Category: Historical Photos

Picture of the Day: The Old Imperial Japanese Army Hospital on Yongsan Garrison

| April 23, 2017

I saw this interesting Yongsan Garrison history lesson posted on the USFK Facebook site:

Regimental Bachelor Officers’ Quarters; later Imperial Japanese Army Hospital; now JUSMAG-K Headquarters.

Garrison Front Gate on Itaewon-ro (now the finance office).
The Japanese began their construction of the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, which served as their occupation headquarters until the end of World War II in September 1945. These were early milestones in the establishment of the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan by the Japanese:

-1905: IJA appropriates 10,000,000 pyong (c. 8,169 acres) for military use in Korea

-May 1906: IJA establishes architecture division to plan construction of new garrison

-1906: IJA designates 1,179,800 pyong (c. 964 acres) between Namdaemun (South Gate) and Han River for permanent garrison construction

-1906-1913: Garrison construction (Choson Military Compound/Camp Ryuzan) took place from 1906 to 1913, at cost of 4,462,530 won

-Oct 1908: Headquarters for Korean occupation transferred to Yongsan

-Aug 1909: Infantry barracks constructed (78th and 79th Infantry Regiments)

-1915: Garrison designed to hold division headquarters and two regiments (IJA 9th Division, 1914-1916; 13th Division, 1916-1920; 20th Division, 1919-1931).

Memories of the Japanese occupation of Korea from 1905-1945 linger in the nation’s collective psyche. The current U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan, built on the foundations of the Imperial Japanese Army garrison constructed between 1906 and 1913 and occupying many of the remaining 174 original buildings, is a tangible reminder of this period of Korean history.

(Image courtesy of the UNC/CFC/USFK Command History Office)  [USFK Facebook]

Picture of the Day: Park Geun-hye Leaves Blue House in 1979

| March 14, 2017

Court rules to impeach Park

Former President Park Geun-hye is photographed departing the presidential office and residence Cheong Wa Dae on Nov. 21, 1979. Park had lived at Cheong Wa Dae when her father Park Chung-hee was president and also served as the first lady after her mother was assassinated. She moved out of the presidential compound after her father was also assassinated in October 1979. On March 10, 2017, the eight judges of the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously to impeach Park, forcing her to move out again unexpectedly. (Yonhap file photo)

Pictures of A Leper Village in 1952 South Korea

| May 8, 2016

I recently stumbled upon some high quality color photos of a leper village in South Korea during the Korean War:

2016-01-18-0009

According to the discussion in the Flickr comments section the leper village was in Daejon.      Eventually the Korean government would round up and move all leprosy patients to Sorokdo Island.  What a horrible disease to have, but fortunately today there is treatment for the disease and thus very rare.