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solDiErs frEEr iN moDErN miliT Ary O n a freezing February day, the soldiers in the artillery force of the Yeowugogae Bat- talion, First Division, returned to their base in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, having just complet- ed their cold-weather exercises. Flushed from the chill and worn out after training with 81 mm mortars, they began to unload their gear in the barracks, the room steaming up from the sweat. Once the soldiers’ regular duty hours ended at 5:30 p.m, they were visited by a JoongAng Ilbo reporter, who could immediately see the ways in which Korean military life has changed in the past few years. Nowadays, more freedoms are afforded to soldiers than ever before. Increasing impor- tance is placed on personal care and grooming, the enlisted are divided and housed by rank, and the barracks have become increasingly digitized. It’s a shift away from what it used to be, when procedures were more rigid and there were noticeably less conveniences. “Don’t you know that knowing how to remove face paint is more important than wearing it?” said Cpl. Na Young-ho, wiping the green and brown streaks from his cheeks with cleansing tissues. “It’s harder to remove the residue from the paint that’s left on the skin if you start with facial cleanser.” In the privates’ room that evening, three sol- diers were wearing face masks. The military’s Post Exchange, also known as PX, has reflected that trend, as demand for those products has increased among the en- listed. On many occasions, including on Feb. 18, face masks and moisturizers run out of stock. One of the bestsellers there, aside from food and beverages, is a moisturizing lotion that boasts 1,600 milligrams of processed snail slime. When the soldiers gathered in the hallway later to shower, each of them carried a basket full of bath products. As they began to shower, a flowery scent per- meated the hall. Dinner began promptly at 6 p.m. Yet the food tray of Pvt. Yoon Jin-woo was half-empty, per- haps too small for a 175-centimeter, 100-kilo- gram man who just came back from a day of military training. “I am on a diet,” Yoon said matter-of-fact- ly, adding that he had posted the word “diet” on the wall of his room to remind him of his personal mission. He eats only half of what he used to before joining the Army, he said. But Yoon wasn’t the only one eating less than usual. A majority of the soldiers in the dining hall had small meals. The trend was widespread enough that, when reported to the Ministry of National Defense, the daily serving of rice was decreased from 570 grams to 400 grams. The barracks are also different — more tech- nology-friendly. Soldiers watch music videos on television whenever they want, using IPTV replays. The distribution rate of digital TVs, in- cluding IPTVs, has surged, from 29.5 percent last year to 61.6 percent this year. The battalion is given an hour for self-im- provement every night at 7:30 p.m., with each room of the barracks turning into a venue for a different subject — studying English or prac- ticing music. “It is an hour every day, and we can put in more hours on the weekends,” said Cpl. Hong Ji-won, who has bee n studying for the Test of English for International Communication. In another room, other soldiers were playing gui- tars, which they brought here from home. The men’s free time ends at 8:30 p.m., after which they must clean up their rooms. Roll call begins at 9:50 p.m., when the soldiers call it a day. At 10 p.m., it was lights out, and the bar- racks soon became silent as sleep crept in. For the reporter, who finished his military duty in 2002, life in the Army has taken a drastic turn. For privates to have free time — even to use face masks and hair care products — would be beyond the imagination of a man who finished his service just over a decade ago. None of the military staff members could ex- actly pinpoint when things started to change, but most of them agreed that it was probably around three years ago, when the rooms were assigned by rank. The number of barracks that adopted this measure increased from 726 in 2012 to 976 in 2013 — or from 42.5 percent to 57.1 percent. Many military officials have assessed the changes positively. “The notion of autonomy and responsibility is settling down,” said Lt. Jeong Min-ho, a platoon commander of the battalion. “Assigning rooms by rank decreased physical and verbal abuse by senior soldiers, which has led to fewer con- flicts within the rooms. The forces also seem more focused since they’ve had enough rest.” Another platoon leader, Lt. Lee Yong-jun, chimed in: “When times change, sticking only to old customs won’t draw voluntary participa- tion from the soldiers. This system may not be perfect, but we should seek a balance between training and their personal lives.” A n obese 27-year-old man surnamed Min says he struggles with the social stigma and disadvantages associated with being overweight. “Many people point at me and talk behind my back, saying, ‘What’s the point of living like that?’ Younger children approach me and spit out words like ‘pig’?” said Min, who is 188 cen- timeters tall and weighs 159 kilograms. The burden makes him stay at home most of the time. Min also believes that his heavy weight has hurt his ability to find a job. “I usually pass the first session of the hir- ing process, where employers only examine my resume and documents,” he said. “But whenever I had a face-to-face job interview, I couldn’t make it through.” One prospective employer even said, straight out, that the main reason Min was not getting the job was because of his size. But Min’s problem is becoming more com- mon, as obesity rates have been rising over the past 15 years and the extreme obesity rate has more than doubled, according to a study released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. According to the ministry’s report, the num- ber of obese adults in Korea reached 32.4 per- cent in 2012, up from 26 percent in 1998. For “highly obese” adults, the numbers are more stark: 5 percent of adults last year, up from 2.3 percent in 1998. In Korea, people are categorized as obese when their body mass index tops 25. Those higher than 30 are considered “highly obese.” Lee, 34, recently quit her job as a care work- er at a nursing center. At 168 cm tall and weighing 113 kg, she says that her colleagues were hostile toward her mainly because she was overweight. “If I moved in a narrow aisle, my cowork- ers would hysterica lly tell me ‘Watch out’ or ‘Don’t push things over,’” she said. “It was re- ally embarrassing, and I thought it’d be better to quit the job.” With the increasing prevalence of obesity, experts are beginning to examine the social and economic factors linked with weight more closely. They have found that people with low income levels have higher obesity rates. Obesity rates for people in the bottom in- come bracket stood at 34.3 percent in the 2012 data, whereas the figure for those in higher-than-average income baskets was 29.5 percent. “The reason poorer people are more prone to obesity is that they are more likely to eat junk food,” said Oh Sang-woo, a doctor at Dongguk University Hospital in Ilsan, Gyeonggi. “It’s a vicious cycle. They usually don’t have enough time or money to work out.” KorEA’s hiGhly obEsE rATE DoublEs iN 15 yEArs 31