Recently, due to the lack of military manpower caused by the decrease in birth rate, petitions to the government about women's military service has become an issue. Within a few days of the petition, more than 200,000 people agreed.

Every Korean citizen has a duty of national defense, but the duty of military service is only for men so gender conflicts between women and men often arise. When the women's military service system is implemented, both advantages and disadvantages will follow. Let's look at the opposition side.

First, women's military service could be another form of reverse discrimination. If the women's military service is implemented, it can lead to more discrimination rather than equality. Women have other physical conditions such as pregnancy and menstruation. If there is a physical difference within the same military service circumstances, women's military service will not be equal.

Secondly, it can lead to financial or social problems. There are not enough conditions or facilities such as toilets and accommodations for women to use separately from men when women enter the military. To have full facilities for women's military, the government needs to spend a lot of money. If the women's military service system is implemented without being fully equipped, there is no guarantee that problems related to sexual violence will not arise.

For instance, an 18-year-old female soldier who joined in 2017 tried to kill herself due to being sexually harassed several times. This problem occurred when women soldiers were in the minority. We can't conclude that such a problem will not arise in the future. In the next section, let's take a look at positive points of women's military service.

L.L.F reporter Su-bin Song

According to a recent report, public opinion on the conscription of women has been positive. The efforts to improve the treatment of women have also been increasing recently in relation to the problem of gender discrimination.

Here we can think about the gender conflict which is the most recognized problem by the younger generation. I will tell you about a feminist supporter 'O-serabi'. Surprisingly, she said that the approval of women's military service as the beginning of true gender equality. If it is implemented, it will not only solve reverse discrimination among men due to military service, but also women's complaints.

Recently, a lot of efforts have been made to improve the treatment of female soldiers. For example, The Ministry of National Defense recently announced a plan to expand the ratio of female soldiers to 8.8% by 2022 and guarantee working conditions. If it is possible, and such efforts are successful, our society could become a society where men and women are equal.

A successful example is Sweden. This country is known as an advanced country for gender equality. It recently revived the conscription system for women, which contributed to them becoming 2nd among OECD countries in the world.

So, what is the task that we are given now? We have to reach a compromise in respect to the views of both pros and cons in women's military service. We should remember that women's military service is not just a matter for certain gender, but for all of us!

L.L.F reporter Min-seo Kim