I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in April 1979 and, in September of the same year, was selected as a military student to study in the United States at a civilian university for a master’s degree. I initially enrolled at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C., where I obtained a Master of Business and Public Administration (MBPA) degree in just one year. Afterward, I transferred to the Catholic University of America, also located in D.C., where I studied in the graduate school of the Department of Economics for two years and earned a master’s degree in economics. I returned to Korea in June 1982.
Upon my return, I was assigned to work in the Education Department of the Personnel Division at Army Headquarters, where I also lectured on personnel management at the National Defense University. The following year, I was selected as a professor at the National Defense University and, in September 1983, enrolled in the Ph.D. program in economics at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where I studied for three years. After passing the doctoral qualification and comprehensive exams, I returned to Korea in June 1986, as my study period had ended, and I was appointed as a professor at the National Defense University while also preparing for promotion to Colonel.
Graduating from the Military Academy and 40 Years of Military Life
Although I spent six out of eight years of my Lieutenant Colonel service studying in the U.S., under military personnel principles, I was supposed to be promoted to Colonel and utilized as a long-term professional. However, as I later learned, during the promotion of loyal officers involved in the XX Operation to Colonel, all four of my classmates who had studied in the U.S. as doctoral candidates, including myself, were passed over for promotion. This ignored the basic principles of personnel management and led to the forced retirement of skilled professionals at the Lieutenant Colonel level.
When I entered the Military Academy, I aimed to succeed as a career soldier. After graduating from the Military University and working at Army Headquarters, I felt a sense of ignorance and sought to broaden my knowledge through study abroad, aspiring to become a capable soldier. However, upon returning after completing my master’s degree, I found that my classmates had already completed their time as battalion commanders and were in key positions, looking forward to promotion, making it difficult for me to compete with them in field commands. Meanwhile, as I devoted myself to my studies to overcome my ignorance, I gradually found myself drawn into the academic world, eventually leading me away from the path of a career soldier commanding field troops. As a result, I retired as a Lieutenant Colonel on April 30, 1987, upon reaching the mandatory minimum retirement age for my rank.
I had intended to remain in the military for a long time, content with the rank of Colonel while living as a professor. At the time of my retirement, I received an unofficial request to stay on as a civilian professor at the National Defense University, but I had already decided to leave Korea. At that time, I still needed two to three more years to complete my degree, and I felt a deep sense of betrayal toward the military for dismissing the skilled professionals it had trained through study abroad in favor of promoting politically connected Lieutenant Colonels. Additionally, given the military’s atmosphere at the time, I lacked the confidence to maintain relationships and socialize with my peers and seniors after having retired as a failed competitor.
First, I returned to Washington, D.C., as a civilian to complete my doctoral dissertation. Fortunately, my family was still living in the U.S., so I didn’t need to make any special preparations to leave. While retiring evoked bittersweet sentiments, this change became a turning point for me, marking the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I embarked on a second challenge, becoming a a scholar devoted to research, teaching, and writing. Although all of this was born from human will, I believe that in every moment of uncertainty, the Almighty God guided me in the right direction.
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