Let soccer players play soccer

By Louis Chang

In the FIFA 2010 South Africa World Cup, Korean national soccer team made the round of 16. After that, the captain Park Ji-sung said, ``Being exempted from military duties after 2002 helped us to make it to the round of 16 in the World Cup.”

In 2002, the Korean team made the semifinal, and all the players were exempted from the duties. According to Park, more players have been given opportunities to play in some of the best soccer leagues in the world. He believed that those players have been crucial for Korea’s success in 2010. Cho Chung-yun, president of Korean Football Association, thus proposed that Korean government should exempt the players from the military duties.

The issue became hotly contested. People voiced various opinions on why the players should be exempted from the duties of military or not.

If you are not a Korean, you may not know what the military duty is like here. According to Korean laws, all Korean men should go to the military. Most Korean men spend one and a half year as a soldier when they are around 22 years old. However, most of people consider it a waste of time. Some people even give up their nationality to dodge the military. This is what military does mean to Korean men.

In the case of athletes in Korea, if an athlete attains any medal from the Olympics or a golden medal from the Asian Games and the Universiade, the athlete gets exempted from the duties of the military.

Let’s go back to the debate. Advocates of the exemption point out the government requested the players to participate in World Cup. Despite the danger of injury, they come and play for the national prestige.

Some may criticize this view by pointing out that the movie stars and singers who are popular in other countries may also be exempted from the military by applying the logic, since they are raising the national prestige. However, my point is that the actors are more likely to be working for their own fame.

Some might counter that the players are already well compensated from the prize money from the government. However, for an athlete, not going to the military may pay better. If athletes spend such a long time in the military, only few of them regain their previous abilities after serving, because the military does not provide well-organized training or diet.

Furthermore, athletes of other sports who achieved good results in major international sports competitions should have the opportunities to be exempted from the duties. A noticeable result made by an athlete may bring a positive effect to the nation.

In the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na won a golden medal. Some $ 1.7 billion of the national brand value had been earned from Kim’s victory and gold medals by other athletes, according to the government-run Korea Sports Promoting Foundation. Among the $1.7 billion, $400 million dollars had been brought in by Yu-na alone.

I propose that the Korean government develop a system that determines whether an athlete should go to the military or not. I suggest a point-based system. Athletic experts could rate each competition and give certain points to an athlete who meets the qualification.

For example, making the round of 16 in a World Cup can be rated as 70 points. If an athlete attains over 100 points, the government can exempt him from the military services.

To reiterate, good athletes need to be exempted from the military duties. The system I suggest may be beneficial for both the Korean government and the athletes. The athletes may be encouraged more by the exemption and play better.

Then, Korea may see significant benefits economically, socially, and politically. It may be better for the government to reap the benefits than having one more soldier.

The writer is a Korean student studying in Tabor Academy, Marion, Mass. He can be reached at wizbee6@gmail.com.