Younger gentlemen, and we use that term loosely, are finding ways to

Younger gentlemen, and we use that term loosely, are finding ways to dodge the required South Korean military service. Among the fake exceptions:

• Some feign insanity.
• Some dislocate their own shoulder joints.
• Some drink lots of coffee to instantly raise blood pressure.
• Others are into tooth extraction.

In Korea, all able-bodied men age 20 or older are required to serve in the armed forces or do civil service for nearly two years. It’s becoming more and more popular among the South Korean celebrities.

Yoo Seung-jun, a Seoul-born singer who immigrated to the United States as a child, had repeatedly said in interviews that he would fulfill his military duty. But in 2002, just before he was to be enrolled, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. It shocked the Korean public, and the government banned him from performing in Korea and deported him to the United States.

“There is a common view that entertainers are the privileged class who easily make money, and there’s a common jealousy against them,” said Lee Taek-gwang, a British and American culture studies professor at Kyunghee University in Seoul. “So when those privileged people evade their duty, the public feels greater anger than toward evaders of any other profession.”

It takes years for even top stars to regain popularity after military service, and for many, such a rebound is only a remote possibility.

Pop singer Rain recently deferred his enrollment which was scheduled for the end of September.

“There is no other place than the military where inequality is shown so clearly,” said Prof. Lee.