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Ex-Soldiers Call Out BTS J-Hope's Military Meal Photos on Social Media: Reality is Far from Glamorous

AKP STAFF
Posted by Sophie-Ha Monday, May 8, 2023

As BTS member J-Hope enlisted in the military, his devoted fan base, ARMY, is garnering close attention to his service. One fan, in particular, created a Twitter account called "HobisFoodtray," where they share the meals J-Hope eats during military service (read more about this here).

To obtain the menu information, the fan refers to the 36th Division barracks' standard diet published on the public data portal of the Ministry of National Defense and uploads several food photos to showcase the meal.

Recently, the fan shared J-Hope's dinner, consisting of wheat rice, Sausage Jjigae, stir-fried pork small intestine & sundae, stir-fried fish cake with red pepper, white kimchi, and Instant Black Bean Ramen. They also took the initiative to translate the menu into English for international fans' convenience, which received over 42,000 views within five hours of being uploaded.


Although numerous fans showed their support and sent well wishes, some former Korean soldiers responded negatively to the post, arguing that the images did not accurately depict the actual meals served in the military. They criticized the portrayal, saying, "It's frustrating to see photoshopped images of high-quality food on Twitter when, in reality, the military serves low-quality meals," "I'd like to serve the person promoting these photos the military food I used to eat," and "They clearly haven't experienced real military food; if they had, they wouldn't be able to create such misleading images."

A few individuals even suggested sharing more authentic images of military meals to raise international awareness and potentially improve meal quality for Korean soldiers. In response to the criticism, the fan who posted the pictures hoped there would be no misunderstandings.

On April 18, J-Hope enlisted at the 36th Division Recruit Training Center in Gangwon-do, where he is currently undergoing basic military training. After completing five weeks of training, he is set to be deployed to his designated unit by the end of the month.

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Alchemist84
Alchemist841,738 pts Monday, May 8, 2023 3
Monday, May 8, 2023

Seriously can't they let this guy serve his duties in privacy and peace? It's the military not a vacation. Why does everything have to be a headline? He smiles out of courtesy, but I wouldn't doubt his annoyance of his every move being watched even while being out of the public eye.

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SeoulSucker
SeoulSucker1,894 pts Monday, May 8, 2023 3
Monday, May 8, 2023

The criticism is not towards J-Hope, but rather the false food quality. Look at J-Hope's plate and compare it to the twitter picture. Entirely different meals. Food is intensely monitored in Korea (including grocers and restaurants). My cousin starved for a day and was chastised for having cup ramen at midnight. Thankfully, the military is always finding ways to improve whether it is income or nutrition. Several years ago, the military only paid $500/month. It is now $800/month. This criticism towards food quality in the Korean military can be a push towards nutritional improvement amongst serving soldiers.

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