Army's first female military motorcycle riders in spotlight

Army First Lieutenant Kim Yu-kyung, right, and Staff Sergeant Jang Su-ah pose with their motorcycles in this file photo. They are the Army's first female motorcycle riders. / Courtesy of Republic of Korea Army

By Lee Min-hyung

Two Army policewomen riding motorcycles are gaining the spotlight here, as this is the first time female soldiers have undertaken the role.

They are Army First Lieutenant Kim Yu-kyung and Staff Sergeant Jang Su-ah. Kim said she decided to join the military police because she felt attracted to motorcycles whenever watching riders execute special performances with their bikes.

She started her military career last year by being commissioned as an Army military policewoman. To realize her dream of becoming a motorcycle rider, she got a motorcycle license this August.

Kim encourages more would-be female soldiers to challenge themselves by applying for male-dominated positions.

“Not all the positions are available for female Army military policewomen at the moment,” she said. But she urged more female soldiers to have the courage to break the norms and keep trying something different that is unexpected.

“You can get one step closer to your goal by overcoming one challenge after another,” she said. “I had never ridden motorcycles before, but tenaciously challenged myself to do so. While carrying out the exercises, I had a number of bruises all over my body, but kept on exercising.”

Jang began serving in the military in 2008. She has many years experience in the martial arts, holding a fourth-degree black belt in taekwondo and second-degree in judo.

Even before starting her military career, she rode motorcycles. She developed her interest in motorcycles partly due to influences from her father who shares the same interest.

“I feel fulfilled when riding a motorcycle safely to my destination,” Jang said. “My short-term goal is to enhance my riding ability to be more responsible for what I do in my unit.”

She said she also hopes to experience other military fields as well rather than just riding motorcycles for the rest of her life.

“I also want to study criminal psychology to carry out special military missions, such as counter-terrorism preparatory measures,” she said. “After that, I am looking forward to becoming a profiler sometime in the future to contribute more to the military and country.”

“I am thrilled and feel a sense of achievement and self-respect while conducting such special tasks,” she said.