Finishing my second year at college, I applied two years’ leave of absence to school to complete my military service. All male citizens of the Republic of Korea are required to serve in the military or in the public offices except the challenged.

I passed physical examination except an optometry because of my poor sight, so I was assigned to the office of education. But, I still needed to have four-week training at an army camp before I started working at Haeundae office of education. Without any interaction with the world outside of the camp, life in the training center was physically demanding but worthwhile. Fifty new recruits in a platoon had to stay altogether in a big room for four weeks. There had been too many complaints from people who have diverse demographic backgrounds when it comes to education and profession. Impressive was the fact that three of them were mobs whose backs were covered in tattoos of dragon. We were obligated to relieve sentry every night, but I was exempt, as assigned as a platoon leader owing to my looking good handwriting. Meanwhile, we received gunnery exercise, guerilla training, and 60 km march at night. The worst thing was the CBR, Chemical, biology, and radiology, training. Standing in a room saturated with gas, we had to sing military songs under the drill sergeant’s command. In about ten minutes, as soon as I got out of the room, my eyes stung and they watered, and my nose ceaselessly ran. It was like a trip to hell and back. At the end of the training, fifty of us swelled with self-confidence and comradeship. We were soldiers.