Jon Dunbar is a copy editor at The Korea Times, as well as editor of the Foreign Community page and curator of the Korea Times Archive. If you have suggestions for possible articles, or wish to contribute articles yourself, contact jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr.
Yongsan Legacy Motorcycle memories around Yongsan
Teenagers pose with their minibikes near the Han River in Seoul in the 1970s. / Courtesy of Rocco Serrato
By Jon Dunbar
By Rocco Serrato
My interest in motorcycles started when I was three or four years old, before my brother was born in 1960. My mom and her friends would rent scooters with drivers and ride around Mount Nam. Once she let me go for a ride around the block and I was hooked.
In 1966, we transferred stateside to Fort Carson. I was 10 and begged my mom to buy me a minibike after seeing one on display at Sears in Colorado Springs. She convinced my dad and for Christmas I received a lawnmower-engine powered minibike.
In 1969, my dad retired from the service and we moved back to Seoul where we rented a home near a bus station just outside of Camp Coiner. I was now in the seventh grade and rode the minibike all over Mount Nam and down the other side, and explored all the areas I could reach without running out of gas. I often rode it on base. I rode it to the pool, library, and at night took my girlfriend out on dates.
One evening, on the way to drop my girlfriend off, I ran a stop sign where the road from Embassy Compound crosses 8th Army Drive, adjacent to the golf course. An MP jeep, parked in the dark near the golf course, came after me. I panicked and raced off down the street and onto Collier Field thinking he would stop his chase and let us go but nope. He jumped the curb, flew about five feet into the air and came after me. At the time there had been a big antenna here, and I came to a stop just before its fence. The MP packed my bike onto the jeep, taking my girlfriend home and me to the Provost Marshall Office.
She was grounded for a month. At the Provost Marshall Office they checked my ID and found out they know my dad. The sergeant got on the phone and called my dad to come and pick me up. I received a stiff warning to obey all traffic laws.
My parents later bought me a used Honda CT70 which was more roadworthy. I rode that CT70 all over and up the foothills around Seoul. I even rode the 70cc motorcycle to Cheongpyeong with my mom on the back.
In 1971, my dad bought a used 1969 Yamaha DT1 from a friend who got transferred. He had it registered in Osan since the Air Force at that time was more motorcycle-friendly. The PX in Osan had Yamaha motorcycles for sale and had a DT250 on display.
As a freshman I rode my Yamaha to school right through the winter. I didn't know anyone else who had a motorcycle at that time so I rode mostly by myself. One summer while out exploring, I spotted trails that ran way up into rice paddies and into the foothills, so I started to explore that area by myself on weekends. After several weekends riding by myself, I came around a corner on a trail that ran through a small village and saw another dirt biker come my way. We circled each other like two aliens meeting on another planet.
We took off our helmets and shook hands. We became great friends and rode every weekend. His name was Larry.
Often he invited Kim, a friend of his who also rode. Not many people could ride with us since Larry rode a hand-built CCM500, and my Yamaha was state of the art for off-road motorcycles at that time. Kim was a good rider and owned a Yamaha. The three of us were a great match.
As we got better, Kim suggested we try racing Korean riders who had a flat-track race series held all around Korea. To race the circuit we had to form a club and race other teams. We named our club, Han Mi Club, after me since I was Korean American.
Meanwhile at school I ran into Dana. I sometimes wore my dirt-biking shirt and Dana didn't take any time introducing himself. His dad just transferred from Idaho, and his new Honda CR125 was packed and on its way to Yongsan.
Once Dana got his bike, we took off riding almost every day after school.
We rode our dirt bikes all over town and were never stopped or ticketed. I guess it was so new and extraordinary, cops and people just stood and watched in amazement. We were really popular.
One weekend I talked Dana into riding in the sand on the Han River bank. Once we got down to the riverbed, it was a dirt biker paradise with clean white sand, perfect for a motocross track. So Dana and I made our track and raced each other. Soon other kids got motorcycles and they joined up at the riverbed to ride in the mud in the winter and sand in the summer. We did this almost every day after school and got really good at off-road dirt bike riding.
Our first race was at Suwon Stadium. Larry, Kim and I later raced at Pohang, and Jeju Island.
Rocco Serrato attended Seoul American High School on Yongsan Garrison from 1969 to 1975. Visit yongsanlegacy.org to read more about the history of Seoul's disappearing U.S. garrison or to contribute your own memories.