Sgt. Aletha Holliday, left, and Pfc. Emmanuel Aubrey prepare Korean food during a cooking competiton at Camp Casey on Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)

Sgt. Aletha Holliday, left, and Pfc. Emmanuel Aubrey prepare Korean food during a cooking competiton at Camp Casey on Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)

Staff Sgt. Raquel Randmorrow prepares Koran food during a cooking competiton at Camp Casey Wednesday. Before the competition, the cooks met with South Korean master chef Han Choon-sup, who told the cooks that the key to making good Korean food is time and effort. (Seth Robson / S&S)

Staff Sgt. Raquel Randmorrow prepares Korean food during a cooking competiton at Camp Casey Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)

Spc. Tomika Johnson, of Berkley, Calif., and Staff Sgt. Raquel Randmorrow, of Compton, Calif., who serve with the 302nd Personnel Services Battalion, prepared this Korean food during a cooking competiton at Camp Casey Wednesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — Second Infantry Division cooks are dishing up Korean cuisine in dining facilities three times a week in an effort to expose U.S. soldiers to local culture and satisfy the cravings of more than 1,200 South Korean augmentees serving beside them.

And the cooks’ Korean cooking skills were put to the test at Camp Casey on Wednesday in a competition that involved preparing traditional Korean dishes.

Brig. Gen. Charles A. Anderson, 2nd ID assistant division commander (support), one of several competition judges, said the division served only Korean food in its dining facilities one day a week last year.

When a recent survey of Korean augmentees to the U.S. military — or KATUSAs — showed they wanted more Korean food, officials decided to serve it three days a week, Anderson said.

“A large proportion of the soldiers eating in our dining facilities are KATUSAs. We want to make sure we have food that meets their needs,” said Anderson, whose personal favorite Korean dish is bulgogi — stir-fried marinated beef.

Anderson said the Korean food also complements a recent 2nd ID drive to expose U.S. soldiers to Korean culture.

Before Wednesday’s competition, the cooks received instruction from South Korean master chef Han Choon-sup.

The key to making good Korean food, Han said, is time and effort.

“You have to take care of the color and texture of the food — how you chop it, how you boil it, how much time and love you put into it,” Han said.

Han said a major difference between Korean and Western food is that Koreans think about their well-being when they eat, cooking with many vegetables and avoiding foods high in fat.

Staff Sgt. Raquel Randmorrow, 26, a cook from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 302nd Personnel Services Battalion, prepared bulgogi and thak bokeum, a chicken and vegetable dish.

Randmorrow, from Compton, Calif., a year into an 18-month tour, says she’s eaten a lot of Korean food. She said the most striking part of cooking the Korean dishes was the strong smell of many of the ingredients.

Another cook, Sgt. Aletha Holliday, 25, of Hampton, Va., Headquarters Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, said her team bought special uniforms for the day at a South Korean restaurant supply store in Uijongbu. The uniforms are Japanese, but add to the flavor, she said.

However, Holliday said that after almost two years in South Korea, she still won’t eat kimchi, the national dish of fermented cabbage.

Chief Warrant Officer Lena Tull, who oversaw the competition, said serving the Korean dishes in the dining facilities a good idea.

“The American soldiers love it as well,” she said, “so it is a win-win” situation.