Tag: Camp Stanley

Camp Stanley Training Tunnel will Continue to Be Used Even After 2ID Relocation

| June 25, 2017

I have been to Camp Stanley so many times and I never realized this training tunnel was located there:

A chemical-sniffing robot patrols the underground training facility at Camp Stanley, South Korea, Tuesday, May 23, 2017. MARCUS FICHTL/STARS AND STRIPES

Boxes have been packed and nails stick out from walls where pictures and maps used to hang.

U.S. soldiers are getting ready for a historic move from the front lines to new quarters south of Seoul, South Korea, as part of a relocation plan that has been in the works for more than a decade.

But there’s one important feature they can’t take with them — a half-mile tunnel carved into a mountain that rises above Camp Stanley, which has been home to 2nd Infantry Division units since shortly after the 1950-53 Korean War.  (…..)

Training for the possible need to search and clear such facilities is high on the agenda for U.S. and South Korean forces. But it’s about to become more challenging for the 23rd Chemical Battalion, which is preparing to move to Camp Humphreys, about 55 miles south of Seoul, this month. It will retain access to the tunnel, although it’s unclear how that will work without a regular presence on the base.  [Stars and Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Large Wildfire Burns on Mt. Surak in Northern Seoul

| June 2, 2017

Mt. Surak is the large mountain that rises above Camp Stanley.  This fire though appears to be burning on the northern Seoul area of the mountain opposite from the camp:

A big fire broke out on Mount Surak in northern Seoul Thursday, firefighters said, with no casualties having been reported so far.

Firefighters said they were struggling to contain the fire that started at around 9:08 p.m., with a long ribbon of fire forming near the top of a ridge.

The exact cause of the wind-fed forest fire is not yet known, but the size of the blaze is quite large, they added.   [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

USFK Korean Civilian Employee Sentenced to 5 Years for Job Scam

| September 22, 2015

It is good this guy was caught and sentenced, but how stupid and gullible are the victims to fall for this scam?:

A former Camp Stanley employee has been sentenced to five years in prison for fraud and related charges after selling nonexistent base jobs to more than two dozen South Koreans.

The employee, surnamed Gang, worked more than 20 years in the Uijeongbu-area base, most recently as an ambulance driver, before being fired in March over the allegations.

Gang used a U.S. soldier who was unaware of the scam to interview Koreans by phone to test their English, South Korean police said. More than 30 victims paid him a total of $750,000 for the fake jobs over six and a half years, according to sentencing documents from the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court.

Gang was also convicted of counterfeiting documents and circulating forged documents. He wrote 11 false letters of employment, using a computer at a U.S. military medical facility in Uijeongbu to produce at least one of the letters.

Among his victims was a woman who paid Gang 25 million won (almost $21,500) in 2013, believing she was securing a civilian job for her son with U.S. Forces Korea. Another woman, police said, paid Gang 100 million won (about $86,000) for administrative jobs for her husband, son and daughter. Gang promised some of his victims he would pay the human resources manager at an Army hospital, and their jobs would be guaranteed until retirement at age 68.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Former Camp Stanley Employee Arrested for Frauding Koreans for Non-Existent Jobs

| April 26, 2015

I don’t know what’s worse about this story, the victims trying to bribe their way into jobs or the conman who took their money for himself?:

A former Camp Stanley employee was arrested on allegations that he bilked South Koreans out of more than $740,000 in exchange for non-existent base jobs — and enlisted an unwitting U.S. soldier’s help to pull off the scam, South Korean police said.

The man identified by the surname Gang, 54, posed as a high-level base hospital official and convinced 27 people during the past six years to hand him a total of 800 million won, Uiwang Police Station officials told Stars and Stripes.

Gang forged Army documents and took his victims on tours of Yongsan Garrison, Camp Humphreys and other areas to help sell his story, police said.

