The event and the video’s circulation
The South Korean Army’s 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade hosted, about a week ago, an initiative dubbed the K-Walking Performance Military Festival, during which some soldiers followed models along a catwalk set up in the military base’s gymnasium. The Korea Herald reports.
The images, provided exclusively to TV Chosun by a YouTuber who previously served in the special forces, show models in camouflage clothing and high heels as they demonstrate runway-walking techniques: one foot crossing in front of the other, body rotations for turns and poses with bent arms. Rows of soldiers reproduced those movements and then, in turn, stepped forward to perform their own poses under the models’ gaze.
The criticism and the Army’s stance
The circulation of the footage sparked criticism and questions about military discipline. On X, one user noted that, given the nature and responsibilities of a unit intended for special operations, it is difficult to understand the purpose of such training.
Asked by a local media outlet, an Army official explained that the event was part of a cultural program designed to improve soldiers’ deportment, carried out as an interactive activity within character-building training held twice a year. The official, however, acknowledged that the content was not appropriate to the unit’s nature and the soldiers’ needs, and that the program had not been properly assessed in advance. The Army added that it would gather soldiers’ opinions at the planning stage and carefully assess the suitability of future training activities.
What remains to be clarified
The material does not specify how many people participated, nor whether there were disciplinary consequences or whether the program was suspended. It also does not indicate who approved the initiative. Organizational details and any internal follow-up within the brigade therefore remain to be verified.
The case is significant because it concerns an elite unit whose mandate includes combat tactics and high-risk missions: the episode calls into question not the training itself, but the criteria by which ancillary programs are selected and the preliminary checks on their appropriateness. The Army’s statement explicitly acknowledges this gap.
