Applicants for Marine Corps grow after N. Korea attack

By Lee Tae-hoon

The number of young South Korean males volunteering to serve in the Marine Corps has grown, in the wake of North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea last month, which took the lives of two marines and two civilians, officials said Monday.

Some 3,200 men have applied to take physical tests for 971 positions available during this month's recruitment session, marking a competition ratio of 3.3 to 1.

The figure is higher than the average monthly ratio of 2.1 to 1, according to officials at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA).

"Despite North Korea's artillery assault on Yeonpyeong Island, the number of applicants for the Marine Corps is rising," an MMA official told the Yonhap News Agency. "Also, few have canceled their applications for the marines since last month."

The North's artillery attack on Yeonpyeong near the disputed maritime border on Nov. 23 was the first attack on South Korean soil and the first one on a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

In South Korea, it is mandatory for all able-bodied men to serve in the military for roughly two years.

Experts point out the deadly incident has changed perceptions about North Korea among young people here, who tend to be more sympathetic toward Pyongyang than the older generation who directly experienced the tragedies of the war.