[Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club] Why the Army's Military Song Is Stirring Controversy

On the 8th, when the military personnel leave that had been restricted to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were resumed normally, soldiers heading to the train at Seoul Station to go on leave. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy, Military Affairs Correspondent Yang Nakgyu] Following the controversy over military meals, the Army is now embroiled in a debate over its military song. Critics argue that, instead of serving its original purpose of boosting soldiers' morale and inspiring victory over the enemy, the military song has become focused solely on policy promotion, resulting in lyrics filled with English words.

On May 12, the Army announced through its Facebook page "Army Communicates" that, "Based on various opinions and after internal review, we plan to revise and use the Army's new slogan as 'Stronger and Better Army.'

The Army had initially selected the new slogan as "The Stronger and Better Army" on April 22. However, after criticism that the slogan contained unnecessary English, the Army quickly moved to correct it.

The issue does not end there. Along with the slogan, the newly released military song "Army, We Army" has also faced criticism from netizens. The title as well as the lyrics of the new song include numerous English phrases such as "Go warrior" and "Army Tiger." Some Korean language advocacy groups have even argued that this violates the Basic Law on the Korean Language, which is intended to promote the use of Korean.

In particular, the Army claims that "TIGER" in the lyrics "Army Tiger" is an acronym for "Transformative Innovation of Ground forces Enhanced by the 4th industrial Revolution technology," representing the innovative changes in ground forces strengthened by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. However, criticism continues that the song is merely a tool for policy promotion. The lyrics also mention advanced personal combat systems such as the Warrior Platform and unmanned combat equipment like dronebots.

To elaborate, "Army Tiger 4.0" stands for "Transformative Innovation of Ground forces Enhanced by the 4th industrial Revolution technology." The Army has promoted Tiger 4.0 as a concept in which all combat platforms are mobilized and networked by incorporating new technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, thereby maximizing the survivability and efficiency of soldiers.

The same applies to the music video. The two-minute-and-thirty-second video features advanced military assets such as the Warrior Platform, Dronebot Combat System, and Army Tiger 4.0, as well as scenes of Army soldiers. The Army plans to use the new military song in both character education and daily life training at military educational institutions.