Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Gov't to resume bus tours of US military base in Yongsan after 4-year hiatus
The bus tour covers a 9-kilometer route, taking participants to historically and culturally significant sites within U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan in central Seoul. The photos, from top to bottom, are of the former ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, former U.S. Forces Korea Joint Military Affairs Support Group, South Post Bunker, bottom left, and the former ordnance munitions depot. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
By Anna J. Park
A monthly bus tour program into U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Yongsan in the middle of Seoul is set to resume next month, the land ministry announced Monday.
This comes after a four-year hiatus of the bus tour visiting the nearly empty garrison's historic and military sites due to the pandemic.
It will be a rare opportunity for the public to take a glimpse behind the base's cinder-block walls.
The region had long been inaccessible to the public due to the presence of foreign military forces. It was first used for Qing troops from China in 1882, and later made into a permanent garrison by imperial Japan in 1904. It has been occupied continuously by the U.S. since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Through the bus tour, participants can take a look at various facilities of historical importance that are located inside the garrison, including the former headquarters of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command and the Eighth U.S. Army. Both have since relocated to USAG Humphreys, the largest overseas U.S. military installation in the world, in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
The bus tour also includes a visit to the Dragon Hill Lodge, a recreational facility for the U.S. military, providing a glimpse into U.S. military culture. The site had previously housed the residence of the Japanese military commander during the 1910-45 occupation era.
According to the land ministry, the bus tour, which was introduced in 2019, had operated 41 times, with 2,648 selected participants out of 12,759 applicants, until it was suspended in 2020.
The newly resumed bus tour will operate on a monthly basis, after being reorganized following a review of pilot tour programs conducted from May to July this year. The itinerary allows participants to experience the natural surroundings and scenery within the base, in addition to the visits to historically and culturally significant sites with explanations from professional guides.
The first tour is scheduled for Sept. 12. Depending on public interest and participation, the ministry plans to negotiate with the U.S. military to increase the frequency of the tours.
Participants can apply through the Yongsan Children's Garden Instagram account (@yongsanparkstory) or via online registration. Applications will be accepted over 10 days from Aug. 20 to 29.