I heard recently that although it is not an official policy, you will almost never find an American soldier in Korea (especialy those that come into contact with the North Koreans) that is shorter than 6ft. Is this true?
Given that the average male is less than 6 ft, you’d have a rather healthy culling of units that rotate through Korea.
What would the rationale even be for such a policy?
–Patch
I heard this several years ago, for those stationed on the DMZ as guards and sentrys, those who are visable to the northern forces, the reason being to intimadate the NK soldiers who I guess aren’t as tall as ours.
That’d be news to an old friend of mine. She was on the DMZ for a year - all five-foot-nuthin’ of her.
Likewise, I used to date a gentleman who served in Korea. He was 5’ 10" or so - not far under six feet, but not over it either.
If I had to guess, it’s because Asians tend to be shorter than Westerners, so it’d be easier to pick out “infiltrators” in the ranks.
Just a WAG. Not my views. Some assembly required. Batteries not included.
I detect a distinct air of ‘urban legend.’
In a recent National Geographic, there was an article that stated that there are height and “look” requirements for the troops that man the border crossings and neutral areas, but not the rest of the border. This is evidently on both sides, not just the South.
DancingFool
My aunt is at the minimum height requirement for Air Force ground crews. She did a stint in South Korea.
My friend is a captain in the Army, right now stationed in Seoul. He is about 5’8" or so (a few inches shorter than me) but stockier than all hell. He could easily break me in two. He has been in the DMZ and tells some wacky stories.
Yeah, that was a good article. National Geographic puts small sections of their articles on their website, and the relevant part of the Korea article can be found here:
Just last week there was a guy on NPR talking about this. I think it was this episode of All Things Considered. I was only listening passively, but I remember hearing that Western visitors to the DMZ needed to be dressed properly to convey the “correct” image. One of the rules was no jeans. I also believe hearing the comment about service men being at least six feet.
Not that it really means anything, but an RA in the dorm I lived in was in the Army in Korea; he was at least six feet tall.
I was in the US Army and stationed in Korea from mid 1988 - mid 1989. I was stationed way down south, near Pusan. So I was about as far away from the DMZ as you could get.
Those station on my post were of normal height. The same was true of the bases farther north (Teague, Seoul). But I do remember when we had the women’s softball championship on post. The women who came down from the DMZ area were amazons. I’m a woman at 5’8", and these women intimidated the hell outta me.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they hand picked those serving near the DMZ for their height. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to do that for some jobs. I was there during a techie shortage, so I can imagine that a short tech would be better than no tech at all.
My brother was in the DMZ. He’s 5’10".
I’ve never been to Korea, but I was in the Army. Of the guys who had been Korea, many of them reported much like the National Geographic article stated – soldiers would arrive at “reception.” Reception is where inbound soldiers are processed to figure out where they’re going. For many military jobs (like infantry), no one has a clue where they’re going when they get in country. Usually the Army doesn’t know either. So Specialist Smith shows up; his record shows infantry; he waits to find out where he’s going; there’s a slot in Soeul, and he goes after perhaps waiting up to a week. Specialist Balthisar shows up; he’s an air traffic control equipment specialist; his unit is already waiting for him; he gets on the bus inside an hour (happened to me when I got to Germany, anyway). SPC Sixfoot shows up; he’s a mechanic, and there are a lot of mechanics, and he’s 6’2". He likely gets attached to a Military Police unit right on the DMZ.
“Right on the DMZ” means right on the DMZ – I don’t mean short people who may be stationed near the DMZ. I’m sure there are plenty of them.