‘Inappropriate’ army training programme sparks backlash in South Korea - The Independent
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South Korea’s Army has acknowledged that a training programme at an elite special forces unit, in which soldiers were taught to walk and pose like fashion models, was inappropriate.
The event – called the K-Walking Performance Military Festival – was held at a gymnasium inside the Army Special Warfare Command’s 1st Special Forces Brigade base on 29 October, according to local media reports.
Footage obtained by broadcaster TV Chosun from a YouTuber who previously served in the special forces showed female models wearing camouflage outfits and high heels demonstrating catwalk techniques to groups of male soldiers.
The soldiers copied their movements, including walking with one foot placed in front of the other, turning their bodies and striking poses with bent arms. They later took turns walking forward and posing while the models watched, The Korea Herald reported.
The footage prompted criticism on social media, with some questioning why an elite military unit responsible for high-risk operations was spending time on runway techniques.
“Given the nature and responsibilities of a unit tasked with special operations, it’s hard to understand the purpose of this training,” one user wrote on X.
People Power Party lawmaker Park Choong-kwon also criticised the programme.
He wrote on his Facebook: “North Korea is carrying out land mine provocations and firing combinations of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and multiple rocket launchers, yet the Ministry of National Defense under the Lee Jae Myung administration is bringing in fashion models to teach special forces soldiers how to walk.”
He said, according to The Korea JoongAng Daily: “With the president himself lacking a clear sense of national security, the minister [talks vaguely as if he] is performing musicals, a corps commander is ordering troops to stand guard with unloaded rifles and front line commanders are arranging special lectures on catwalk techniques.”
Mr Park argued that the soldiers themselves should not be held responsible for the programme.
“The rank-and-file soldiers are not to blame,” he said. “The military must take responsibility for the humiliation these elite troops must have felt. Yet the unit made excuses, saying the training was intended to help soldiers develop proper posture and walking techniques to establish basic military bearing.”
The incident became fodder for online users. Some users suggested that the footage could damage the country’s international reputation. One user wrote that the incident “could make international headlines” and that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “would collapse laughing if he saw this”.
The Army initially described the event as part of a personal development programme organised twice a year. The brigade said its intention was to help soldiers improve their posture, walking techniques and general military bearing, according to Chosun Daily.
However, an Army official admitted that the programme had not been properly assessed before it was organised.
“The training was a hands-on programme led by outside instructors as part of personal development training held once every six months,” the official said.
“However, the programme content was inappropriate because it did not suit the characteristics of the unit or the needs and expectations of its soldiers, and it had not been properly reviewed beforehand.”
“We will gather soldiers’ opinions from the planning stage of future personal development training programs and carefully review the appropriateness of the training content,” the official added.
The 1st Special Forces Brigade was among the units deployed during former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024. The brigade’s commander at the time Lee Sang-hyun is currently on trial over charges connected to the declaration.
