A new dining facility serves U.S. Marines rotating to Camp Mujuk in Pohang, South Korea, on March 5, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP MUJUK, South Korea — A new expeditionary dining facility paid for and built by South Korea is now supporting U.S. troops rotating through the only Marine Corps base on the peninsula.
The $12.5 million facility on Camp Mujuk was designed and overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Far East District to ensure it met U.S. military standards, while construction was carried out by a Korean contractor, district spokeswoman Rachel Napolitan told Stars and Stripes in a March 4 email.
The 13,000-square-foot mess hall can seat 420 Marines indoors and 84 outdoors, according to a district news release announcing the Feb. 23 grand opening.
“As it is expeditionary in nature, the new facility is also designed to maintain temperature and other features when not in use to keep it clean and usable for years to come,” the district said.
U.S. Marines walk by the new expeditionary dining facility on Camp Mujuk in Pohang, South Korea, March 5, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
The Defense Installation Agency — part of South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense — awarded the construction contract on Dec. 28, 2022, and the project was completed after slightly more than three years, Napolitan said.
A new dining facility serves U.S. Marines rotating to Camp Mujuk in Pohang, South Korea, on March 5, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Marines enjoy a meal in the new expeditionary dining facility on Camp Mujuk in Pohang, South Korea, March 5, 2026. (Alejandro Carrasquel/Stars and Stripes)
She added that the project highlights cooperation between the United States and South Korea under the allies’ host-nation funding program, which supports infrastructure used by U.S. forces stationed on the peninsula.
The Corps of Engineers’ Far East District is working on 17 other projects supporting U.S. Marines in South Korea, Napolitan said, including plans for a new access control point and a combined medical clinic and troop support center.
