What kind of ration box is in this photo?

[DPerdue-12]

I have a photograph here of some GIs handing out their leftover parts of their combat rations to some Korean kids.
Not sure if it's from the Korean War, but the condition of the kid's clothing, its color, and style seems to match the time period of the U.S.Occupation (1945~1948) and Korean War era. However, poverty, especially for those living in the countryside, was quite common in Korea until the 1970s. So, I'm not sure what year this is from...

You can see a box of rations on the bumper of the deuce and a half on the right. "C-7 6 Rations"

What kind of rations are these?

[steve1989]

Awesome picture!

The C-7 a gen 7 of the Ration, Combat, Individual.

A 24 hour Ration, the C-7's production was in 1950, at a 26,250,000 count procurement, costing about $1.92 ea to produce at the time, came 6 in a case, and even had a whole 20 ct of cigarettes in the accessory packet.

The RCI proved to be too bulky & expensive to produce, so it was eventually phased out for the MCI (Meal, Combat, Individual).

There really isn't a whole ton of info/documentation on it - getting bits & pieces along the way - I have more photos if you guys want a fuller scoop on this one - not really sure if it has all been pieced together into one whole thread yet & maybe that could be done!

[cavguy]

Good work Steve! Loos like it is the one. I was on this, but had been unable to find any pics of the carton.

[DPerdue-12]

I have more photos if you guys want a fuller scoop on this one - not really sure if it has all been pieced together into one whole thread yet & maybe that could be done!

Thanks, Steve.

Yes, please do create a thread on these, or maybe even a video(!) if you have enough visual material. I'd love to find some RCIs.

So, this photos DOES date from the Korean War! Do the "generation" numbers denote changes to the menu items in the RCIs?

I have heard from Korean people that when the war came along and disrupted the food distribution system, plenty of Koreans were surviving off of these RCIs that they begged, stole from supply depots, or sold their bodies to get. Even the leftover cans were utilized, as well as other trash discarded from mess tents. Here's an example:

[Norton]

Thank you DPurdue for posting the interesting photo
Steve1989 thank you for the detailed explanation of the ration case contents and history.
I work with two Korean gentlemen born in 1954 and 1956. They told me even in the early 1960's the US Army gave away canned powdered Milk . This was to assist families with small children only. They noted their parents were good because they actually gave them the milk. Other parent sold the same milk. During this conversation I had the opportunity to ask them about SPAM and TREAT canned pork or Libby's corned beef in the traditional tin.

They told me the enjoyed it to this day and so did their wives. Then told me something to the effect that South Korean population was introduced to SPAM during the worst part of the war. At that time developed a taste for it ever since. But they said at their age they could not eat it as they did when they were younger.

I told these guys about our hobby and showed them photos of my ration themed camping trips. Unlike other people who I have shared my hobby with. They were not surprised and thought it would be interesting to sample different U.S and other nation's combat rations. They had a different perspective on Military rations.
(example I showed some Chinese people my PLA rations and they were alarmed that I would want to eat Army rations on purpose)

[DPerdue-12]

Hey, I'm amazed that you guys like to eat these! I hated most of the MRE menus from the late 1980~early 1990s when I was in. Well, I like watching you guys try them out on YouTube, anyway.

Yes, the Koreans were known to love SPAM. This is a result the war, and probably came from military and UN food aid rations, which the entire city of Seoul lived off of for about two years(!) This has kind of worn off, as the newer generations have come along. ...And better food is available~!

Another RCI/MCI influence in Korea was the prevalence, up until about 15 years ago, of the ubiquitous LOVE for instant, powdered coffee. Koreans had their first taste of coffee from US military rations, in the form of "soluble coffee product" or "coffee, instant, type I" and fell in love with it. When I lived in Korea 20 years ago, I'd go to a coffee shop and order a cappucino. You'd expect there to be some sounds of the espresso machine to puff and hiss while they made your cup. But no. What you saw was the server ripping open and pouring a packet of instant (something) and pouring in hot water. Now, some Koreans are bigger coffee snobs than anywhere else in the world. Starbucks is everywhere in Seoul, and a cup of black will set you back about EIGHT DOLLARS! But many people still love instant, which sells very well.

Yes, for some reason, Carnation powdered milk was a big deal in Korea during and after the war. Probably from USAID or the Army, as you said. I once heard from an elderly Korean woman who had her box of Carnation powdered milk stolen from some Chinese soldiers during the war when she was alone as a 15 year-old refugee living outside, taking care of her year-old sister after being separated from her family. This was a common problem Koreans had with the Chinese soldiers: They were always hungry, sometimes starving, because they were really nothing more than a guerrilla army, and in any case their supply lines were constantly being interdicted by the US Air Force. They were used to living off the land, and that's often what they did. But in a food-insecure environment, this was dangerous for Korean refugees. If someone stole your food, you could die. So this 15 year-old girl found the political commissar of this Chinese Army unit and argued that she needs to feed her baby sister. She must have been convincing, since the commissar tracked down the box of milk and got it back to her. This story does make some sense, since I have read that the Chinese army had standing orders not to harm the Koreans or interfere with them, and the orders were enforced. Stories like this one are actually not too uncommon among that generation of people in Korea.

