Tag: USFK

Here is a Korean product that will now be available in USFK commissaries:

CJ CheilJedang has begun selling its new dumpling products inside United States military bases in Korea, where dumplings with Korean meat are prohibited. Personnel there are forced to import from the U.S. in accordance with military regulations, said the country’s major food company, Monday.

CJ has recently released three new vegan dumpling products into the market here. With its latest move, the company said it has acquired more flexibility regarding its shipments to USFK bases which, up until now, had depended solely on Schwan’s Company, its American subsidiary.

CJ on Sunday launched its new Giant Dumpling product with original, japchae and kimchi flavors under Bibigo, the company’s flagship brand for frozen dumplings. Prior to the launch, the company hosted a tasting event for the products at USFK bases for three days starting Friday. One soldier who tasted the japchae-flavored dumplings said that it tasted just like a dumpling that had ground beef in it, according to the company.

The company stacked the products in commissaries of four USFK facilities in Korea. For security reasons, the U.S. military declined to identify which bases have chosen to stock the products. Each product is priced at $6.43.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is more on the GI crime front from this weekend. U.S. Army WTF Moments is reporting not only about the vehicle theft last weekend, but also an officer soliciting a prostitute. Times have definitely changed because 20 years ago this was a normal weekend in the ville:

The power bill for USFK bases has just shot up dramatically this year:

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) will see its utility bills soar, after the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) raises electricity rates for them amid surging production costs, according to the state-run utility company, Tuesday.

The USFK has agreed with the Korean government to increase its power usage rate to 152.8 won ($0.11) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) this year, a 26.8 percent jump from last year’s 120.5 won, KEPCO said. 

The power usage rate is determined by the electricity fee and base rate. KEPCO raised its electricity fee for the USFK to 133.5 won, up by 26.9 percent from last year’s 105.2 won per kWh, and its base rate to 7,830 won, up by 24.3 percent from 6,300 won per kilowatt.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I can remember doing plenty of bridging operations over the Imjim River back in my 2ID days:

U.S. and South Korean troops practiced bridge-building recently a short distance from the Demilitarized Zone, the border separating North and South Korea.

Soldiers of the 11th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division and South Korean troops of the 5th Engineer Brigade assembled a ribbon bridge over the Imjin River near Paju-si, a city in Gyeonggi province, on March 20. Paju-si is within 5 miles of the heavily guarded border, although the exercise took place further away.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Congratulations to the Camp Humphreys commissary for being named the best overseas commissary by DECA:

The grocery store on the largest U.S. military installation overseas has been named the best overseas large commissary of the year by the Defense Commissary Agency. The Camp Humphreys commissary learned of the title March 1, according to an email Wednesday from DeCA spokeswoman Tressa Smith.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I did not even realize the gas station on old Yongsan Garrison was still open:

The gas station at Yongsan, one of the last vestiges of a once-busy headquarters compound, is preparing to turn off its pumps after 32 years of service. The station, on a hill overlooking Seoul, will close May 1 as part of a plan to return sections of the base to the South Korean government, according to an Army and Air Force Exchange Service news release Tuesday. The gas station reported average monthly revenue of $70,000 between 2021 and 2022, AAFES spokesman Chris Ward said in an email Thursday.

The monthly average fell to $50,000 the following year “and has experienced even further significant declines” in 2024, he said. Six of eight pumps still in service sat idle for more than two hours Wednesday afternoon. The only cars in the lot were parked there by drivers who exited the base through a nearby pedestrian gate.

Jerry Chandler, an anti-terrorism program manager at Yongsan and a four-year South Korea resident, said he is disappointed by the station’s looming closure. Chandler — one of the roughly 500 service members, Defense Department civilians and U.S. embassy staff who still live or work at Yongsan — said he and his wife fill up their two cars with premium gas “all the time” at the station.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I also did not know that about 500 servicemembers and DOD personnel are still working on Yongsan Garrison.

Here is some different training for pilots in 2ID:

A U.S. Navy vehicle cargo ship recently took a rare opportunity to train with Army helicopter crews off the southern coast of South Korea. Crews aboard UH-60M Black Hawks from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade qualified for deck landings aboard the USNS Dahl on March 7, 5 miles from Jinhae, Military Sealift Command, Far East said in a news release Monday.

“All flight deck operations are inherently dangerous but [deck landing qualifications] add the wild card of potentially novice crews who are not familiar with either the vessel or ship flight operations in general,” contracted mariner Capt. Deatra Thompson said in the release.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Season 1 of Physical: 100 was pretty good and I will definitely be watching Season 2 when it comes out to see how this USKF Army officer does on the show:

An Army officer who lifts weights competitively will be featured in Netflix’s upcoming season of “Physical: 100,” a South Korean reality show in which 100 contestants compete in theatrical strength-based challenges.

Maj. Gibson Kim, of the 411th Contracting Support Brigade at Camp Humphreys, described himself as a “normal guy doing normal stuff with my day job and family,” during a March 4 interview with Stars and Stripes. Before his workday starts, however, this father of a 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter rises early for a round of weightlifting at his home gym. He started as a powerlifter at Rutgers University, where he earned a degree in economics in 2007. 

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Some new housing has opened up for Soldiers stationed in the Daegu area of South Korea:

A new housing tower opened recently on Camp Walker, providing 90 additional units for households serving in Daegu, about 150 miles south of Seoul. The tower, which includes 60 three-bedroom, 26 four-bedroom and four five-bedroom apartments, is the last of four built for Walker residents, the Army said in a Feb. 29 news release.

The first tower broke ground in 2015; the last in 2020, U.S. Army Garrison Daegu spokesman Phil Molter said by email Tuesday. All four towers cost nearly $250 million to build. Walker is part of U.S. Army Garrison Daegu, which includes Camps George, Henry and Carroll. The base has a nine-hole golf course along with a commissary and post exchange.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.