Goodbye Yongsan

[soryang]

Last edited Fri Jun 29, 2018, 11:54 PM - Edit history (1)

A Channel has a report up this morning about the transfer of the 8th Army HQ, the UN Command and US Armed Forces Korea to Pyongtaek, Camp Humphreys, from Yongsan, Seoul. The agreement to move was signed in 2003, the transfer was begun in 2017. The cost was approximately, 16 trillion won with 8.9 trillion paid by South Korea. So USFK officially moved to Camp Humphreys yesterday.

The US Army occupied Yongsan in the heart of Seoul in 1945. The Japanese Army first occupied the area 400 years earlier during the Im Jin invasion period. The combined years of continuous Japanese or American military presence in Seoul in the modern era total at least 114 years.

Camp Humphreys, the new American military base is a complete community. It is five times bigger than Yoido, the island in Seoul where the National Legislature convenes. Camp Humphreys is reported to be the largest US military base in the world outside US territory.

[GP6971]

1. I spent a lot of my militaty time in Korea

In the late 80s, Humphreys was a small to medium sized post. My wife and I went back to Korea a couple of years ago and I was shocked how much Humphreys had grown. My old tent city area was high rise apartments.

The original agreement was to relocate USFK in 2015, but obviously there were delays.

[soryang]

2. Me too

I worked at Yongsan and lived in Hannam Dong.

[GP6971]

3. I was always TDY

for Team Spirit exercises. My deployments usually were 100 days plus.

What years were you there?

[soryang]

4. 88,89,90

I used to follow the maneuver forces around every spring. It was really quite an experience.

[GP6971]

5. Sames years for me.

long term deployments to Humphreys before, during and after the exercise. 2 week planning meetings 3 times a year before that at Yongsan. Before Dragon Hill Lodge really came on line.

[soryang]

6. Right Dragon Hill was an issue when I was there

The office where I worked was an old quonset hut in the Dragon Hill footprint. Remarkably it was renovated just before they broke ground for the Dragon Hill Lodge.

[GP6971]

7. DHL has grown quite a bit since those days

they now have a 2nd wing.

Quite a hotel...I last was there last year on business.

[soryang]

8. We stayed there for a night right after it opened before I left

I wasn't too happy about leaving Korea. I had a job lined up, but I decided to come back to the US.

[CRK7376]

9. Other than the family separation,

Korea was a great place to serve. I really enjoyed living in Seoul, in the Itaewon-Dong District, about 300 meters southwest of the Grand Hyatt. Good unit, enjoyed the food, culture, people of Korea. It was a very memorable year.