U.S. soldiers and Korean Augmentees to the U.S. Army battle their peers during a tug-of-war competition Wednesday at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. The event was part of a four-day KATUSA-U.S. Soldier Friendship Week that ended Thursday. (Hwang Hae-rym / Stars and Stripes)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — The U.S. 8th Army took a break last week to allow its soldiers and the South Koreans who augment the force to get to know each other through sports, food and fun.
The 8th Annual KATUSA-U.S. Soldier Friendship Week was held May 23-26 to help foster camaraderie and cultural understanding among the Americans and more than 4,000 Korean Augmentees to the U.S. Army.
South Korean and American soldiers said they enjoyed the events last week at Yongsan’s Collier Field House.
Pfc. Shon Jae-young, a 23-year-old with the 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion, said introducing his culture to the Americans was fun.
Seeing “their big smiles” makes him smile too, Shon said.
One of the most popular booths allowed troops to don traditional Korean clothing.
Spc. Emily Martinez, a 23-year old native of Oklahoma City, Okla., said she was amazed to wear a dress that a “noble woman,” would have worn more than 500 years ago.
“Korean traditional costumes are really pretty,” she said.
The South Koreans manning the booths also explained various foods, including South Korea’s infamous spicy fermented cabbage called “kimchi.”
Cpl. Yang Min-kwon, 21, hopes the friendship week will bring him closer to the Americans.
“I am expecting to see our work environment improve through mutual understanding,” he said.
South Korean men are required to spend two years in government service. Some join the military or national police, but others opt to become KATUSA and fill a range of military jobs — police, infantry, chemical decontamination and a host of clerical slots.
Only those who can pass an English proficiency exam are eligible. They’re paid by South Korea but live, work and eat with 8th Army soldiers around the peninsula.
Many augmentees are college graduates or are taking a break from college, and many have lived in the United States.
They start their military journey with five weeks of basic training with Republic of Korea Army soldiers. They learn to shoot, move and communicate, the foundations of soldiering.
From there, they enter a 21-day KATUSA Training Academy designed to ready them for life with the U.S. Army.
Franklin Fisher and Juliana Gittler contributed to this report.
