> SK should consider fielding a volunteer force from their ranks to fight on behalf of the Ukrainians in order to do the same

Foreign military deployments are very politically unpopular in South Korea.

Memories of SK's involvement in the Vietnam War and the extreme unpopularity of SK's tiny deployment in Iraq make any sort of "boots on the ground" view politically untenable.

Furthermore, South Korea can better contribute (and is) by providing material, intelligence, and funding.

The bitter taste from Vietnam definitely makes sense. I’d imagine it would be pretty unpopular.

Figured it might make sense as a volunteer only operation. But maybe even that would not be practical.

Lol no thanks.

It was pretty amusing to see the fake news saying we'll deploy spread all over the place in the western media. And then the disappointment and hate we got once they discovered they've been lied to.

Understandable. What might be good for the proficiency of your military is not necessarily what is good for the day to day life (or lives of ) your soldiers, and also not necessarily what is good for the country.

That is why I suggested as a volunteer operation only, especially keeping in mind the state of military conscription in SK.

Whether voluntary or not, foreign deployment is inherently political. Anyone can identify the significance of it, which is that we're easily coerced into fighting europe's war which europe has no interest in spilling blood. Downright disrespectful and an easy rejection.

The lack of depth of European involvement really rings true and is a totally different (and more meaningful) frame than the one I came in on (nk/SK).

I can definitely see how that would really look like a shit sandwich from a SK perspective.

I was looking at it as more a way to capture and conserve martial proficiency, but you are obviously right on with the political nature, as well as the optics and narrative that would likely become the defining aspect of this kind of involvement.