Girl bands to soothe weary border soldiers

K-pop girl bands AOA(top) and EXID perform in front of soldiers. / Courtesy of online community

By Ko Dong-hwan

K-pop girl bands will be deployed on the inter-Korean border to boost soldiers’ morale.

The Ministry of National Defense has selected the novel measure to lift the spirits of frontline soldiers who face repressive North Korea, according to the Hankook Ilbo.

Forces have been on high alert for the past four months after the North’s repeated tests of weapons of mass destruction, including a fourth nuclear test in January and a submarine-launched ballistic missile firing on Saturday. According to the report, the strain has had a big effect on soldiers, dissipating their concentration, spiking fatigue and resulting in more accidents.

“Troop captains have been doling out vacations to those who they deemed could use one but that hasn’t been enough to recover the soldiers’ listlessness,” the ministry said, according to the report.

The ministry’s latest initiative will have 12 K-pop bands visit 12 divisions close to the border ― 11 Army and one Marine Corps ― one band for each division sometime in the next month. During performances, the stars will invite some soldiers to talk about the hardships they face while on duty.

The ministry also plans to form a cheer squad of celebrities doing mandatory military service and tour them across the 12 divisions. The defense arm will also pay 162 million won ($140,000) for movies and 200 million to install projectors at 10 of the divisions to screen the films.