Gang also convinced a U.S. soldier at Camp Stanley that the victims were prospective employees, then had the soldier interview them by phone to test their English, said Jo Min-chang, of Uiwang’s Economic Crime Investigation Team.

Police said they do not think the soldier knew he was participating in fraud.

Gang worked at Camp Stanley for more than 20 years before being fired last month, Jo said. He had most recently served as an ambulance driver.

When the victims began to complain about employment delays, police say Gang issued forged apology letters that used official Army logos, fonts and style, if not necessarily proper grammar.

“We would like to make an apology for any damage to who are newly employed and promoted because of a conflict between the 8th Army and Korean members of the 8th Army,” one of the letters read, according to a sample obtained from Uiwang police. “We, the 8th Army, are sincerely doing our best to make smooth recovery. And therefore, we would like to wish domestic bliss.”

In other letters, he blamed North Korean nuclear threats and bilateral defense budgets for causing delays, police said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

A Profile of Camp Stanley, South Korea

| May 1, 2012

The South Korean city of Uijongbu has a long history of being host to hundreds of thousands of US Soldiers over the past 60 years.  Out of all the current and past US military bases in the city Camp Stanley has housed more Soldiers than any other:

Where Camp Stanley is located today was originally a truck depot during the Korean War and became a tent city to house troops following the war.  The tent city was eventually named after Colonel Thomas H. Stanley in 1958 who was the commander of the 36th Engineer Regiment during World War II that was killed in a vehicle accident in Italy.  I could not however find the reason why this camp was named after someone killed in World War II.  If anyone knows please leave a comment.   I have seen some of the veteran sites out there that offer old photographs of Korea but Bruce Richards’ site is the best archive of old photographs of USFK facilities I have seen yet. Using Bruce’s picture archives here are a few historic photographs of Camp Stanley:

For those that have been stationed at Camp Stanley before, the above image of tent city is starkly different from what has been built on the camp today. Not only is the camp extremely different but so is the terrain because the mountains in the background look completely deforested compared to the thickly forested slopes of the mountains today.

In this aerial photo from 1955 the rice paddies that still surround the camp to this day can be seen:

This next image from 1961 shows how much development took place in less then 10 years with all the tents replaced with quonset huts and other permanent buildings:

This next image shows a 1964 image of the “ville” adjacent to Camp Stanley:

Needless to say  Camp Stanley has changed a lot over the years and is currently a logistical support base for the 2nd Infantry Division after long being the home to 2-2 Aviation Battalion and the division’s artillery units for many years. Camp Stanley has actually escaped being surrounded by urban sprawl due to the fact that is located right next to a Korean prison and it’s adjacent rice paddies. From Camp Stanley you can sometimes hear the prisoners singing songs and cadence from the prison. You can often see them working in the prison’s rice paddies as well. The picture below is of Camp Stanley as viewed from Surak Mountain that show the rice paddies in front of the camp:

This picture provides another view of Camp Stanley as seen from Cheonbo Mountain in Uijongbu:

The Uijongbu Prison is easily seen due to its distinctive blue roof.  Camp Stanley also has a distinctive tree lined road that leads to its side gate that goes right by the prison.  While driving up the road the prison can easily be seen:

Camp Stanley is the largest base in Uijongbu which due to its size is the only US military installation in Uijongbu that has a true “ville” located adjacent to it appropriately called Stanleyville.  The base is located in the southeastern corner of the city and since it is surrounded by mountains and rice paddies it is unlike other bases 2ID where it has not consumed by the urban sprawl.  There has been talk in the past about closing Camp Stanley, but I think as long as 2ID remains north of Seoul this camp will remain open due to its size and location that is not a burden on the local community.  Here is the north entrance to Camp Stanley from the road leading up to the camp past the prison:

Compared to the earlier 1975 image the gate to the camp has changed a bit over the years.  Right next to this gate is the Nameless Music Cafe:

The other way of accessing the camp is by continuing to drive down Highway 43 to the camp’s main gate.  While driving down the highway there are some really nice views of Suraksan Mountain that can be seen:

Here is the eastern gate into Camp Stanley as seen from Highway 43:

The Highway 43 gate is primarily used for military vehicles to enter the installation from.

