Military Academy Cadets Fully Allowed to Date

On the 1st, President Moon Jae-in delivered a congratulatory speech at the '71st Armed Forces Day event' held at Daegu Air Force Base (11th Fighter Wing) in celebration of Armed Forces Day. / Daegu = Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Following the Korea Military Academy, cadets at the Korea Naval Academy and the Korea Air Force Academy are now allowed to date members of the opposite sex starting from September. Until now, first-year naval cadets were completely prohibited from dating, and first-year air force cadets were only allowed to date within the same grade.

According to the Navy on the 19th, the Navy Headquarters decided at the 4th policy meeting on the 13th to permit first-year cadets to date starting this September.

Until now, first-year naval cadets were prohibited from dating as a protective measure to encourage early adaptation to cadet life. Last year, about 40 cadets who voluntarily reported dating were severely disciplined, causing controversy. The Air Force Academy also plans to fully allow dating among all grades starting from the second semester. The National Human Rights Commission recommended revising the regulations related to cadet life rules in June, stating that such disciplinary actions by the Naval Academy seriously infringed on the right to pursue happiness and the privacy and freedom of personal life.

The Military Academy decided in February at the school operations committee to fully allow dating among cadets and proposed amendments to the cadet life regulations to the Army Headquarters. The Air Force Academy has allowed first-year cadets to date among themselves since November last year.

Meanwhile, the Naval Academy changed the first-year life goal from 'obedience' to 'challenge and adaptation.' The Naval Academy explained, "While 'obedience,' the first-year life goal, is a military spirit that all cadets must internalize, applying it only to first-year cadets carries connotations of coercion and passivity, so it was revised to 'challenge and adaptation,' which implies voluntary and active meaning."