Dongjoon Eun serves KATUSA

106th Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Spc. Michael Orton

Date: 03.16.2013
Posted: 03.16.2013 22:55
News ID: 103593
Dongjoon Eun

WARRIOR BASE, South Korea - Pfc. Dongjoon Eun works as a Korean Augmentee to the United States Army also known as a KATUSA. He has only served in the South Korean military for eight months, but already enjoys the changes that have come about in his life since joining the military.

“At first it was tough because I was a civilian transforming into a soldier,” Eun said. “I needed more discipline and had to be more conscious about how I behaved, because I represent another country while acting as a diplomat of my country.”

Eun is fluent in English after having studied abroad in the United States. Some of his fondest stateside memories are making friends and playing sports as a high school student in Virginia. He also enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the American family he lived with and then going shopping on Black Friday early the next morning. Overall, Eun thoroughly enjoyed his time in the U.S. and looks forward to going back.

“It was a really good experience,” Eun said. “I got to meet a really diverse group of people and I experienced many opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

After his time ends in the military, Eun will return to the U.S. to continue his education at Cornell University, where he has already enrolled. Eun has already figured out one important aspect of American college life, pizza is his favorite food.