Page 277 - 2020 Defence White Paper

of quality agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products and reinforce the cooking
capabilities within the military through cooking classes for military cooks and
culinary competition for servicemembers. The MND will steadfastly strengthen its
cooperation in various fields to improve the quality and taste of military meals.

2. Expanded Self-Development Opportunities During Military Service

Education Tailored to Each To encourage the self-development of each
Educational Attainment and servicemember, the MND offers a variety of
Acquisition of Certificate opportunities such as providing education
tailored to each educational attainment and
supporting servicemembers’ acquisition of certificates. With tailored learning, the
MND provides "Distance Learning Course" and "credit recognition for military
service" for those who join the military while attending university. Distance
Learning Course allows servicemembers to take and earn credits from official online
courses of the universities that they attended before they began their service. As of
2020, 161 universities, including Seoul National University, are participating in this
initiative and 50% of the tuition has been subsidized since 2019 to increase the
attendance rate. The credit system for military service, on the other hand, recognizes Chapter 7
the educational experience of servicemembers obtained through education and
training during their military service as academic credits. Starting with 11
universities, including Kyungin National University of Education, in 2019, a total of
13)
35 universities including Seoul National University are now participating in the • Self-study system: In
order to offer self-taught
system. High school graduates are provided support to obtain a (professional) students an opportunity
to earn a bachelor’s
bachelor̕s degree associated with the self-study system and e-MU universities, and degree, the state awards
13)
a bachelor’s degree to
those who pass the four-
stage qualification exam
[Chart 7-8] Tailored Learning and National Technical Qualification Year-On-Year Report (general education →
basic core → advanced
(As of December 2020, unit: courses and persons) core → comprehensive
exam).
Category 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 • Electronic-Military
University (e-MU): A
No. of universities offering distance 134 141 145 154 161 system for graduates
learning courses of military specialized
No. of universities offering recognized - - - 17 35 high schools to earn a
credits for military service (professional) bachelor’s
degree from universities
No. of personnel with recognized that entered into an
educational attainments equal to those 1,838 492 258 117 89 agreement with the
of high school graduates military (6 universities)
Servicemembers who acquired a 20,653 19,436 19,530 17,920 5,690 from corporals to
national technical qualification salaried volunteer
servicemembers for a
* No practical test held to acquire national technical qualification in the second half of 2020 due to COVID-19. limited term.

Chapter 7. Embedding an Inclusive Culture in the Military: With the People, Trusted by the People 275