A Family of 9 Children, a Noisy Army NCO Household... "Still Happy"

Army Hosts Event Inviting Sergeant On Eun-shin and Staff Sergeant Hong Seong-man with Large Families
Encouragement Funds Given to 15 Non-Commissioned Officer Couples with Six or More Children

As the low birthrate problem worsens, a family with nine children is drawing attention. The main figure is Sergeant On Eun-shin of the Army Mechanized School, who has seven sons and two daughters. He enlisted as an ordinary soldier in 1992 and applied to become a non-commissioned officer the following year, serving in the military for 31 years. Sergeant On, who loves children, got married in 1999 and soon had his first child. His eldest son, now 24 years old, is currently serving as a social service agent at a local community office. After finishing his duty, the eldest son rushes home to take care of his younger siblings. With so many boys, running the washing machine 5 to 6 times a day is standard, and every morning there is a battle for the bathroom.

Sergeant On said, “Because there are many children, we don’t use a private car but rely on public transportation,” adding, “The older kids take care of the younger ones when moving around, so it’s not too difficult.” However, they avoid causing inconvenience to others. He said, “When we go to restaurants, we try to go at times when it’s not crowded,” and added, “But seeing the eldest to the youngest care for and cherish each other, no wealthy person could be more enviable.”

Staff Sergeant Hong Sung-man of the Army’s 3rd Logistics Support Brigade is also a father of seven children, with one son and six daughters. Thanks to the unit’s consideration, he was assigned two military housing units and fights a daily battle commuting between the two homes during morning rush hour.

Family of Sergeant Hong Seong-man, assigned to the Army 3rd Logistics Support Brigade

Family of Sergeant On Eun-shin of the Army Mechanized School, who has nine children (7 sons and 2 daughters)

Fortunately, with the eldest and second daughters married, there is more space at home, but it remains crowded. Still, Staff Sergeant Hong is happy because when he returns home from work, the house is always filled with family love. The age gap between his eldest daughter (26) and youngest daughter (7) is a full 19 years. The eldest and second daughters are following military careers. Although they do not work together, they serve as a transport soldier and a non-commissioned officer, respectively, filling the family with pride as a military family.

Staff Sergeant Hong joked, “At night, the family sleeps scattered across the two houses facing each other, and the first place I fall asleep is my own home.” His wife, Lee Jae-jin, said, “After becoming pregnant with our youngest, we moved from the front line to Incheon, and thanks to the unit’s consideration, we were assigned two military housing units,” adding, “We will never forget the help of many people who protected our family’s happiness.”

On the 14th, the Army held an ‘Army Non-Commissioned Officer Large Family Invitation Event’ at the Army Hotel (ROKAUS) to encourage non-commissioned officers with large families. The event featured balloon art, face painting, gift events for the children, and a congratulatory performance by singer Lee So-won, whose father is an active-duty officer. Additionally, 15 couples of non-commissioned officers with six or more children attending the event were given encouragement money and a 4-night, 5-day consolation vacation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.