I can't believe this isn't the onion
this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
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"You say you are a concientious objector but how do you explain all the violence you commit in this video game?"
The Supreme Court of Korea is a joke and just lost any credability it may have once had.
This seems incredibly stupid on its face. Someone please give me context that makes it make sense.
So, as far as I can see the ruling was that the guy hadn't sufficiently proved through his actions (e.g. protesting, joining any anti-war movements or in this case even expressing this view to anyone beforehand) that he was an actual conscientious objector and not just a chancer who didn't want to serve.
The fact that he played PUBG was brought up as part of the suggestion that he was just having a go but wasn't the whole case against him. Indeed tbh I can't really see anything suggesting it was a particularly important consideration compared to the lack of positive evidence of conscientious objection but obviously it's the bit that's going to get clicks.
Can't hold a moral stance without shouting it at everyone around you!
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Honestly, the comments show who read the article and who didn't. It's really not hard to see that the court was looking for a history of conscientious objection and didn't find any proof, instead finding arguments to the contrary.
Hang on, because I'm morally opposed to war and violence, but I'm not out attending rallies or protests. While my arthritic old body isn't what anyone wants in battle, if I were healthy, and we had a draft, I'd be a conscientious objector with no history of activism.
Would South Korea put me in jail?
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According to the article, the court argued that the guy refusing mandatory service for conscientious reasons enjoys playing violent games such as PUBG, calling the reasons given for abstaining from military service in question
It is stupid. The man says he is .orally opposed to the military, but the courts rules that playing a computer game like PUBG makes that a lie.
Well, they ruled that he had no history of being a conscientious objector and did not put any previous effort into spreading his claimed ideology that would point to a history of it. One of the findings was that he didn't want to join the military because the 'orders were unfair.' PUBG was a small part of the argument that he was not as against war and violence as he claimed to be, but the article is on Kotaku, so they know their audience to get clicks.
To my knowledge, the current law is that if you say you're a conscientious objector, the alternative to military conscription is to work in a prison or correctional facility for 36 months. Getting the previous punishment of 18 months in prison is at least a shorter amount of time.
I wonder if he went to court to get the previous alternative of 18 months in jail over the 36 months of work. At least it's a shorter amount of your life.
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Avoiding political opinions on South Korea, the court's claim would be that because he likes shooting guns at other people in games, his objection to military service has no ground to stand on.
By that logic, I should be their divine leader because I play RTS games.
"A paintball player? Clearly you must be a gung-ho militarist who loves war!"
"Have a BDSM kink? You go around kidnapping and torturing people, don't you?"
"So you like reading murder mysteries, huh? Seems like you're a murderer yourself, then!"
—Some South Korean judge, probably.
Which is fucking dumb beyond measure and logically, spiritually, and sensibly makes no fucking sense. Military service isn't a god damn video game
"I miss Call of Duty...."
"We are IN Call of Duty, and it SUCKS!"
South Korean government isn't exactly a bastion of democracy and sensibility. It's a fascist hell hole.
South Korea is considered a “full democracy” and ranks higher than the US on The Economist Democracy Index.
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south Korea is a fascist police state that will use stupid excuses to force men to die for the government.
Kpop stans in shambles but you're absolutely right
It's such a shame. I recently watched a video series from some high schoolers visiting south korea and everything seemed so nice. People seemed nice, everything was so clean and the "culture" seemed overall just nice, i don't know what else to say. Hearing all the bad shit vehind thescenes is just disheartening
The country only stopped being a dictatorship in the late 80s, and that was only after it emerged they'd tortured a student to death. And it's not as if his successors were particularly clean either.
Hell, watch Squid Game or Parasite. Quite clearly there's something not quite alright in Korean society. Hell, watch Oldboy (2003). Genuinely one of the best (action) movies ever made. That'll also give you plenty of perspective on human nature and Korea.
The k-pop and k-dramas are quite clearly escapism, rather than a reflection of reality.
I've also heard plenty of horror stories about Korean schools from English(often American) language teachers, who were shocked at how bad schools were:
I have lived in Korea on and off for fifteen years. Lots of Korea hate online for some reason, maybe because Korea isn't on the best terms with China and are buddy buddy with the US. Anyway, Korea has its issues, but it's actually a pretty good place to live.
In relation to the article, military service is mandatory in Korea unless you can give a good enough reason why you can't serve. The guy in the article couldn't give a good enough reason, like religious reasons or being vehemently anti war. The judge mentioned PUBG as a side note, but outlets need their rage clicks, so that's the outlets' focus.
That's why it's important to remember that your perceptions and reality can be very disconnected.
When all of your vices are crimes you get really good at hiding them.
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