Sliced rice cakes, large white cabbage, gold needle mushrooms, tofu, fish meatballs, shrimp, crab sticks, Spam (), with a little Korean chili sauce on top, and some luncheon meat as a finishing touch, it's a bit like Northeastern Chinese hot pot, and a bit like Korean spicy stew.

This is a scene frequently seen in Korean dramas. This pot is called 'Troops Pot' ().

Troops Pot isn't made in the army; it's about a long and painful world history.

Let's start with the soul of Troops Pot – luncheon meat.

▲Troops Pot

1, Luncheon meat, a rare delicacy for the working-class.

In 1937, an American named Jay Hormel made a canned food out of spices and ham, called Spam ().

He's a combination of 'Spices' and 'Ham' ().

At the time, Spam was a luxury food, commonly seen in lunch gatherings of the middle and upper classes. The working class couldn't afford it, and having a midday meal was also a habit of the middle and upper classes.

▲Spam

So, Spam was translated as 'luncheon meat' when it arrived in China.

Luncheon meat was a rare commodity in many countries at the time.

2, Eisenhower loved and hated luncheon meat.

During World War II, the whole world was in a pot of soup.

Every country realized that the key to victory in war is not just weapons and soldiers, but also logistics.

An army cannot move without supplies, and feeding the soldiers well is a key part of logistics.

American military rations were dominated by luncheon meat, which made other countries envious. The Russians looked at the thick, dense rye bread, and the Japanese at their miso soup.

Even the Germans and Italians had excellent food, and they wanted to taste American luncheon meat.

▲Versatile Luncheon Meat

Luncheon meat has both carbohydrates and meat, and it can be stored for a long time. Such excellent performance also made it accompany the American military around the world.

However, American soldiers initially felt good about luncheon meat for the first week – it was fragrant and solid. But after a week of eating it every day, it became greasy and heavy, like shoe soles soaked in sweat…

Later, General Eisenhower, seeing the old boss of Hormel Company, expressed his gratitude while also expressing his painful nausea.

▲Eisenhower

3, Picked-up luncheon meat became the soul of the pot

The original Korean Peninsula was divided into industrial zones – today's North Korea.

▲Korean Peninsula Map

And the southern Korean Peninsula was designated as a grain-producing area – today's South Korea.

So, from the point of view of the original layout, North Korea's economy was far better than South Korea, South Korea's economic base was really very poor.

Later, North and South Korea competed. General MacArthur brought American troops into Korea.

▲MacArthur

The United States has a strong economy and is the world's number one power. They are also unwilling to spare military spending, so American food was very abundant, especially luncheon meat, and the supply was huge. Many expired and inedible food was discarded.

At that time, Korean citizens, repeatedly squeezed and impoverished, it was difficult to eat a meat meal.

At that time, the American discarded luncheon meat was often picked up by soldiers' nearby Koreans and mixed with local chili sauce to make hot pot. This was almost the only way for Koreans to eat meat.

▲Troops Pot ingredients

Because these ingredients came from the army, it was called 'Troops Pot'.

Of course, it has another name – Johnson Pot, mainly to commemorate the visit of US President Johnson in 1966.

Today, South Korea's economy has improved greatly and doesn't need to eat American leftover food.

However, 'Troops Pot' has been preserved as a food, and today's 'Troops Pot' has added more rich ingredients.

But luncheon meat remains the soul of 'Troops Pot', and South Korea is also one of the world's top countries in luncheon meat consumption.