Cycle 17 – Item 16

Post 5,860

21 (Wed) January 2026

Bacon Jjigae (Budae Jjigae)

3.0

from Hamjji wa Baejji

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with W and IZ

Very exciting news: after a planning meeting this afternoon, we are confirmed to hold a book fair at the high school in Camp Humphreys.  Located in Pyeongtaek, the base is now headquarters to the United States Forces Korea, the largest US military base in the world outside of the US, with around 45,000 personnel.  Although the school has over 800 students (by comparison, the biggest international school in Korea has a total of 1,200, including K-12), I don’t anticipate huge sales, but the event will get our foot in the door, leading to the middle school (1,000 students) and two elementary schools (each with more than 1,000 students), and perhaps someday allowing us to set up a bookstore on base.  The important thing, of course, as far as GMTD is concerned, is not the business per se but access to the food opportunities on base, including the restaurants and PX, as well as the restaurants near the base (see for example 16.073 Jeonguk Odae Jjambbong: The Yeongbinru).

The book fair, scheduled for February 25-26, should be manageable by one staff member, but I’ll be on hand for both days, both to observe the flow of business and to scope out the food scene.  Stay tuned.

By sheer coincidence, didn’t even realize the irony it at the time, I returned home and made budae jjigae for dinner.

This explanation, from the first ever appearance of the dish on GMTD (see 1.265 Budae Jjigae):

Arguably the first fusion of American and Korean foods name of the dish means “budae = base” + “jjigae = stew.”

According to one origin story, the dish emerged in the aftermath of the Korean War, when food was scarce and people turned to the black market for canned goods from US military bases. These and local ingredients were thrown into pots of boiling water to create makeshift stews, initially out of hunger, likely in haphazard combinations with whatever was on hand, but eventually developing into the form as it is today.   

Another story holds that a Korean chef working on a US military base invented the dish as a special treat for US President Lyndon B. Johnson during his visit to Korea in 1966.  I find this impossible to believe.  Anyway, some restaurants sell the dish as “Johnson tang.“

Used the second meal kit provided by KIT (see most recently 17.012 Bacon Jjigae (Budae Jjigae)) with personal additions of dubu + noodles + egg + fish cakes.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

(See BOOZE)