[OtisRNeedleman]

Brings back memories.

Two tours in Korea, 1976-78, then 1982-83. Haven't been back since.

Things were still pretty tough in Korea, at least during my first tour. I lived downtown just about all the first tour and all the second tour.

Traveled some throughout the country. While things were tough during that first tour I saw a lot of factories being built in the Seoul-Suwon area.

Conditions had improved a lot between 78 and 82. You could buy Korean-made color TVs at the Base Exchange, for example. People seemed to be better-fed and living somewhat better.

But even in 83 if you lived downtown you had to go to the local telephone company office to place a call to the States. Had to do that just before leaving the country, waited for the attendant to wake from his nap (!) . I'd ordered a new car from a Base Exchange concessionaire and needed to call the dealer in Dallas to make sure all was in order. Now, just pick up the cell phone.

[DPerdue-12]

Brings back memories.

Two tours in Korea, 1976-78, then 1982-83. Haven't been back since.

I lived downtown just about all the first tour and all the second tour.

Yes, now people just pick up a cell phone... In Korea these days, the problem is that they can't put them down! Everybody's little world exists in the palm of their hand. Constant texting. The smartphone has caused a sea change in human behavior, and the Koreans are no exception.

I'd love to have seen what Korea was like in the late 70s and early 80s! When you mentioned that you lived downtown, it reminded me of this goofy Korean movie that I watched a little while back that has scenes of the downtown area:

It's a silly film, but it had to be silly and bereft of dialogue, otherwise the censors back then would have banned it. Perhaps you can see some places in this movie you had visited?

In regards to rations, if you had lived downtown, I'm imagining that you didn't often have to eat MCIs or MREs?

[Norton]

I asked my two Korean friends specifically about SPAM and Corned Beef this morning. They said in general terms SPAM was eaten in many different ways. To use an exact phrase "We eat all kind of way" ''Cold, hot, fried, baked, with rice, with egg'' with vegetable.
''We like in many combination Korean style but also plain American way with bread''

Then I zeroed in on American canned corn beef, the type with key opener such as Libby and Armour Brands,
They were more fuzzy on that. So I said Americans like to have it with Fried potatoes or Eggs
What they said next surprised me . He said in 1960's they would use a spoon full as a spicy soup base. The grease would thicken the soup and add flavor. Then added we not use entire can, only part.

This was amazing as I had also added a heaping spoonful to a stew I was cooking to thicken the broth. Thought my stew broth was to thin and bland and said why not.
I did not tell my wife as she would think I ruined it if she knew.. My family commented the broth is rich.

Side note when I shop at the Asian Market I see a stand alone section of very high quality corned beef featuring Made in Australia Palm and Ox brand . Also brands made in New Zealand . I would make the assumption that Australia and NZ market their fine meat products to China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

My Philippine friends love American canned Corned beef, but also make their own domestic version.
As you can see I love it as well.

This is interesting to me

[DPerdue-12]

I asked my two Korean friends specifically about SPAM and Corned Beef this morning.

I also asked my closest Korean source today about Spam and other tinned meats you open with a key. This person said that his family never ate SPAM or other tinned meats, although other people in Korea clearly loved them. He called it "beggar's food" (ouch!), and looked down on it as an ingredient in a certain cheap stew called "Budae-jjigae" or "Army Base Stew," which he didn't like. Budae-jjigae came about after the war, when the US Army was stationed in the city of Uijeongbu, near Seoul. They had their own food on the base, things like canned beans, meat, Spam, ham, cheese, and sausages. This food was totally new to Koreans (yes, meat was kind of new!). Eventually these ingredients made their way into surrounding area of the base and some creative Koreans made stew from them. They boiled spam, ham, sausages, and baked beans with kimchi, garlic, and hot pepper paste and flakes, creating a Korean-style stew with American ingredients.

He said that the processed meats that his family ate were canned Vienna Sausages (pretty hoity-toity, don't ya know!), and a common fishcake known to Koreans and Japanese as "o-daeng" or "uh-mook." This person's family were bourgeois, metropolitan types, for Korean people. His family are rare, in that they originate from Seoul (most people who live in Seoul had their families move there from the countryside since the 1950s), and both sides of his family had run businesses during the Japanese Occupation (pre-1945). If you know Koreans, that right there tells you quite a bit about the socioeconomic status and politics of his family.

I'm sure there is a Filipino or Japanese version of Budae-jjigae, too!

Here's the Korean recipe (you'll need Spam!)
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/budae-jjigae