South Korea's Olympic Committee is seeking to send hundreds of athletes to a military training center to better prepare themselves mentally for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Last Sunday, the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee advised domestic federations to send athletes to the three-day Korean Navy camp in the port city of Pohang.
About 320 athletes, including women, are expected at the training camp, according to a statement from the South Korean Olympic Committee today.
Sports federations have previously asked their athletes to undergo marine training ahead of major sporting events, but this is the first time the Olympic Committee has recommended it.
Officials decided to camp after the Asian Games in October, when South Korea finished third in medals behind China and Japan.
After that competition, the president of the South Korean Olympic Committee, Lee Ki-hyeon, proposed the idea of a military camp and said that he himself would join the athletes in training, as well as other leaders.
On social networks and portals in South Korea, such plans are criticized and ridiculed.
"Are we still in the military rule period," said one social media user X, while another suggested the Committee should select mentally strong Marines as Olympic athletes.
Many called the plan comical and crazy.
Details of the training camp, which is scheduled to take place from December 18 to 20 in Pohang, are still being worked out, with the Olympic Committee and the Korean Marine Corps participating in the talks.
Previous pre-Olympic camps involving fencers, wrestlers and handball players have included courses in launching and carrying 140-kilogram inflatable boats.
When asked by the Associated Press, the South Korean Wrestling Federation and the Breakdancing Federation announced that they will not send their competitors to the camp as they have competitions scheduled during that period.
Large companies and schools also sent their employees and students to naval camps and other military training.
South Korean athletes are exempt from mandatory military service if they win gold medals at the Asian Games or any medal at the Olympics.
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