Monday, May 23, 2005

Yu-Jin May Be Joining The Army

Bit of a shock, this one. Last night my sister-in-law in Korea rang us. She was a bit worried as there was something in the news about a law that Korean citizens with dual nationality who wished to renounce their Korean citizenship, would have to serve their compulsory military service first. (There's a short bit in this article about Americans visiting Korea on a tourist visa and having to serve in the military)

Why is this a concern? Miky has just applied for Yu-Jin to get Korean citizenship. It is unclear at the moment because the first article mentions women who give birth in a foreign country on a short stay. Miky has been here for the long haul. Apparently this has been brought about because so many women have been visiting chiefly the US and Canada to give birth, bring the baby home to Korea to grow up and be educated, then relinquishing their Korean citizenship. Anybody born in the US has US citizenship automatically but say, for instance, a Korean woman gives birth in Australia, it doesn't necessarily mean that her child will be an Australian citizen. She would have to show that the child was entitled to it, e.g. the father is Australian.

It did make it a little more difficult to get to sleep last night. Still got another 12-13 years to worry about it though.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

ah, compulsory military service.. the same goes for everyone in israel. i have a girl friend who can shoot an M16 and i've never touched a gun in my life! she grew up on a kibbutz :) what different lives people lead in other countries.

Anonymous said...

uuuhh, that last comment was from me, gleek.. i don't know why it says unknown.

Hammy said...

Growing up on a kibbutz must be rough. I guess in Brooklyn you only need a knife or a Smith & Wesson for protection - never mind the M16.

NewYorkMoments said...

You watch too much TV, Hammy.