Yongsan Garrison to Close Its Schools at the End of the Academic Year
One more thing shutting down further signaling the imminent closure of Yongsan Garrison:
U.S. elementary, middle and high schools on Yongsan will close at the end of this school year as the military population shifts to its new headquarters south of Seoul, officials said Friday.
Seoul American Elementary School and Seoul American Middle High School have been run for decades to serve the children of soldiers and others stationed in South Korea.
But Yongsan’s population has declined sharply as U.S. Forces Korea and the other commands moved to Camp Humphreys, which has its own schools, as part of a long-delayed relocation plan.
“The decision and request by the command to no longer operate schools in Seoul is based on the pace and requirements of the Yongsan transformation efforts,” the military said in a press release. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
Both schools my kids attended here in Korea are no more.
My son went to Camp Casey K-8, my daughter graduated from Seoul American High School.
The end of an era…
This really isn’t news. Since early this year they’ve been saying at town halls that this is the last year the Yongsan base schools will be open.
I wonder how Itaewon will survive? I had a 4 day pass to Seoul with a buddy, we went looking for a quiet bar to have a few beers. We did and we noticed the bartenders opening cases of beer bottles as fast as they could. We asked our waitress, she smiled and said come back in 2 hours GI. So 2 or 3 hours later we came back, wall to wall with teenagers all the boys wearing SAHS letter jackets and swinging beer. We realized that several tables full of girls could ruin out nights of not careers and found a different bar to drink in.
“I wonder how Itaewon will survive?”
The shift away from relying on GI business in Itaewon has been going on for a number of years now. The vast majority of foreigners who go there these days are not associated with the U.S. military. Koreans who used to shun Itaewon because of its association with prostitution and drunk GIs now flock there for the upscale restaurants and international cuisine. The seedy back alleys have been cleaned up and are now home to things like fufu coffee shops, foreign/specialty cuisine, boutique shops, and other respectable businesses.
The good ol’ days are gone.
Guitard, I blame the Russians… /jk
Gotta make room for the apartment buil……er park, yeah nice green park.
Always heard the school closing is the catalyst for shutting down what little remains: Commissary, 121st, etc. (but also heard the new hospital is still plagued w/ quality problems, so who knows?).
@Mcgeehee: I’ve been attending all the garrison town hall meetings (every three months) for the last year and at every one of them, they say 121 hospital is the anchor unit that keeps the base open at this point, and once it closes (in November 2019), the base closes.
Also mentioned at the last garrison town hall:
1. After the DoD schools on Yongsan close, people still assigned there can send their kids to private schools in Seoul on the government’s dime via the DoD Education Non-DoD School Program (NDSP).
2. Families with a DEROS after 31 July 2020 who live on post will have to move off post.
3. The Dragon Hill Lodge will remain open as an Armed Forces Recreation Center, and it is receiving $3 million in upgrades this year.
Guitard,
ROK Government is actively campaigning for the removal of the Dragon Hill. Say it will disrupt their plan to build apartments….er I mean a park.
ROKS have discussed taking over an existing Korean place in Seoul to replace the Dragon or building a facility at Humphreys. Of course, nobody wants to take a vacation to Pyongtaek so not sure what an Army rec. center in Pyongtaek would do.
Thanks for the boots-on-ground update, Guitard. I appreciate it.
If this unchecked Moonification goes on too much longer, I have a funny feeling the DHL will become the North Korean Embassy.
Shame about DHL. Hope they get it sorted.
McGeehee, I think the Blue House is already behaving like the nork Embassy. 🙁
I hope Moon proves us all wrong…
— Mike Tyson