Taegu officials, residents invited for holiday feast at Camp Henry
By Franklin Fisher, Taegu
bureau chief
TAEGU, South Korea — It’ll be turkey on the table this
Thanksgiving for some Korean residents who live near U.S. Army posts in Taegu.
The Army is inviting about 40 residents from Taegu’s Nam-gu
district, including the district’s top elected official and its police chief, to the
holiday luncheon at the 20th Support Group’s dining hall at Camp Henry.
It’ll be followed by a tour of Camp Henry and Camp Walker.
It’s part of the Army’s effort to foster good relations
with the Korean public that resides near U.S. military compounds.
“One of the good things for us when we have this kind of
outreach or open house is that it gives them a face to see,” said Kevin Jackson, a
20th Support Group spokesman.
“They just know the Army as an entity, and very few of those
people get to reach out and touch the American people,” Jackson said. “This
gives us an avenue to interact with them and share some of our customs and traditions with
them.”
The 20th Support Group is a subordinate command within the 19th
Theater Support Command, headquartered at Camp Henry.
The 19th TSC is also weighing plans to host some Thanksgiving events
of its own for Korean residents, said Army Maj. Andrew Mutter, a unit spokesman. But a
final decision is pending, Mutter said.
Chong Yong Kon, the 20th’s community relations officer, said the
unit hopes the luncheon will send a friendly message to the guests: “We are friends,
we are the neighbor, so we just want to be the friend and listen and show our help and our
appreciation. Not simply ignoring. So that’s the point.”
Gaining support among the Korean public has taken on new emphasis
within the U.S. military in the face of anti-American sentiment among some younger
Koreans, especially university students, Chong said.
“Our community relations direction is changed to [focus more on]
the younger generation. … We’re trying to have more … groups and people to
be our friends,” Chong said.
Before the luncheon, the Nam-gu group may also receive an orientation
about the mission of the 20th Support Group.
“We just give them a brief idea of why we’re here and
that’s our mission,” Chong said.
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