Kwon Tae-Hong sells fruit to Airman 1st Class Parker Farnham at his stand inside the Army and Air Force Exchange at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, March 25, 2025. (Eric Mendiola/Stars and Stripes)
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — Shoppers at the exchange at this air base are taking advantage of fresh produce sold on base once a week thanks to a local business owner.
Kwon Tae-Hong, an area grocer, sets up shop between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. every Tuesday inside the Army and Air Force Exchange next to the food court. He’s been selling fresh fruits and vegetables at Kunsan since October.
Kwon is a regular presence, even during the recent harsh winter. He took off only during the Korean New Year to work at his own store, where business picks up considerably during the holidays.
His produce is locally sourced from the farmland that surrounds the air base. Some of his offerings would be at home in an American grocery store, and he also provides a selection of Asian produce like Korean melon and nom dok mai, a variety of Thai mango.
Kwon’s produce costs about the same as consumers would pay in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
The air base, which unlike many other U.S. bases in South Korea and Japan, is in a rural setting away from local retailers.
“It was just a need we found in the community we have a lot of airmen who don’t have driving privileges and can’t get off base, and, unlike some of the other communities in Korea, there’s no immediate town right outside its gate to walk to and do those things,” Jessica Lynch, the exchange general manager, said Tuesday at Kunsan.
Kunsan Air Base asked AAFES to find a local vendor with good quality produce at reasonable prices to set up weekly at the exchange, Pyon Son-chun, service business manager at the exchange, said Tuesday at the exchange.
A group of exchange employees searched the surrounding communities for a vendor who met the criteria, according to Pyon.
The public health flight from the 8th Medical Group at Kunsan inspected the source of the produce and verified its quality for sale on base, a process that took about a month, Pyon said.
“The most important thing is improving quality of life in Kunsan Air Base,” Pyon said.
