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Fork & Film at the Osan Youth and Teen Center

By Alison Rock

I had the pleasure of attending the very first Fork & Film event at the Osan Youth and Teen Center. This was a very fun affair that was not only a culinary experience but an extraordinary approach to developing life skills and bringing families together. If you’re wondering what Fork & Film is all about, let me explain. This is a new culinary dining adventure that is taking big cities like Los Angeles and New York by storm. Fork & Film is an immersive experience where you not only watch the characters in the movie eat but you get to enjoy the sights, smells, and tastes of the food at the exact moment they are seen and served on screen. The amazing children and program assistants were able to recreate this cinematic experience right here at Osan, Air Base.

The children and parents voted between several movies and Spirited Away was selected. This is a Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki that was released in 2001. Some of the children had seen the film before, but it was new to others and to me. The 14 kids who chose to attend gathered about two hours before the event with the task of preparing food for their own families. If they had 5 members attending, they were personally responsible for making 5 portions tailored to the taste buds and dietary requirements of their family. They had several stations set up so the kids could prepare multiple dishes to correlate with the dining scenes in the movie. Some of the kids were exposed to foods that they had never tried before like Onigiri, a rice ball filled with tuna and rolled in seaweed. This helped keep the experience authentic since it was a Japanese film. In addition, they decorated cupcakes that resembled one of the characters in the film for dessert and created some unique foods like “The Haku River Waste” beverage made from Sprite and green Gatorade.

When the families arrived, they were greeted by their children, presented a menu for the evening, and escorted to the rec room that was cleverly set up like a dinner theater. The movie started and the fun began. The children sat with their families and the program assistants worked like waiters to serve the food at the exact moment it came out on screen. It was wonderful watching the children’s reactions as the staff had a few surprises up their sleeves and brought some items out that the children didn’t know were coming like Konpeito, a popular candy in Japan that was given to the soot sprites after a long day of work in the movie. After the film, I spoke to some of the kids and Jackson said, “The movie was funny and it was even funnier that the staff only served 1 red skittle.” to signify the magic food Sen ate in the movie. Anastasia said, “You could watch the movie 100 times and pick out new details every time you watch.”

If you missed this event, don’t worry as they hope to host these quarterly. The next Fork & Film will be a holiday edition held at the Osan Youth and Teen Center on December 6th from 17:00-21:00. Voting for the next film will take place in November, so stay tuned for the fun. And if you are new to Osan Air Base and haven’t checked out the center yet, please do as they offer a plethora of activities and programs from camps to clubs, late-night activities, field trips, and more! Their programs offer activities in health and wellness, sports and recreation, the arts, leadership and service, and even an entire room dedicated to STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. They have a flight simulator, virtual reality consoles, a 3D printing machine, microscopes, and weekly activities to promote these areas of education. Their staff runs daily events to both educate and entertain the kids and many of the activities are affiliated and obtained from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as well as from the 4-H curriculum. It’s good to be a kid, especially with all of the fun to be had at the Youth and Teen Center on Osan Air Base.

About the Author

Born in California Alison Rock is a trained culinarian, actor, K-influencer, painter, and most importantly a wife and mom to two teenage boys. She enjoys travel and has resided in Korea for ten years.

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