A-Feng is 20 years old when his draft notice arrives. Welcome to Guantian Military Base in Tainan—Class 1629 . Push-ups, squat jumps, frogman drills, paratrooper training—military service in Taiwan is both a rite of passage and a wellspring of shared memory. From barracks banter to the small absurdities of daily drills, these experiences have long fueled the island’s beloved military comics.
Comic book creator Hung-Ching Lee captures this world with humor and grit. A-Feng, together with A-Pao—the mischievous troublemaker from Nanmen Market—and A-Wei, the quiet bookworm, stumbles through the sweat, tears, and unexpected laughter of rookie life. Along the way, Lee interweaves lively depictions of everyday figures—street vendors, neighborhood toughs—creating a portrait of Taiwanese society in all its richness.
First published in 1996 and reissued in 2019, Military Memoir of Class 1629: My Life as a Dog stands apart from lighter takes on army life, preserving the raw atmosphere of the 1990s with authenticity, camaraderie, and heart.