The Korean military offers several ready-to-eat meals... but they've long been criticized for lacking variety and being rather bland.<br />But there's some good news for the troops as the military's top brass have decided to spruce up the menu.<br />Laah Hyun-kyung reports. <br />In the U.S.,… military ration packs used to be called "meals ready to expel" instead of "meals ready to eat."<br />And things haven't been much different in Korea.<br />The history of the Korean ration pack goes back to the 1960s,… when Korea sent more than three-hundred-thousand troops to fight in the Vietnam War.<br />Since then, the quality and variety of the meals has come a long way.<br />Currently, the Korean Army has four types of ration packs for its soldiers, categorized by the way the meals are made.<br /><br /><br />"The most popular type these days is this one. It has a flameless heater inside to warm-up the main meal without the need for fire or water. All you need to do is pull this string and wait a couple of minutes... then voila, it's ready to go."<br /><br />But there's always room for improvement.<br />For one, many servicemen point to a lack of variety in the meals.<br />Although there are eleven main dishes right now, the soldiers say some of them are very similar to each other and there's no option for vegetarians.<br />But all that's about to change.<br />The military says it's planning to expand the options... by increasing the number of dishes to 36, including curry and Korea's iconic bibimbap.<br />They will also bring in existing outdoor camping products that are more affordable than packs currently used in the military.<br /><br /><br />"We plan to incorporate civil products so soldiers can use them immediately and also save the state budget by replacing the stockpiles."<br /><br />The military will also lighten the weight of the packages.<br />Officials hope these efforts will boost soldiers' morale and help them better protect the country.<br />Laah Hyun-kyung, Arirang News.
