Blurb:

This chapter provides a critical intervention in the normative understanding of “national security” as military security by examining the narratives of conscientious objectors in the Republic of Korea (aka South Korea), a sub-empire and a staunch U.S. ally, where military service is mandatory for men. Within the larger geopolitical context of US “War on Terror”, the narratives of conscientious objectors redefine national security not only in relation to their resistance to war, militarism, and state sanctioned violence, but also with regard to their stance against (hetero)sexism, neoliberal economic system, and various forms of violence against women and other vulnerable people. This redefining is significant because it demands that “national security” should be concerned with everyday struggles of ordinary people, especially women and other minorities. The narratives also pose challenges to the Protestant Right’s view of “national security” as the protection of the nation from both internal and external “enemies” that include communists/leftists/pro-North (Korea), conscientious objectors, sexual/gender minorities, and Muslim (im)migrants. The Protestant Right has been one of the most vehement opponents of the efforts to provide alternative to military service by labelling conscientious objectors as “threats to national security,” “selfish,” or “heretics.” Furthermore, the narratives of conscientious objectors directly or indirectly challenge hegemonic masculinity. The conscientious objectors’ refusal of enacting hegemonic masculinity signals cisgender men’s different ways of performing masculinities that are counter-hegemonic in a highly militarized, classed, and misogynistic Korean society.