Hello, this is Sokcho Eottae. It is midnight on Sunday, September 27, the last day of the Chuseok holiday. Today we would like to share the story of a family that has come back to Sokcho (속초). A young man born and raised in Guatemala has traveled a long way to do his military service in Korea, his father's homeland. His father is a Sokcho native who graduated from Sokcho High School (속초고등학교). Today is the day when families who gathered for the holiday go back to their own places, which made this story stay with us even more.
A Young Man Born in 2002 from Guatemala, Kim Min-woo (Andrés)
According to reports in local media such as the Kangwon Domin Ilbo, the person at the center of this story is Kim Min-woo, born in 2002. His Guatemalan name is Andrés. His father is Kim Dong-jun, an emigrant from Sokcho, and his mother is Ana Guzmán, from Guatemala. His mother served as a member of the Guatemalan Congress from 2012 to 2016. Min-woo is the youngest of four siblings and a dual citizen holding both Korean and Guatemalan nationality.
Many dual citizens born abroad give up their Korean nationality and build their lives in the country where they live. Min-woo chose the opposite path and decided to join the Korean military. Asked why, he answered, “I want to do my military service in my father's country and learn the Korean language and culture.” This can be read as his intention to learn Korean and Korean life firsthand during his service.
His Father, Kim Dong-jun, a Class 29 Graduate of Sokcho High School
His father, Kim Dong-jun, is a Class 29 graduate of Sokcho High School. He worked in the textile industry, and in the late 1980s, when Korean textile companies were expanding into Latin America, he went to Guatemala as a manager. There he built a business and started a family.
At the time, many Korean garment and textile factories were set up in Guatemala and other Central American countries, because of labor costs and access to the U.S. market. Quite a few Koreans, like Mr. Kim, went out as factory managers and ended up putting down roots there. A person who spent his school days by the sea in Sokcho has lived on the other side of the globe for more than 30 years.
Two Friends Reunited in Guatemala in 2007
Sokcho Mayor Lee Byung-sun also appears in this story. Kim Dong-jun and Mayor Lee were friends who were active together in the Buddhist student club in high school. The two met again in Guatemala in 2007. Mayor Lee, then a member of the Gangwon Provincial Council, had gone to Guatemala to campaign for hosting the Winter Olympics. That summer, the IOC Session was held in Guatemala City to choose the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and PyeongChang was competing as a candidate. He ended up meeting a high school classmate in a faraway foreign country.
This year, 19 years later, the two met again in Sokcho. This time, the occasion was Mr. Kim's youngest son deciding to enlist in Korea. The friend he met on a business trip for the Olympic bid has now come home as a father sending his son to the military.
How Do Dual Citizens Enlist?
According to reports, Min-woo looked into the enlistment procedures for dual citizens before coming to Korea. He then visited 강원영동병무지청 (Gangwon Yeongdong Regional Military Manpower Office) in Gangneung (강릉) to discuss when to enlist. At the military service examination, he was given a final classification as eligible for active-duty enlistment, and his scheduled enlistment date is November 2. That is about five weeks from today.
There is a program for young Korean nationals living abroad who want to do military service of their own accord. It is the Military Manpower Administration's ‘Enlistment Application Program for Permanent Residents and Others’. Under it, applicants can take the military service examination and enlist at a time of their choosing. The reports did not say whether Min-woo is enlisting through this program. Still, it is worth knowing for Sokcho families with relatives or family members abroad.
- Who can apply: people who have obtained foreign permanent residency, people who have lived abroad for 3 years or more with parents registered as overseas Korean nationals, dual citizens who have lived abroad continuously for 10 years or more, people who have obtained indefinite residence status in countries without a permanent residency system, and others
- How to apply: the Military Manpower Administration civil service portal (Travel/Overseas Stay menu), Korean diplomatic missions abroad, civil service desks at regional military manpower offices, and the Military Manpower civil service center at Incheon Airport
- Support provided: when going to the country of permanent residence on regular leave, the government pays round-trip airfare up to 3 times during service, and on discharge from active duty it also pays travel expenses for returning home (including airfare) to the country of permanent residence.
