Bias against multicultural troops / KBS 2025.11.07.　#KBSNews

“All male citizens of the Republic of Korea are obligated to perform military service, regardless of race or skin color.”

Since the 2009 revision of the Military Service Act, men from multicultural families have also become subject to conscription.

In 2010, there were about 50 soldiers from multicultural backgrounds. Today, that number has grown a hundredfold to around 5,000, accounting for roughly 1% of all active-duty personnel.

In five years, that figure is expected to reach 10,000.

However, while the number of multicultural soldiers continues to rise, prejudice and discrimination remain entrenched within the military.

Reporter Choi Min-young has more.

[Report]

Mr. A, a 24-year-old man born to a Korean father and a Southeast Asian mother, volunteered to join the Army three years ago to live proudly as a Korean citizen.

Because he spent much of his childhood overseas, learning Korean military terms was not easy.

[A/Voice altered: “Right after enlistment, using phrases like ‘-imnida’ or ‘-imnikka’ was difficult for me. It felt like learning Korean all over again from the start.”]

He soon faced blatant discrimination and harassment.

[A/Voice altered: “After exercise, they’d say, ‘Get away, you smell like tom yum soup.’ If I messed something up, they’d ask, ‘Are there a lot of transgenders in your country?’”]

Another soldier, Mr. B, age 22 and also from a multicultural family, said he had to endure constant mistreatment throughout his service.

[B/Voice altered: “Five or six times a week they’d bully me, insult me, or ignore me, saying, ‘He’s a foreigner, not Korean.’”]

Some soldiers even subjected them to sexual harassment.

[A/Voice altered: “They tease me in the bathroom. Between men. They look at my body and make fun of me.”]

In April, one multicultural soldier jumped from his barracks after being unable to withstand the bullying.

Since 2020, the military authorities have stopped collecting data on multicultural soldiers, arguing that identifying them could itself be considered discrimination.

However, experts point out that specific countermeasures are necessary to prevent further harm.

[Choi Byung-wook/Professor, Department of National Security, Sangmyung University: “Policies and plans tend to be declarative. But if we hide behind the principle of ‘not identifying multicultural soldiers,’ discrimination and hate can end up being ignored.”]

The National Human Rights Commission recently recommended that the Ministry of National Defense accurately assess the situation of multicultural soldiers and assign positions based on language proficiency.

This is Choi Min-young, KBS News.

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