Here is a view looking inside of Camp Stanley:

Here is a view of some of the barracks buildings on the camp:

Here is a picture of the old PX building which has been turned into a education center:

Right next to the old PX building is the new building that was opened back in 2005:

The new Camp Stanley PX when it opened was quite nice and I was surprised by how big it was considering the size of the camp plus the fact that other nearby installations were all being closed out back in 2005.  Well the employees at the PX found other people to sell the merchandise to as the Camp Stanley PX would have the distinction of operating one of the largest blackmarketing rings in the country that was finally broken up in 2009.  Here is the view looking to the east from the PX which on a clear day has quite a nice view of the nearby mountains across the valley filled with rice paddies:

Here is the view from the PX looking up the hill towards Surak Mountain where one of the few quonset huts on Camp Stanley is still visible:

Next to the PX is the Community Bank which is still open and serving customers on Camp Stanley:

Near the bank is the post chapel:

Near the church there is also a small theater on the camp:

Across from the PX is the commissary which now has this map posted on it in case somebody some how gets lost on this small post:

This commissary in the past has been recognized as the best small overseas commissary in the US military:

This commissary is actually pretty good because my wife and I found the customer service to be outstanding and the employees very friendly:

For being a small commissary the shelves were stocked with most items Americans would want to buy, but my only gripe like with many other commissaries in Korea is that the blackmarketing was easy to spot:

All in all though by 2ID standards Camp Stanley is pretty nice installation though it is much quieter now compared to past years when it was home to artillery and aviation units.  Likewise Stanleyville has also died down with the exit of all those combat arms soldiers.  There is still enough soldiers here though where Camp Stanley is still home to the only real soldier “ville” in Uijongbu where one can find the typical juicy bars, pawn shops, chicken on a stick shacks, counterfeit clothing stores, coin & plaque shops, and other typical staples of a “ville” in Korea:

The ville also has some apartments for families to live in for those thinking about bringing their families to Korea.  The few that I have seen were pretty rundown and I almost had to have one soldier move out of his apartment until the landlord agreed to fix some safety issues.  For those that have lived in Stanleyville please leave a comment and let everyone know what you thought about your time living there?  Likewise if you have been stationed on Camp Stanley please share your thoughts about the camp in the comments section.

The final picture once again from Bruce Richards site is an aerial picture of what Camp Stanley looks like today:

In the above picture you can see Camp Stanley in the middle of the image while Stanleyville is the area with the blue roofed buildings on the left. The Uijongbu Prison can be seen on the top of the picture. The fields of rice that could be seen in the earlier images, like I said before are still visible today around Camp Stanley and are worked by the prisoners housed at the correctional facility.  I hope everyone enjoyed this profile of Camp Stanley considering it days are supposedly numbered due to impending USFK transformation plan if it ever happens. Due to Korean governmental delay games and US budget issues I wouldn’t be surprised if Camp Stanley is open for another decade or more.

If you have an interesting or funny veteran story from your time in Korea I would love to hear it. If it is a good story I am willing to publish it here on the ROK Drop. It doesn’t matter what decade you served just as long as it is interesting or funny. If you have a story to share you can e-mail the story to me.

Thanks for reading the ROK Drop.

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:

Camp Stanley.

Oh, wait. This isn’t this week’s “Korea Finder,” is it?

I always liked CP Stanley, like a small town and away from the flag pole. Was there 1991-1994 and again 2002-2004. Worst decision ever made was to move DIVARTY/Fires BDE up to Casey.

