Korean Military Food I
How the dedication to improving military meals reflects the growth of the South Korean Armed Forces.
Essential for survival, food is a source of energy and a bridge to bring people together or strengthen bonds. In war, food is an important requirement that can determine victory or defeat. With the development of food, it is possible to see the improvement of the military service, as well as the fighting power, it differs depending on the quality of the food.
Nowadays, during training, the food served and the rations distributed in the field portray the concern of the South Korean government for its soldiers. Unlike 65 years ago, today they provide the necessary nutrients through tastier meals so they have more energy throughout the day.
Food supplies during wars
The Three Kingdoms of Korea dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria throughout the first century. During the wars that took place around AD 660, the army of the Kingdom of Silla already had the custom of always carrying hwangtae, a kind of dried fish, inside their clothing as emergency food. There are similar records of Norse warriors also using dried fish as field rations during battles and expeditions.
Before supply logistics for wars was created, troops sought to live with what they found along the way. They usually took short trips between “refueling points”. As they took breaks in the cities, they looted food from the civilian population as a means of supply. However, the Romans' journeys required more time between one city and another, so they used trains that went ahead to provide food in advance.
Dried or ground, grain has been the staple ration of soldiers throughout history. However, even the best management diet was deficient in fresh food, so that, in times of scarcity, soldiers, like long-haul sailors, were prone to succumb to the malnutrition diseases. The weakness caused epidemics that periodically attacked the assembled armies into battle or during prolonged operations.
At the time of the Napoleonic Wars, soldiers used glass bottles to store food. This tactic helped Napoleon in the fight against several European armies, as they could feed on one battle to another. However, on an expedition to Russia in 1812, their bottles cracked due to the cold, causing them to lose the battles due to hunger and low temperatures.
The military diet was revolutionized in the mid-19th century with the appearance of canned goods. Created to meet the basic military need to conserve food during battle. It was an improvement on Napoleon’s bottles and, in principle, it solved one of the storage problems: the perishability of food. The process of implementing canned field rations as a supply to the army and navy began in 1814. In 1815 canned rations were found with some of the soldiers on the battlefield of Waterloo in 1815, the scene of Napoleon’s final defeat.
The cans prevented the food from spoiling, preserving it in closed containers sterilized by heating. Canned meat only came after 1815, as did the can opener. During World War I, 1914 to 1918, rations arrived in large cans that could feed up to 25 soldiers. For higher ranks or elite troops, there were “emergency rations” with “valuable” items like chocolate and cake.
In World War II, between 1939 and 1945, rations were designated by letters. Type D rations included chocolate, Type K was a breakfast version, without the main dishes of Type C rations. Type C rations are “pre-cooked, individual” dishes more common for soldiers. They were used by the American military when there was no: fresh food (Type A ration), unprepared packaged food (Type B ration), when it was not possible to set up “field kitchens” or there were no emergency rations (Type K).
During the Vietnam War, from the early 1960s to 1975, nutrition became more important than simply satisfying hunger. The excessive humidity and the difficulty of moving around made Americans adopt the MKT (Mobile Kitchen Trailer) or portable kitchens, to try to preserve the freshness of the meals.
The emergence of MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat), ready-to-eat meals, occurred in 1983, a few years before the Gulf War (1990 and 1991). They are individual and separated into hermetically sealed packages.
Korean War
The Korean army was created shortly after the Korean government was established in 1948, three years after the end of World War II, and with the beginning of the Cold War, there was a separation of Korea between South and North.
In 1950, after several provocations on both sides, North Korea surpassed the 38th parallel established by the UN. The resistance of the armed forces of the South, already weakened by the colonization of Japan following World War II, was not enough. The UN then condemned the invasion and sent, with the help of the United States, reinforcements to help them in the dispute. South Korea did not have time to save needed supplies and, due to lack of logistics, the supplies that were saved lasted 3–4 days due to communication cuts.
At that time there were no MREs and as the state did not yet have a financial reserve, the kitchen improvised by the army consisted of just a tent and some pots for making rice and soup. Sometimes they tried to serve pork soup, however, they were very fatty and had little or no meat. Occasionally they tried to serve rice with a side or two, but salty kimchi often ended up being the only side, since during the war the idea of having side dishes during meals was unimaginable. If there was a battle, cooking would also be impossible. Thus, battalions were created that would stay in the front line while a battalion would remain behind to take care of the food.
Due to the intensity of the battles, rice balls were made and sent to the front lines. Normally, South Korean soldiers only had one meal a day, so these rice balls became salvation. Thus, emerged the A-Frame Army or KSC’s, battalion designated in the civil transport of supplies. During the Korean War, KSC’s transported munitions, food, and supplies to the front lines. They traveled on foot over terrain inaccessible by vehicles, helped build bunkers during the day, and evacuated the dead and wounded before nightfall. The name A-Frame Army was given by the Americans due to the shape of their backpacks resembling the letter A.
Although the production of rations A, B, C, D, and K ended in 1945, type C rations were used in the Korean War and later in the Vietnam War, until 1958. The Korean War extended until 1953 without winners, with the retreat of the North and the creation of the demilitarized zone.
To be continued…
This text is the result of extensive research in open sources on military food throughout history, along with the information presented in the documentary by Arirang TV.
