Young Korean men try their luck in KATUSA lottery
Applicants and their parents vying for a military service placement in the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) attend a lottery at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) office in Daejeon, Thursday. Yonhap
DAEJEON – Silence filled the room as young men and parents waited anxiously to hear their fate at the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) headquarters in Daejeon, Nov. 2, during a lottery to select who would join the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA).
The descion was made within a few minutes in a lucky draw. The 30 or so young men and their parents, who showed up on behalf of their sons, were among the 15,360 applicants nationwide who signed up for this year's competition to serve at U.S. Army bases across the nation.
Among them, only 1,762 would make the cut — a competition ratio of 8.7 to 1.
Some bit their lips, while others closed their eyes for a moment of prayer as MMA officials prepared red, yellow and blue colored and numbered balls for the computerized lottery program.
“I’m trying to stay calm, telling myself that chances are low. I don’t want to get my hopes too high,” said Park Pil-gyu, 23, a college student living in Daejeon.
Bang Yeon-hwa, 45, who came on behalf of her son, had her fingers crossed.
"My husband is in the Navy, so we know how difficult things are in the Korean military. I really hope my son can get in so that he can have new experiences in the U.S. Army using his English skills," she said.
The attendees watched as an MMA official entered six-digit numbers – each randomly picked by six randomly selected people among the attendees – into the computerized lottery system. It took less than five seconds for the program to screen out 1,762 candidates among the list of 15,630 applicants in the random number draw.
Lee Won-hee, a Seoul resident who showed up on behalf of his son Kyung-woo, was the only lucky candidate among the applicants who came to the site.
“I’m really happy that my son won, but I feel bad for others who didn’t. And I was quite impressed to see for myself how the selection process is carried out fairly,” Lee said.
A mother of a KATUSA applicant, center, picks a numbered red ball from the box that will be used to create a six-digit number for the lottery program. Behind her is the screen showing a computerized lottery program that automatically selects candidates. Yonhap
The other 1,761 selected candidates are notified within a couple of hours via text message.
According to an MMA official, the lottery system to pick KATUSA soldiers is conducted every year in a transparent and open manner in the presence of applicants, the MMA chief, an official from the U.S. Army and experts who verified the lottery program.
The 1,762 men who were selected on Thursday will begin their 21-month-long service from January 2024. They will go through a five-week-long Korean Army basic military training, and then continue with another specialized training program under the U.S. Army which is three weeks long.
Those who did not make it on Thursday will begin their mandatory service in the Korean military, as candidates can apply for KATUSA only once.
"I don't know how to tell this news to my son. He will be so disappointed. But I guess he will apply for a translation position in the Korean Army," a woman in her 40s said as she left the hall after hearing that her son's number hadn't been drawn.
KATUSA and U.S. soldiers sing Korean and U.S. national anthems during the KATUSA-U.S. Soldier Friendship Week at the U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in this May 30 photo. Newsis
Why KATUSA is popular
All able-bodied Korean men aged 18 to 35 are obliged to serve in the military under one of its wings ― Army, Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps.
But there is another option favored by many. KATUSA is a special branch that falls under the Republic of Korea Army but augments the United States Army under which Korean men are assigned to the Eighth U.S. Army (EUSA).
The concept of this program dates back to an informal agreement made between President Syngman Rhee and U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, the commander in chief of the Far East Command, during the 1950-53 Korean War. Under the agreement, KATUSA soldiers fought in major battles alongside American troops.
After the war, KATUSAs remained with their U.S. comrades in the barracks and helped by providing their local knowledge, becoming an integral component of the Korea-U.S. alliance.
It is said that in the early years of the KATUSA program, Korean soldiers were recruited directly off the streets of Busan. In the 1960s to 1970s, they were randomly picked from the ROK Army after undergoing an English proficiency test.
In 1998, the ROK Army changed the recruitment system to a 100 percent lottery-based program among eligible applicants meeting standardized English test score requirements. The MMA began overseeing the recruitment progress in 2003.
The competition among young men to become KATUSAs is fierce.
In 2022, 1,920 KATUSAs were selected among 14,107 applicants, a competition rate of 7.3 to 1. The competition ratio in 2022 was 7.6 to 1.
The main reason behind this continuing popularity is that the KATUSA conscripts enjoy some perks extended to U.S. troops stationed here.
They receive better conditions compared with Korean Army branches, for instance, greater freedom in leaving the base camp, the opportunity to learn English and experience American military culture, and more privacy afforded by single or double rooms.
"I think the best part was that I had much more free time compared with my friends who served in the Korean Army. We took days off on both Korean and American national holidays," said a 29-year-old former KATUSA surnamed Kim.
He also mentioned that his military service period seemed easier than for those serving in the Korean military due to the U.S. military's hierarchical relationships with supervisors being less stringent by comparison.
"I still keep in touch via social media with some U.S. comrades I met there. We got close by sharing each other's cultures," he said.