"Endured and Finally Snapped"... Another 'Poor Meal Service' Controversy for Army Deployed to Incheon Airport Support

Photo by 'Delivered on behalf of the Army Training Center' Facebook capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Another report has emerged claiming that soldiers were served inadequate meals during training periods at an army unit. This comes less than two weeks after controversy arose over meals consisting only of kimchi and rice.

On the 16th, a photo along with a post stating, "The meals provided are so poor that I am posting a picture of the lunch I finally received after enduring it," was uploaded on the Facebook page 'Delivering Army Training Center News (Yukdaejeon)'.

The informant, who introduced themselves as belonging to the 9th Airborne Brigade, said, "Our unit has been carrying out quarantine support duties at Incheon International Airport since early July," and added, "Recently, a confirmed case occurred among the quarantine support personnel, and isolation measures are being implemented."

The photo sent by the informant showed a meal tray with rice, kimchi, perilla leaves, and soup. While the amount of rice was large, the kimchi and perilla leaves were very small in quantity, and the largest side dish compartment was left empty.

Netizens who saw this expressed outrage, saying things like, "The food budget seems to have increased compared to before, so why is the rice even worse?", "Where did all the taxes go?", "It's so pathetic I feel like grabbing my neck and collapsing," "Is that empty main side dish only visible to kind-hearted people?", and "South Korea is the only country that mistreats its soldiers."

Photo by 'Delivered on behalf of the Army Training Center' Facebook capture

Meanwhile, the controversy over 'inadequate meals' in the military is not new. On the 16th of last month, a photo of a meal served at the Army's 1st Armored Brigade was posted on 'Yukdaejeon'. The photo showed rice, soup, seasoned chive salad, and a small amount of pork as the entire meal.

The informant expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "The portion sizes served are less than the standard amount. After the military meal issue in April, things seemed to improve briefly but then reverted to this. This has been going on for several months."

They added, "What soldiers want is not a fancy gourmet menu. Please stop trying strange experiments and just provide a generous amount of pork."

Photo by 'Delivered on behalf of the Army Training Center' Facebook capture

Additionally, on the 5th, claims were made that during the Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) exercises, soldiers were served only plain rice and kimchi.

A photo released by an informant who said they were serving in the Army's 5th Division showed a transparent plastic bag containing a few pieces of kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and plain rice.

The informant said, "During the training period, the originally planned meal was not served, and rice with kimchi was provided more than five times. Still, as a soldier, I tried to endure it, but after participating in the KCTC training, which is considered the toughest training in military life, I decided to report this because the unit does not acknowledge the soldiers' efforts."