One strategic mistake by North Korea when it shelled Yeonpyeong-do might be that the shelling pushed the otherwise indifferent younger South Koreans away into a hostile stance against North Korea. An interesting illustration:  although South Korea has mandatory draft, one has to actually volunteer for the marines. And the application rate for the marines jumped to 2.0 applications to 1 position this year, compared to 1.2 to 1 from last year, a 66 percent increase. The reconnaisance division, known to be the toughest assignment within Korean marine corps, has the application rate of 13.2 to 1 -- the highest number in Korean marine corps history.

北도발에 달라진 국민의식 [Dong-A Ilbo]