Apr 18, 2022 / No. 157
Students at Ajou University would have seen people walking around in uniforms inside the school. These people are the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). For students who are curious about ROTC, The Ajou Globe (The AG) interviewed Kim Dae-hoon (4th grade, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering), who is the head of the school district’s human resources department/public relations team.
Q. Please explain briefly what ROTC is.
A. It is a system that commissions students as officers upon graduation from the university after receiving two years of military training in the third and fourth grades.
Q. How can students take part in ROTC?
A. ROTC accepts applications for recruitment once a year for a month from March to early April. The first batch of successful candidates will be announced based on the application form and the written exam. After that, the final list of successful candidates will be announced in July following physical examinations, interviews, and physical strength certification.
Q. Why did you decide to participate in ROTC?
A. I have known about ROTC since I was in middle school. Since I have to fulfill my military duty in Korea, I wanted to serve as an officer, develop leadership, and experience valuable things.
Q. Why does ROTC wear uniforms at school?
A. Along with raising a sense of belonging, as part of the ROTC, we wear a uniform to protect our dignity with responsibility. Since this also promotes it, we are wearing it intensively during the current recruitment period for ROTC.
Q. There are many students who are curious about the benefits of ROTC, so please explain this.
A. Currently, upon joining this group, members receive 6,000,000 won as a short-term service incentive and about 70,000 won per month for dignity maintenance and get about 800,000 won for every additional training. Scholarships include 15 school district leader scholarships, Ajou University ROTC alumni scholarships, Kim Soo-jung scholarships, and work scholarships. In the case of female candidates, 100% of school district leader scholarships are supported. In addition, you can have overseas and domestic cultural tours with university support. It is also an advantage that many alumni seniors are distributed in society.
Q. Please say something for those who are thinking about joining ROTC.
A. I’ve been doing ROTC activities for more than a year and gained more than I imagined, and I’m having so much fun that I don’t regret a moment. I think ROTC life and the experience of serving as an officer, and many benefits are really valuable. I’ve seen that many people worry and are reluctant to join because the officer’s mandatory service is about 10 months longer than that of soldiers. However, I am confident that these shortcomings are not much compared to what I get. I hope you can apply and get valuable experiences without worrying about the opportunity to become an honorary officer.
By Lee Noo-ri, AG Senior Editor
cabello1706@ajou.ac.kr
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