Conscription in South Korea
The basis for military conscription in South Korea is the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which was promulgated on July 17, 1948. The constitution states in Article 39, "All citizens shall have the duty of national defense under the conditions as prescribed by Act." The Military Service Act of 1949, which was implemented in 1957, specified that compulsory military service is required for men ages 19 or older. Conscription is managed by the Military Manpower Administration, which was created in 1948.
History of Japan–Korea relations
During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|colonial period]], more than 100,000 Koreans served in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. The service of these Korean men was forced upon them, but it is without a doubt that Koreans fought alongside Japanese as allies to battle against the forces of the [[Allies of World War II]]. Some Korean women were also sent as [[comfort women]] at the war front to serve the Imperial Japanese Army. There are several controversies about this issue, including the veracity on the nature of the comfort women as sex slaves, or whether the Japanese Imperial Army was involved in the supposed women's abductions. The issue on comfort women had been the source of diplomatic tensions between Japan and Korea since the 1980s.