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South Korea reconsiders a rite of manhood: The draft

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Kim Hyeongsu, who served in the South Korean military but refused to go back into duty as a reservist, in Hong Seong, South Korea, on Oct 3, 2021.

PHOTO: NYTIMES

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SEOUL (NYTIMES) - Kim Hyeongsu performed poorly on his rifle qualification test for the South Korean army, to the point where he was berated for squandering the government's bullets. An officer ordered him to do a plank while yelling repeatedly, "I am a tax waster!"
In basic training in 2011, Kim said, other military trainees squirted hand sanitiser on one another's faces and genitals. Demoralised, one fled and was recaptured in hours.
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