Friends:
I was stationed at Camp Stanley in the “dark ages” 1959-1960. My unit was the 13th Trans Co (Lt Hel) (H-21C).
It is to me unbelievable how things have changed over the years. In 1959-1960, the area and Korea in general looked as it did…maybe 100 years ago.
God Bless all the Troops that served “over there.” I retired with 36 years service, I will turn 80 on 12 Nov 2012. SGM(Ret) Donald R. Fox

I was at CP Stanley from 1990-1991, during Desert Storm/Desert Shield. At that time, the camp was home to the 2/2 Aviation, an artillery battalion, and several small support units. I was in F Battery, 5/5 ADA. I can remember posting guards at night and hearing people screaming over at the prison. It was pretty weird. I also remember that we didn’t call the town next to the camp “Stanleyville”- we just called it The Ville or “downrange.” The locals called it Kosan-dong or something like that. CP Stanley was a pretty nice place to be considering that many soldiers in the 2nd ID were at camps on the DMZ. For instance, my battalion HQ was at Camp Stanton, which was way up near Munsan.

I was stationed with 2ndMPco in 82, i lived in a quanset hut there were holes in the walls but we sort of loved it, it was a busy place for us! especially down in the vill (Kosong-Dong) when i first got there the MP could only check clubs if there Korean National Police officer escort said yes, we would say “we checkie checkie” they would say no, than with a lot of help from the Post Commander i got it changed so the MP’s could check clubs on our own, thats when we started getting busy, got some great memories of that place, BEST KATUSA’s i ever worked with!

Been at Stanley a few years. Small post, not very many units there now as in previous years. Lots of hills to give cigarette smoking soldiers opportunities to act like they are about to die fall out of runs in the first 1/4-1/2 mile. Very difficult to get to after 7-8 AM with traffic. Long way away from the subway line 1. You have to walk way down hill, take a bus to get within 1/4 mile of the Uijeongbu station, + the walk all the way in. This delays your trip to Seoul considerably. It is actuall faster to take a city bus south, change to a bus crossing the south side of Soo-Rak mountain to get to another line. Next to no one goes to the “Ville” in the evenings. many Soldiers prefer to party in Seoul with the increase in mobility and the ability to saty in a motel instead of having to return to barracks by midnight. If USFK re-instates that policy, then USFK will really see madness happen in hte ville again. As it is now, teh clubs prolly don’t make enough money to pay for electricity. Only 2 clubs ding enough business to stay in business, especially the club where all the MPs used to hangout.

i was stationed at campstanley also known as camp hummingbird from 1963 thru 1964 with the 13th trans. would like to have a good picture of the 13th trans emblem of lucifer the cat on the fourleaf clover. you may e-mail me at kelljim1@aol.com.
thanks

I was stationed with the 1/15 battery A, in 1971-72. Looking at these photo’s it sure has changed. God Bless all the troops.

I was stationed at Stanley from 1971-9-1972, A Battery. It sure has changed looking at the photo’s. God Bless all the troops.

– See more at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CD-Skq7PrgQJ:rokdrop.com/2012/05/01/a-profile-of-camp-stanley-south-korea/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#sthash.jsiMyVnm.dpuf

 

Places in Korea: Uijeongbu, Gyeongi Province

| July 25, 2011

Basic Information

Narrative

The northern Seoul suburb of Uijongbu has long been just a sleepy farming village north of Seoul of little consequence in Korean history.

However all this would change in 1950 when it became a pivotal battlefield during the Korean War.  The terrain around Uijongbu provided the last natural defensive positions before the North Korean army could reach Seoul.  After the ROK Army forces lost the Battle of Uijongbu the gates to Seoul were open and the city would eventually fall only days after the North Korean invasion.  Below is a picture of Uijongbu in 1950:

In the picture you can see Highway 3 which is the north-south highway running in the center of the picture and Highway43 which is on the right of the picture that is a northeast-southwest running highway.  These two highways converge in Uijongbu and are the two routes the North Koreans used to capture the city during the Korean War.  Interestingly enough the famous TV series M*A*S*H was based on the “4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” that was stationed in Uijongbu during the Korean War.

