Army Sergeant Jang Sanghee: "My Dream Is to Become the Baek Jongwon of the Military"

Achieving Her Dream of Becoming a Chef in the Gyeongju Battalion of the Steel Division, 50th Army Division
First Place Victory at the 2nd Operations Command Cooking Competition

Sergeant Jang Sanghee of the 50th Army Division, Steel Division Gyeongju Battalion, always dreamed of becoming a chef. She loved cooking, which is why she chose the culinary department at a specialized high school. During her high school years, a single remark from her cooking teacher changed her fate. The teacher, a retired noncommissioned officer, shared stories about the military and explained the role of a food service manager in the armed forces. The more she listened, the more her curiosity grew. After much deliberation before entering college, she applied to the culinary NCO program at Woosong Information College. Her parents strongly opposed her decision.

Sergeant Jang Sanghee and Private Jang Jaeyoung of the 50th Army Division, Steel Division Gyeongju Battalion, who were part of the cooking competition team, are cooking. Photo by Army 2nd Operations Command

Sergeant Jang smiled as she said, "My mother and oldest sister were both kindergarten teachers, so they were surprised when the youngest daughter suddenly decided to major in cooking with the goal of enlisting in the military. Even though I could have attended any culinary department in Seoul, they were even more opposed to me choosing a college in the provinces."

A Path Chosen Out of Love for Cooking and the Military

Once she was admitted, her family's worries turned out to be unnecessary. It suited her perfectly. Each day, her enjoyment of the cooking classes grew, and she steadily amassed certifications. During her two years of college, she earned four certificates: food processing technician, Korean cuisine technician, Korean culinary industrial engineer, and Western cuisine technician. Upon graduation, she set out to achieve another dream: joining the military.

The Endless Journey of Learning Through Cooking

Sergeant Jang recalled, "I thought that learning the cooking I wanted and then enlisting would fulfill all my dreams, but it was only temporary. I began to crave learning even more." She decided to pursue a nutritionist certification. However, she did not meet the requirements, as earning the certification required graduation from a four-year university. Through the military’s e-Military University program, she transferred to the Hotel & Culinary Arts Department at Kyungbuk College. Balancing military service and studies was exhausting each day, but she persevered. In the end, she graduated in two years and finally obtained the much-desired certification.

In January this year, Team Kangsoo won first place at the Military Dining Battle Competition hosted by the Army's 2nd Operations Command. Photo by 2nd Operations Command

The military offered her many opportunities to nurture her dreams. In January this year, the Army 2nd Operations Command hosted the Military Dining Battle Competition. Sergeant Jang persuaded the cooks she worked with to join her. The cooks were initially reluctant. Private Jang Jaeyoung said, "I had never cooked before enlisting, so I was very nervous and didn’t want to cause trouble." However, they were eventually convinced by Sergeant Jang. The team was named "Kangsoo," an abbreviation meaning "showing the best move of the Steel Division in the meal showdown."

The competition required participants to create new menu items using the same ingredients supplied to military bases, with the cost per serving capped at 10,000 won. Sergeant Jang came up with the idea for fernbrake pork belly hot pot. She was inspired by the fact that while the fernbrake in yukgaejang (Korean spicy beef soup) is not tasty, grilled fernbrake with pork belly is delicious. The team impressed the judges’ taste buds and eyes with dishes such as burdock and dried squid pancake, cucumber chili salad, and chicken and napa cabbage soup. Thanks to her effort and passion, the team won first place.

The "Muyeol Restaurant Recipe Book" distributed to units by the Army 2nd Operations Command.

The military also decided to share their achievements. The Army 2nd Operations Command publicized the outstanding cooking processes discovered through the Military Dining Battle Competition. They created and distributed the "Muyeol Restaurant Recipe Book" to each unit. The recipe book provides standard cooking quantities and seasoning ratios for every additional 50 servings. To further assist cooks, they also produced educational video content.

The 2nd Operations Command’s Diverse Initiatives for Military Meals

Sergeant Jang said, "Even if all units are supplied with the same ingredients, the taste of the food can vary widely depending on the amount and the person cooking it. With the right guidance, even cooks who are new to the military can become the 'Baek Jongwon of the military.'" Private Jang, who was also a member of Team Kangsoo, joked, "I had never cooked before enlisting, but after a year and a half as a cook, I can now make every menu item on my own."

Development of Various Systems, Including the Meal Request System

The 2nd Operations Command is just as passionate about cooking as she is, as they are responsible for maintaining soldiers’ physical strength. Starting this month, the command began developing a Meal Request System (RPA) that automatically calculates the number of soldiers dining each day using duty rosters and other data, eliminating the need for food service managers and logistics officers to manually count meal participants. Due to troop reductions, from the second half of this year, the plan is to introduce cooking robots such as frying and stir-fry robots, which have already been adopted in civilian cafeterias. These efforts aim to provide healthy meals to soldiers and minimize food waste as much as possible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.