Navy officer becomes S. Korea's 1st female deep sea diver

SEOUL, 2 September (BelTA - Yonhap) - A Navy officer became South Korea's first female deep sea diver in the Navy's 78-year history, officials said, amid an ongoing push to broaden women's role in various areas of the military.

Lt. Jg. Mun Hee-woo was among the 64 officers, noncommissioned officers and conscripts that completed the Navy's basic training to join the Sea Salvage and Rescue Unit (SSU) in a ceremony held at Changwon, 298 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the Navy said.

The 27-year-old is the first female service member to apply for and complete the grueling 12-week course that trains applicants to become members of the elite unit. She also served on the frigate ROKS Daegu after being commissioned as an ensign in June 2022.

While Mun felt that she had to test her limits during each and every day of the intensive training, she said her gender was never a hurdle.

"I felt confident that I could complete the training. I don't think anyone would have known I was a woman unless someone told them so since I cut my hair short," Mun said.

 What actually proved to be tougher than expected was her age.

"Rather than the gender difference, I was the oldest trainee and was eight years older than my youngest colleague, which made it difficult for me to recover quickly," she said. "It was tough to follow up with the physical training."

Mun, who majored in physical education and oceanography, said her longtime affection for swimming and scuba diving naturally inspired her to become a Navy deep sea diver to guard people's lives.

After successfully completing the training, Mun and 32 other officers and noncommissioned officers will embark on another 14-week training on diving 91 meters underwater using a surface supplied dividing system.

As the country's first Navy female deep sea diver, Mun said she would like to become a maritime rescue expert so that others can follow her path.

 For now, she is glad to have passed the first step for that goal.

"I feel that I've now left an unknown world where I couldn't see and that I am starting to adjust to darkness in the deep sea, that my vision is opening up," Mun said.

South Korea's military has been seeking to deploy women in more diverse areas amid concerns that it could face a shortage of troops due to the country's ultralow birthrate.

In 2022, the Navy announced a policy change to allow female service members to join the submarine crew as it acquired larger 3,000-ton submarines. Nine female submarines were deployed for duty in January.