Twin Marines give hope

Twin brothers Jeong Do-hyeon and Jae-hyeon are the proud sons of the Republic of Korea. The two privates are doing their mandatory military service on the islet of Maldo, which is just six kilometers from North Korean territory in the Yellow Sea. The brothers decided to join the Marines on Nov. 23 last year after hearing of North Korea’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island while studying in the U.S. Do-hyeon is studying at Cornell University and his brother is a student at the University of Chicago. This story is reminiscent of the stories of Israeli youth, who scrambled to return to their homeland Israel in the wake of the Mideast conflict while studying in the U.S.

The twins could have completed their military service more comfortably through alternative service at defense companies or as military interpretation staff after graduation. Yet they volunteered to join the military in August, pledging to "take the lead in times of difficulty for the motherland." The brothers monitor the North`s military movements with thermal observation devices at night. Even at this very moment, hundreds of thousands of young minds are on high alert to guard South Korean territory, sea and skies and braving freezing weather, just like these Marine twins. Due to the unwavering efforts and sacrifice of these soldiers, the people can feel safe and go about their daily lives. Looking at patriotic youths like these twin brothers, many societal leaders should feel shame.

On Nov. 23 last year, the North Korean military fired more than 170 shots from its coastal artillery guns at Yeonpyeong Island, a residential area, around 2:30 p.m. Two Marines -- Sgt. Seo Jeong-woo and Pvt. Moon Gwang-wook -- and two civilians were killed in the attack. Many other civilians and soldiers suffered injuries. Despite the South Korean presidential office and the military command being at loss over what to do, South Korean Marines returned fire with K-9 self-propelled guns even without knowing that their helmets were on fire.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said, “Our military has renewed our commitment to crush enemy forces in the event of aggression over the past year, and boosted our defensive readiness with a determination not give up even an inch of South Korean territory." The military has stepped up efforts but has yet to give the public solid conviction that uncertainty in national security has been cleared. Defense reform aimed at establishing a streamlined command system is still lacking. The Air Force Operations Command mishandled Grade 2 and 3 classified military information and dumped such documents into a trash bin, demonstrating slack military discipline.

The North Korean People’s Army, which is tasked with reunification of the two Koreas under communism, is the main enemy. A loose sense of national security and divided stance in South Korea vis-à-vis North Korea, however, has rendered national security in the South all the more vulnerable. Even after repeated aggression by the North, voices in South Korean society recklessly claim the South overreacted while others blame Seoul for angering Pyongyang, putting the South Korean military on shaky ground. Even after the sinking of a South Korean naval corvette by a North Korean torpedo and the North’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the North has not changed at all. Only when the public, military, government and political circles in South Korea thoroughly arm themselves with a solid spirit of national security can they preempt the North’s attempt to attack the South.