Weinberg junior Kenny Ryu described his experience in the South Korean military as “a blip” in his life. He started his freshman year virtually in Fall Quarter 2020 due to the pandemic, and later returned to his home in Seoul to complete his required military service following his sophomore year.
“I knew that by the time I came back, everyone would have graduated,” Ryu said. “It was pretty sad to leave behind all the good times we had.”
South Korea has had a military conscription program since 1957, which requires all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 to complete nearly two years of service.
At the time Ryu chose to complete his service, he talked to an adviser who had helped other South Korean students navigate the same decision. He said the timing lined up with a course sequence for his major, Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences, which includes preset required courses for the first two years.
Weinberg junior Min Jun Kim originally planned to complete his service after his freshman year, but opted to wait another year so he could take a year of in-person classes.
He served during the same two years that Ryu did, but the two didn’t become close friends until after they realized they were gone for the same amount of time.
“We didn’t even know we were in the same division,” Kim said.
Both served in the Republic of Korea Air Force, although they had different jobs on separate bases. As a supply soldier, Kim’s day-to-day entailed inventory stocking and box moving. He said his job was assigned to him based on his economics major at NU. Meanwhile, Ryu served as an air surveillance operator monitoring North Korean flights.
Ryu said he was grateful to find out that upon coming back, many of his NU friends stuck around the area.
“Although most of my friends have graduated, a lot of them work in the greater Chicago area,” Ryu said. “Sometimes I meet up with them on weekends.”
Ryu also said he keeps in touch with the people he met in the military. Because many attend nearby schools like Indiana University, he was able to meet up with them to celebrate Thanksgiving in Chicago.
Kim said he came back to Chicago with a new appreciation for experiences he once took for granted.
“Coming into junior year, I definitely tried to make a list of things I wanted to do when I got back,” Kim said. “Going to Chicago more often, hanging out with friends… going to the gym more often and staying active in clubs.”
Weinberg freshman Harry Jung currently keeps busy with many campus groups, including Phi Gamma Nu. However, come June, he will return to South Korea to complete his service and worries about coming back to some of his clubs due to high member turnover.
“It’s going to be a difficult thing to do to say, ‘Hey, I know you guys don’t know me and never met me before, but I used to be in this club,’” Jung said.
Jung said many have asked him why he didn’t choose to complete his service prior to or after college. For him, a big turnoff about doing service before college was not being able to speak English for two years.
Jung said completing his service after freshman year was always part of the plan.
“I needed a compelling reason to not go after my freshman year,” Jung said. “If I leave right after my freshman year, I still get to spend (my friends’) last year with them because they’ll be seniors by the time I come back as a sophomore.”
Although many people have anxieties about departing for service, Kim views it as a part of his NU journey.
“It was such an invaluable experience for me, because I met so many great friends,” Kim said. “That really helped me prepare for my latter half of college. I feel like the pros definitely outweigh whatever cons there were.”
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