The top three winners of 2008’s Miss Daegu beauty pageant wave from the stage in Daegu, South Korea. On May 19, about two dozen of this year’s Miss Daegu hopefuls will spend a day at the U.S. Army’s Camp Carroll in Waegwan for a look at daily soldier life. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — Soldiers of Camp Carroll, meet the future Miss Daegu.
About two dozen contestants, age 18 to 25, from this year’s Miss Daegu beauty pageant will visit the post in Waegwan on May 19 and spend the day getting a look at soldier life in South Korea.
And in what may be a first in U.S. Army history in South Korea, the people who issue clothing and equipment at Carroll will soon be called upon to pull from their shelves uniforms that will best fit each visiting beauty queen.
The local Taegu Broadcasting Corp., which televises the Miss Daegu pageant each year, will film the visit and show portions of it during coverage of the pageant, which is set for May 29.
On arrival, the contestants will don Army combat uniforms, for which the Army asked pageant sponsors to provide height and weight and head sizes of the women, said Kim Sang-yun, a spokesman for the Army’s 19th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in Daegu.
First up is a physical training session, then lunch, where soldiers will show the contestants how to cook and open MREs. Meal options may include jambalaya, beefsteak, beef stew, pork ribs, spaghetti, chicken breast, and vegetarian, Kim said.
Next is a visit to an indoor shooting range, where contestants will fire laser weapons and be scored electronically.
They’ll also learn how to pull basic vehicle maintenance checks — checking the oil and tires — and later they’ll get a look at some combat vehicles, including the Abrams tank and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
The day ends with dinner at the Carroll dining hall.
But even though the women will be there for the day, will the soldiers get any real chance to talk with them?
"Our Korean female guests will have chance to ask how to prepare MREs or they may want to talk something personal, like, ‘Hey, what’s your name? What’s your age? Where do you come from?’ And things like that. It’s just normal," said Kim.
And he found Carroll soldiers "kind of excited" and "looking forward" to the visit. "Because it is unusual and good opportunity to show how they live and who they are," and to "meet some pretty women who are in the pageant contest."
"Several soldiers I met, they didn’t hide their — what should I say? — their pleasure," said Kim.
