"But do you feel more motivated when you think about the benefits of military service?" is the question a Reuters reporter keeps asking South Korean swimmers competing at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

While the Asian Games may seem like a faraway festival to Westerners, you'll often run into reporters based in Asia for international news organizations like AP, Reuters, and AFP. When they meet Korean reporters, they often ask about the military service benefits for Asian Games gold medalists. The idea of military service is unfamiliar to them, and the idea of being released from this obligation by performing well in a sporting event is not immediately clear.

An American Associated Press reporter said, "Readers are very interested in the Korean military service system," as they watched League of Legends (LoL) together and asked, "Didn't all five players on the same team as Faker (Lee Sang-hyuk) go to the military?" The foreign journalist knew that Son Heung-min, 31, had stopped playing League of Legends at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games to take advantage of military service, and that while athletes receive military benefits for raising the country's profile in international competitions, there is a lot of chatter in South Korea about how members of BTS, the world's most famous K-pop star, have not received such benefits and have enlisted. 바카라사이트

The Korean athletes were somewhat humbled by the unusual attention from foreign reporters. Baek In-chul (23), winner of the men's 50m butterfly, said, "Military service does not hinder my athletic career. It has the advantage of making my career a little longer." Esports LoL gold medalist Chobi "Chobi" Jeong-hoon (22) said, "I'm grateful to have been born in the right time. I admire those who go to the military." Mockery is also in the mix. In reference to Chung Chul-won, 27, who missed out on gold by 0.01 seconds in the men's 3000-meter relay in roller skating due to a last-minute celebration, the UK's Daily Mail wrote: "The price for celebrating too soon is that they will have to serve in the army for 18 months." "So they were frowning on the podium even though they had won silver," he added.

The special military service system for arts and sports personnel was introduced in 1973. It was a motivational measure to raise Korea's profile in the global community, and the numbers were small. In the sports field alone, the initial targets were Olympic medals, world championships, top three Asian championships, and even top three at the Universiade. The scope was gradually narrowed, and by 1990, it was limited to the top three at the Olympics and top one at the Asian Games. They undergo four weeks of basic military training and are recognized as having served in the military if they have served 544 hours in their field of activity.

Since 1973, 990 male athletes have received special military service exemptions for winning various international competitions, according to data from the Korean Armed Forces Administration. Another 500 have benefited from participating in the Asian Games. The problem is that the system is not being reformed, even though its original purpose of promoting nationalism through sports is fading. Men's national team athletes are more concerned about winning an Asian Games gold medal than winning a world championship. In terms of competition level and performance, the World Championships are more important, but the practical issue of military service benefits distorts the reality.

In Asian Games baseball alone, there are only eight participating countries and most of them are amateurs, but Korea has a large number of professional players who have not resolved their military service, so they simply win a gold medal and resolve their military service. This is why Asian Games baseball is called a "legal military service broker. This is why there is a lot of fuss over who is included in the Asian Games baseball team.

The current criteria for athletic benefits are almost exactly the same as they were in 1990. It seems unreasonable that 33 years have passed and Korea's national status, sports level, and public perception of the military service system have changed. It is time for a new standard to be established through public discussion.