Here is a picture that shows a US tank driving through Uijongbu during the Korean War:

After the war the city became known as a US military camp town called a “gijichon” in Korea when a large contingent of US soldiers were stationed in the city after the Korean War.  Even though the town is host to US soldiers today, I don’t think anyone can claim with a straight face that Uijongbu is still a camp town considering its explosive growth that has made the city a thriving metropolitan center for Korea’s northern Gyeongi-do province.  Here is a modern day Google Earth image of Uijongbu that shows how much it has grown as well as identifying the major US military installations in the city:

Read more about the US military installation in Uijongbu at the below link:

These following photographs should give everyone an indication of the explosive growth of this town.  This below picture is taken from Cheonbo-san mountain that shows the US military base Camp Kyle in the foreground and Uijongbu in the distance tucked into the slopes of beautiful Dobong-san mountain in 1965:


Picture via Ottmar.

Notice how Camp Kyle is on the outskirts of the city and is surrounded by farm land.  I have had people in Korea now a days ask me why the US military built their bases within Korean cities?  However what these people don’t understand is the bases were originally built outside of the Korean cities, but Korea’s explosive growth over the past few decades has completely swallowed these bases.

Here is a picture I took from the same vantage point back in 2005 that shows how Camp Kyle has been completely surrounded by the city:

Camp Kyle’s front gate at this time was very dangerous because you had large slow moving military trucks trying to turn on to a fast moving highway 43 that saw heavy traffic.  So it should be no surprise that Camp Kyle was one of the US military bases in Uijongbu that was shutdown in 2005.

Here is a picture from the same vantage point in 2011:

In the picture it can be seen that Camp Kyle has been completely leveled as the land is prepared for redevelopment. Here is how Camp Kyle looked when it was still open in 2005:

Camp Kyle isn’t the only place being redeveloped, just down the road from Camp Kyle is Camp Sears which was also closed out in 2005.  Here is how the camp looked when it was open in 2005:

Here is how it looks in 2011 after being leveled for redevelopment:

If you look closely in the earlier 2011 picture of Uijongbu you can see that the old Camp Essayons has been leveled as well in order to construct a university hospital.  Here is what the camp looked like back in 2005 when it was open:

Another USFK base Camp La Guardia has also been leveled and can be seen in the center of the below photograph also when it was open in 2005:

Camp La Guardia was really a base that needed to be closed because it was an old airfield that had been completely surrounded by the growing Uijongbu.  Not all the camps in Uijongbu have been closed though.  Below is a picture of Camp Red Cloud that can be seen lying at the slopes of the hills to the west of town:

Camp Stanley is the other US military base still open in Uijongbu that lies right next to the Uijongbu Prison that is the building pictured below with the blue roof:

The land where these US military camps is located is not the only place in Uijongbu being redeveloped.  In the past 10 years this entire city feels like it has been redeveloped.  The heart of the city is without a doubt the area around the Uijongbu Train Station.  The train station used to be this old brick building that Seoul Subway Line 1 ended and passengers could transfer to the KORAIL train system to travel to locations north of Uijongbu:

Below is a picture of this location at night where Uijongbu Station is infamous to GI’s as being a place where many of the cab drivers will try to charge you hugely overpriced fees to bring you back to you camp, especially when 2ID had a curfew because they knew soldiers had no choice, but to pay the extortion:

Today commuters don’t need to change on to the KORAIL line at Uijongbu Station since Seoul Subway Line 1 has been extended all the way to Dongducheon.  Additionally the station has been torn down and being redeveloped into a massive shopping center/train station:

In addition to the train station the entire downtown area is being redeveloped as well.  Here is a picture of downtown directly across from the east side of the train station:

The entire area has seen a number of new buildings go up that has really added to the city’s skyline:

Further into downtown away from the new buildings around the train station, the older Uijongbu of older buildings, street ajummas selling goods, crazy traffic, oblivious pedestrians, the blackmarket area, etc. can still be seen:

Here are a few pictures of the area of downtown Uijongbu to the west of the train station that was taken back in 2005.  The first picture is of a wedding hall:

Just for comparison’s sake here is what a wedding hall in Uijongbu looked like in 1965:


Picture via Ottmar.

