NONSAN, South Korea: Stuck at home and taking online classes, Kyle Choi, 20, was determined to get out of the pandemic: the South Korean military.
Choi, a college student in Seoul, accelerated his plans to fulfill his 18-month compulsory service. As a specialist in environmental engineering, Mr. Choi was concerned that e-learning would not replicate experiments in class that were critical to his education. Thus, at the end of December, he voluntarily enlisted in the starting camp of this central city in South Korea.
“You have to go anyway,” he said. “I could go now.”
All over the world, the military is seeing increases in enlistments as younger adults seek refuge from a pandemic that slows down job opportunities, social life and a traditional education. The paper often has health benefits, such as free virus testing, treatment, and vaccines. Social distancing has made some facets of early military life less strenuous.
Canada experienced a 37% increase in military applicants in the last nine months of 2020 compared to a year earlier. Throughout the year, Australia recorded an increase of 9.9% over the previous year. The UK last spring met its annual recruitment target for the first time in seven years, and is set to do so again this year, a government spokeswoman said. The U.S. military saw 92 percent of its eligible personnel re-enlisted for the year ended September. The previous year’s accounting was 83%, a spokeswoman said.