Poor reading environment left behind, 'One hand a gun, one hand a book'?

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense is promoting a 'Reading Report Contest' to encourage reading among soldiers, aiming to enhance their cultural enrichment. This initiative is part of the long-standing 'Jinjoong Moonko' program, which has distributed selected books to military units since 1978.

However, the program faces challenges. The budget for Jinjoong Moonko has seen a substantial reduction, dropping from 9.5 billion won in 2023 to 7.6 billion won in 2024. This decrease is particularly notable when compared to the rising costs of soldiers' daily meals and overall increases in the defense budget. The article questions the rationale behind shrinking the book budget while other welfare provisions improve.

A key point of contention is the ministry's move towards replacing paper books with e-books, citing soldiers' preference for digital media and cost savings. Yet, survey data indicates that while smartphone use is high, reading e-books or webtoons constitutes only 6.7% of leisure activities, with information search, social media, and gaming taking priority. Furthermore, many military libraries are poorly equipped, with a significant number holding fewer than 5,000 books, and some even below 1,000 volumes.

The article criticizes the "One Hand a Gun, One Hand a Book" project for focusing on superficial improvements like coffee machines rather than core issues like expanding book collections or renovating libraries. It advocates for a more flexible approach, allowing units to purchase diverse books tailored to their needs, and calls for strengthening military libraries and fostering a culture of shared reading to make the initiative a lasting success.