Here is the main thoroughfare in this part of town in 2005 looking east towards Uijongbu Station:

Here is the view looking west towards the city hall complex at the end of the road, which by the way is a really nice structure:

I thought the big open road and the new construction made this area of Uijongbu look really nice, but in recent years it has been spoiled by the construction of a light rail transit (LRT) system known as the U-Line:

All over Uijongbu the concrete pillars from the U-Line are a major eye sore in my opinion:

The U-Line is supposed to help relieve the major traffic congestion that plagues the city.  The traffic congestion has actually gotten much better in recent years.  I can remember when it took an hour to drive from Camp Stanley to Camp Red Cloud.  Now it can be done in half that time during even peak traffic times.  A long time friend I have in Uijongbu told me he felt the U-Line had less to do with traffic congestion and more to do with being a big public works hand out to the companies involved in its construction.  I guess time will tell how popular the U-Line will be with the locals in Uijongbu.  I think the biggest demographic that will use the U-Line will be students.

Finally here is a view from a hill in the neighborhood of Geumo-dong looking towards downtown Uijongbu:

This picture of downtown Uijongbu 1965 only further shows how much the city has changed since then:

uijongbu1965

To the northwest of downtown is where Camp Red Cloud pictured earlier in this posting is located.  Behind Camp Red Cloud a newer neighborhood of high rise apartments has been constructed in recent years along with a very nice sports stadium:

Besides the stadium a ice rink was constructed as well:

Across the street in front of Camp Red Cloud is where older buildings remain and is the location of a small ville for US servicemembers stationed at the camp:

You can see the highly controversial Julie’s Realty is located right across the street from CRC.

The previously mentioned neighborhood of Geumo-dong is one of the fastest growing areas of the city.  This is an area of the city that I know very well since I lived in this neighborhood for two years.   Here is a picture of Geumo-dong viewed from the summit of Cheonbo-san mountain:

Here is what Geumo-dong looked like in 1965:


Picture via Ottmar.

I can remember 10 years ago when Geumo-dong still had farms and small businesses and since then it has all been turned into apartments and a major shopping area:

Here is a picture of Geumo-dong’s main shopping district with the city’s only Home Plus at night:

Like much of Uijongbu, Geumo-dong also has a sea of apartments:

For those that have never lived in one of these high rise Korean apartments, they are actually quite nice.  My apartment was a spacious three bedroom and two bathroom apartment on the 14th floor.  I really enjoyed the view from being that high up and occasionally would run up the stairs for PT instead of taking the elevator.  If you are wondering how Koreans move things to the higher floors they don’t use the stairs of elevators, they instead use these lift systems that quickly move furniture and other large items into the apartments:

The Geumo-dong neighborhood is also home to St. Mary’s Hospital:

This facility really is a good hospital with a foreigner friendly staff.  They have an agreement with USFK to provide medical services for US military servicemembers and their families.  The wife of one my soldiers gave birth to their daughter at this hospital.

Like the rest of Uijongbu, Geumo-dong also has some areas affected by the U-Line eyesore:

Overall though the U-Line isn’t as bad as a eyesore in Geumo-dong as it is downtown.  Pictured below in Geumo-dong was one of my favorite places to eat Uijongbu’s most famous dish budaejigae:

Budaejjigae is Korean for “soldier’s stew” due to the spam and other ingredients added to the dish that was introduced to the local Koreans by US GI’s:

The restaurant can be found adjacent to the old Camp Kyle.  My favorite place to grab a drink was a place in Geumo-dong called Beer School:

This place had a wide selection of foreign beer and would actually issue out merit badges and diplomas to repeat customers.  The owners of the establishment were very friendly to GI’s that would stop by here.  Unfortunately when I went to stop by Beer School recently it was closed and was turned into a Chinese restaurant.