Practical tip: If a nephew, niece, or grandchild living abroad is thinking about military service in Korea, let them know to check the guidance from Korean diplomatic missions or the Military Manpower Administration civil service portal first. Those subject to military service who live in Sokcho, Goseong, and Yangyang fall under the jurisdiction of the Gangwon Yeongdong Regional Military Manpower Office in Gangneung. We recommend calling ahead to confirm whether it is handling civil requests as usual from Monday the 28th, after the holiday ends.
A Week That Brought Families Outside Sokcho to Mind
This week, there was another piece of news in Sokcho connected to the wider world. On September 22, five business organizations donated 10,000,000 KRW to help Nepal flood victims, handing it to the Sokcho district council of the Korean Red Cross. They were the Sokcho Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Sokcho Marine Industrial Complex Council, the Sokcho Federation of Small Business Owners, the Sokcho branch of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises, and the Seorak chapter of the Korea Federation of SMEs Convergence. The aim was not to treat the damage in the home country of the Nepali workers who work in Sokcho's seafood processing sites and restaurants as someone else's problem.
The son of a man who left Sokcho for Guatemala has come back to join the Korean military. Neighbors who came from Nepal to work in Sokcho received comfort from Sokcho's business community. Gathering Sokcho news every day, we at Sokcho Eottae often feel that this city is connected to a wider world than you might think. If you met relatives you had not seen in a while over the holiday, perhaps you also talked about family living abroad.
Midnight on the Last Day of the Holiday: Sokcho Right Now
For those leaving Sokcho today or staying one more day, here is the current situation.
- Weather: As of midnight it is 20°C with a few clouds, with a high of 23°C and a low of 18°C. Sokcho Eottae's real-time data shows a 98% chance of precipitation. On the other hand, media reports citing the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast say the Gangwon region will be mostly clear on the 27th, so the two do not match. Please check the KMA's neighborhood forecast once more before heading out, and it would be a good idea to bring a small umbrella.
- Sea: The water temperature is 23.1°C and the wave height is 0.4 m, so the sea is calm. The beaches have already closed for the season and there are no lifeguards, so please do not go into the water; just enjoy dipping your feet.
- Crowds: 신세계영랑호리조트 (Shinsegae Yeongnangho Resort), 롯데리조트 속초 (Lotte Resort Sokcho), 베니키아 산과바다 (Benikea Sangwabada) (Daepo Port (대포항)), Oeongchi Beach (외옹치해변), Dongmyeong Port (동명항), and Cheongchoho Lake (청초호) are all ‘very crowded’. Even at midnight, most of the busy spots are accommodations and the beaches around them. That shows just how many people are spending the last night of the holiday in Sokcho. During morning checkout, resort parking lot exits and nearby roads may all get jammed at once, so we recommend leaving 10–20 minutes early.
- Roads: Misiryeong-ro (미시령로) (toward Seoul), Donghae-daero (동해대로) (coast and downtown), and Seoraksan-ro (설악산로) (toward Seoraksan (설악산)) are all slow. There are a lot of cars even late at night. Before departing, check the estimated travel times by time of day on the Korea Expressway Corporation's Roadplus.
In Summary
- Kim Min-woo (Andrés, born 2002), the youngest son of Kim Dong-jun, a Class 29 graduate of Sokcho High School, has come from Guatemala and decided to enlist in the Korean military.
- He took the military service examination at the Gangwon Yeongdong Regional Military Manpower Office, was classified for active duty, and is scheduled to enlist on November 2.
- His father and Sokcho Mayor Lee Byung-sun are friends from their high school Buddhist student club. After reuniting in Guatemala in 2007, they met again in Sokcho 19 years later.
- There is an Enlistment Application Program for Permanent Residents and Others for young people living abroad, which covers round-trip airfare for leave (up to 3 times) and travel expenses for returning home after discharge.
Today we looked at the story of how the son of a Sokcho emigrant in Guatemala came to join the Korean military, and at the enlistment program for young Koreans living abroad. We hope you found it useful. On this last day of the holiday, whether you are leaving Sokcho or staying, please travel safely. We will be back next time with even more useful information.
