Keeping Ties Strong in the South Korean Military
Contact from military members to their family and friends at home is sporadic at best. Nowadays, with most personal news shared by online social networks and by phone or text message, even temporary access removal will lead to weakening of the links to home. Until recently the South Korean military had completely forbidden servicemen and women the use of a cell phone while in training or on duty. Non-compliance could result in military detention. Declining numbers of payphones for every day use and an administrative office for urgent private calls were the only other option to keep in touch.
Now, the military is issuing more than 44,000 mobile phones to military personnel. They can only receive calls and may only be used in the evening free time before a curfew. However, this step is immensely important to soldiers, whose previous personal devices had been classified as a security issue. Standardized, pre-programmed text messages, such as “Please call me today”, can help initiate a conversation from the soldier’s side.
The lack of frequently accessible communication between military personnel and family or friends definitely affects the strength of the relationship ties between them. What might have been the strong tie of a close relationship at the start of enlistment could have deteriorated into the weak one of an acquaintance or even disappear altogether. The new phones eliminate this possibility in the South Korean military. While they are called “one-way phones”, in that they can only receive calls, they really encourage two-way communication. This maintains close friendships through strong ties and reduces the chance of isolation and eventual partitioning from the friend group at home.
These South Korean phones are therefore not tools to create or expand a network, but simply to maintain those already in existence. Weakening ties through infrequent communication are the first step to social network dissolution.
S Korea: Incoming-only mobile phones for barracks