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China-Japan-Koreas
US ends 70 years of military presence in South Korean capital
2018-07-01
[DAWN] The United States formally ended seven decades of military presence in South Korea’s capital on Friday with a ceremony to mark the opening of a new headquarters farther from North Korean artillery range.

The command’s move to Camp Humphreys, about 70 kilometres south of Seoul, comes amid a fledgling detente on the Korean Peninsula, though the relocation was planned long before that. Most troops have already transferred to the new location, and the US says the remaining ones will move by the end of this year.

The US military had been headquartered in Seoul’s central Yongsan neighbourhood since American troops first arrived at the end of World War II. The Yongsan Garrison was a symbol of the US-South Korea alliance but its occupation of prime real estate was also a long-running source of friction.

Posted by:Fred

#4  Vertical or horizontal pinstripes?
Posted by: Skidmark   2018-07-01 19:07  

#3  No more Blooks Brothers suits for under $150? Ah, bummer. I think the jacket still fits.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2018-07-01 08:20  

#2  Oh, most of the golf course became a city park years ago. But the remainder of Yongsan will be rich pickings for whoever takes it over. (When it was a Japanese garrison in the 20s-1945, it was a good distance from Seoul itself.) There are some quite lovely old buildings, a bunch of modernish ones, the Dragon Hill Lodge highrise, a great many small cottages that were Japanese officer quarters ... and lots and lots of wooded parklands and gardens. In summer, it was like a green island in the center of Seoul. I imagine it will be harder to replace all the little establishments - the bicycle repair shop, the little community theater clubhouse, the OWC gift shop, and all the small clubs. It was inevitable, though - too big, and too much a thumb in the eye for Koreans. Bet the bars, shops and whores in Itawewan will miss the place, though.
Posted by: Sgt, Mom   2018-07-01 08:17  

#1  They were talking about moving out in '88. So, that's 30 years. Obviously, a government program between two bureaucracies. BTW, Yongsan is about as prime realtor pickings as anything in the world. Someone is making Big Won. Who gets the golf course?
Posted by: Procopius2k   2018-07-01 07:37  

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