Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

As part of a policy to strengthen the welfare of service member families, the military has increased the budget for a ‘scholarship for challenging to dream’ from 2.4 billion won to about 2.8 billion won this year. The military has also dramatically increased the number of children of service members who will receive the scholarship.

On May 1, the Ministry of National Defense announced via a statement that “our military is striving to create an environment in which service members can be rewarded for their commitment to their service by expanding the welfare for service families and establishing a work-family support system. Significantly, the military is focused on improving service levels, in the belief that stronger combat power will come from stable service conditions.”

The ministry added that “in line with the plan, each armed service is pushing forward with the ‘policy to make service families happy.’”

Education for the children of members of the armed service is at the center of the efforts to enhance the lives of military families. The ministry is working to expand the number of beneficiaries of scholarship to ensure financial support for children's education. This year, the ministry increased the budget for the ‘scholarship for challenging to dream’ from 2.4 billion won to about 2.8 billion won, enabling the scholarship to be provided to approximately 400 beneficiaries. Children of service members who have received civil scholarships, including Lotte Narasarang Scholarship for one hundred children, which was launched last year, a patriotic scholarship for one thousand two hundred children, and the KT&G scholarship for fifteen children, have increased in number.

The ministry is also working to strengthen cooperation with private companies to ensure that children of service members residing on the front lines and in remote areas can receive a high-quality online education. The ministry plans to expand the scope of beneficiaries of the EBS mentoring program, which first targeted third-year middle school students, to include fourth-year elementary school students. In the program, college students teach students one on one as mentors using an education platform built by EBS, focusing on key subjects. The mentors also provide career counseling. This received a great response from the children of service members. In line with this, the ministry predicts that there will be a substantial increase in the related budget.

LGU+ had been providing educational support for preschool children and lower grade elementary school students since last year. LGU+ provided a smart pad for educational use to 438 children of service members in 2021, and allowed them to use the company’s education contents free of charge for two years. The company has completed a consultation process to increase the number of children receiving the service to one thousand per year starting from this year.

The ministry is also working to lessen worries over college admission by expanding the number of colleges with a special admission process for the children of service members and the number of high schools with a social integration admission process to 133 and 108, respectively, last year. In line with the project to build a small library in service members’ apartments, which the ministry has kept pushing forward since 2015 with the aim of ensuring service families’ cultural life, the ministry also plans to build 62 libraries this year. The ministry is also discussing the period of a family discount benefit with many companies and groups, such as CGV, Lotte Cinema, Megabox, VIPS, Everland, Blue Club, and Football Club.

The ministry is also improving the comprehensiveness of the policy related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare by working on the development of a work-family support system, including the directive related to maternity leave, sterility and infertility leave that was effectively revised early this year.

“It is true that service members have difficulty making their life in the services compatible with the education of children and a good work-family balance, as they are in a special environment, and must frequently move, serve on the front lines, and serve in remote areas. The ministry will actively introduce and implement a range of policies that aim to relieve such difficulties and improve service families’ happiness,” a ministry spokesperson said.