way of measuring the level of skill of one person compared to another? So winning a competition people are more likely to accept that it means you have more skill than those you competed against.

 

Do those in other forms of art get exempted? 

It's a bit more straight forward with directors, for example, where a win for their film at a prestigious festival like Cannes could be a qualifying factor. Although factors for musicians could probably be drafted.

And the exemption is often to allow their career (and therefore the prestige and positive attention they bring back to Korea) to continue uninterrupted. It's not necessarily about their skill but ultimately about what their image does for Korea's image on an international level.

One of the main issues is the laws haven't been updated to reflect modern culture, hence why more modern forms are art aren't included for exemptions.

Edited October 27, 2019 by raspberry84

[Pyron]

I think it makes sense to expand the option to any cultural or artistic expression including show biz. For a country, their government can use them as a soft power to expand influence. I think it makes more sense than wasting them just to be grunts in the military.
We can argue about other careers should receive or not this option, but the government will just add small amendments to legislation. I think we should focus on this proposition instead of expanding it to other careers per se. Pretty sure this was brought up, but again amendments have to be small chances. Otherwise, they'd just do a big overhaul which is the more correct action, but in a democratic process this may be harder to stomach. The whole military service process is very emotionally charged.

[Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo]

Nah. 

[sequinze]

For idols? Lmao no.

[Lolly21]

.

22 minutes ago, sequinze said:

For idols? Lmao no.

 

[#goddamnitkongwee]

Their activities are not state sponsored that all.