Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
All soldiers will wear uniforms with national flag
Korean War veteran Song Yong-ho, 82, embraces his 21-year-old grandson, Bong-geun, after attaching the national flag onto the latter’s uniform at the Army recruit training center in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Some 1,700 recruits who completed a five-week training course in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, had a patch of the national flag on their uniforms, Wednesday.
It is the first time since the foundation of the Army in 1948 that the national flag was put on soldiers’ uniforms. Within this year, national flags will put on the uniforms of all troops.
“The small, rectangular patch of Taegeukgi was attached onto the arms of the recruits’ uniforms. All troops will wear the same symbol this year,” the Army said in a press release. “This is to encourage military personnel to feel more pride about their service and have a sense of honor and duty.”
The Defense Ministry’s decision to attach national flags on the uniforms of all troops was made last month to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule.
So far, it has been required only for select groups to display the Taegeukgi on their uniforms. These included troops dispatched overseas, the Marine Corps and Korean soldiers serving with the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
The Army said veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars participated in the recruits’ completion ceremony in Nonsan, adding meaning to the display of the national flag on the uniforms.
Song Yong-ho, 82, a Korean War veteran, attached a national flag emblem onto the sleeve of his 21-year-old grandson, Bong-geun, to share the pride of serving the nation.
“Attaching the Taegeukgi on my grandson’s arm in person reminds me of old memories,” Song said. “I felt really great.”
The ministry said it will distribute the Taegeukgi patches and new uniforms equipped with space for a new patch to all troops nationwide until October. The budget for displaying patches is estimated at 3.7 billion won ($3.2 million) this year, and 800 million won from next year, according to officials.
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