Story behind the 'big marshmallows' around Humphreys

Heading out on the roads of Pyeongtaek, home to Camp Humphreys, you may have stumbled by an unfamiliar sight. There, scattered on some of the surrounding farms, objects resembling giant marshmallows sit in fields of grass.

Pyeongtaek’s name means “plain with lots of swamps,” so like its name there are many farms in the area— and many of these field marshmallows.

Though they look like marshmallow, they are obviously not the soft and sweet confection used for s’mores or Rice Krispies Treat.

If you’ve grown up in a rural area in the States, you may already know what these field marshmallows are really.

Bale Silage are what these large white round objects are actually called. These serve as alternative silage tanks, weigh around 500 kg and are about one meter in diameter. Bale silage holds fodder for livestock made of harvested rice straw.

If you look closely at the silage, it is covered by plastic wrap to keep it at a certain moisture level for ideal fermentation. When the winter is over, well-fermented rice straw is fed to the cattle.

So next time you’re driving by one of these, you’ll know those aren’t giant marshmallows for humans, they’re giant marshmallows for cattle!