I'm not entirely sure if this is within the scope of the subreddit, but hear me out. One of the driving forces behind r/antiwork is the belief that if your employer cannot afford to pay you fair wages, then they don't deserve to be in business. But how does that apply to conscripted soldiers? Does that mean if the country cannot afford to pay soldiers fair wages, they don't deserve sovereignty? Or more likely, they don't deserve to have the military power they do?
For example in south korea, wages start at $320 per month. Yes, this is the same country as kpop and Samsung, not the Kim jong un one. It goes up to about 450 which is still well below minimum wage.
I'm not entirely sure how to calculate working time and benefits. They wake up at 6:30am, work 9~5 on weekdays, and then get put to sleep at 10. If your employer dictates when you wake up and go to sleep, does that count as working hours? If your employer restricts your freedom on the weekend, on vacation, everywhere until your contract finishes, are those working hours? (Maybe it counts as paid time off I don't know) You get clothing, housing and food. Maybe you can be charitable and say those things can be deducted from a 'fair' wage to result in $320 a month but that shouldn't be allowed… That's just justifying sweatshops.
I'm curious to see what other people think about it!
Misc : I feel like there might be a few non conscripted soldiers in the comments, depending on how many people reply. As a reminder, the soldiers I'm talking about did NOT want to be there. They're not criminals who had a choice between the army or prison. They're just regular people who got asked would you rather be in the army or go to prison for 30 years.
Oh and also these folks don't get their cellphones outside of 5pm to 9pm, and there's talk of confiscating their phones entirely.