"Unified as 'Return as One!' Instead of Workshop"… Army Says "Title Seems Misunderstood"

Korea Sejin "Stop Making Strange Slogans and Get a Grip"
Army Headquarters "It's an Event Title, Seems Misunderstood... Will Continue to Implement"

There is controversy over claims that the Army Headquarters instructed to use the term 'Come Back United!' instead of 'workshop.' A workshop is a training program where new knowledge, skills, or methods are mutually exchanged regarding a specific problem or task, and where participants learn by practicing or experiencing the necessary knowledge or skills to produce concrete results.

Image unrelated to the article content. [Photo by Getty Images Bank]

On the 12th, a post titled "The Army No Longer Uses the Term Workshop" rapidly spread on online communities. The post was a compilation of a message posted on social media by 'Korea Sejin,' a former Army major and currently a YouTuber.

A critical post uploaded by YouTuber 'Korea Sejin'.
[Photo by Korea Sejin, Instagram screenshot]

Korea Sejin criticized, saying, "The Army Headquarters is doing something bizarre. Whether it’s the person who created and issued this directive, the one who spread it, or those who accept it uncritically, have they all lost their minds as a group?" He added, "Stop making strange slogans and get a grip." The photo he attached appears to be a notice sent from the Army Personnel Management Division.

The main point of the notice is to use the term 'Come Back United!' instead of 'workshop.' Furthermore, in the attached training schedule for the first half of 2024, all instances of the term 'workshop' were changed to 'Come Back United!'

A critical post uploaded by YouTuber 'Korea Sejin'.
[Photo by Korea Sejin, Instagram screenshot]

In a subsequent post, Korea Sejin said, "The culprit is the Army Chief of Staff, this is maddening," and criticized, "The generals at Army Headquarters do not engage in critical thinking or raise necessary voices; instead, they act like sycophants, reminiscent of the utterly ruined Imperial Japanese Army."

Regarding the controversy, the Army Headquarters told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "We have not instructed to stop using the term 'workshop,'" and explained, "Since December last year, with many department heads such as section chiefs being replaced at Army Headquarters, we have been conducting a workshop titled 'Come Back United!' to enhance departmental unity and work efficiency." They clarified that a separate unity event titled 'Come Back United!' was created and operated differently from the existing 'workshop,' and that this was distorted in the reports. They added, "The Army will continue to hold the 'Come Back United!' workshop to promote departmental unity and effective work performance."