In Geumo-dong behind the Northern Gyeongi-do government office is a trail up a hill that provides some nice views of Uijongbu. I used to go run up the trail up this hill for PT occasionally in the morning. Here is a picture of the sunrise from this hill on one of those mornings:

Here is an example of another spectacular sunrise I was able to get a picture of in the morning:

Here are some views of the other areas of Uijongbu once again as viewed from the hill in Geumo-dong.  First is a picture of the southeastern are of Uijongbu, which is where Camp Stanley is located at:

The mountain that towers over this area of the city is Suraksan mountain.  Adjacent to Camp Stanley Suraksan mountain has some very nice streams that are a good place to hang out at in the summer.  This section of the city is one of the most lightly populated areas where rice fields still take up just as much land as houses:

All in front of Camp Stanley are fields of rice that are worked by prisoners from the Uijongbu Prison.  Also just down the road from Camp Stanley is this large Buddhist temple:

Here is a view looking towards the southwest portion of Uijongbu which is backdropped by Dobongsan mountain:

The southwestern portion of Uijongbu is sandwiched between not only Dobongsan, but Suraksan mountain as well:

The stream that runs through this area is a very popular spot for fishing:

I have never tried to go fishing in this stream because I once saw a sewage truck dumping raw waste right into this stream before:

Despite becoming a dense urban city, a nice thing about Uijongbu is how easy it is to escape the city.  All around the city is wilderness areas with Dobongsan mountain which is part of Bukhansan National Park being the primary spot for people to escape the city:

Dobongsan is an extremely scenic mountain with a variety of Buddhist temples, hiking trails, and creeks to play in the water that are popular with locals.

Another popular location for locals is Cheonbosan mountain located adjacent to the Geumo-dong neighborhood:

Cheonbosan is not as tall as Dobongsan, but despite this it provides better views of Uijongbu and the surrounding region than its more well known neighbor across town.

Here is how Cheonbo-san looked in 1965:


Picture via Ottmar.

Notice that in 1965 the lack of trees on the mountain as well as the absence of the twin radio towers.  Another place to escape the city is the mountains behind Camp Read Cloud.  This is another area I used to go running at for PT.  The winding road behind the camp leads to this nice lake where I have seen plenty of locals fishing at:

There are plenty of other hills around the city that I would go hiking at and exploring no matter the weather:

Occasionally I would run into random shrines like this one pictured below:

Or even find something unusual like a deer farm on the city’s outskirts:

All in all I really enjoyed my time living in Uijongbu and always stop by and visit friends in the city whenever I am in Korea.  Every time I visit it is always interesting to see how much the city has changed.  It is definitely no longer a camp town and quickly becoming one of the nicest commuter suburbs of Seoul in my opinion.

If anyone has any stories to share of their time in Uijongbu please share it with everyone in the comments section.

__________________________________________________________________

Great photos and analysis…

This statement: “I have had people in Korea now a days ask me why the US military built their bases within Korean cities? However what these people don’t understand is the bases were originally built outside of the Korean cities, but Korea’s explosive growth over the past few decades has completely swallowed these bases.” shows a great deal about the education and the mindset of the people asking the questions…

This page deserves repeated viewings and was a real gold mine for me since I’m trying to wrap my brain around the changes that have occurred there since my tour of duty in 1983. I still cant quite get over the general amount of development. I really had no idea before I found this ROK Drop site.

C Hiler
hiler8@gmail.com

I’m wondering of all that signage on the outside of the buildings ever draws complaints from Koreans? It looks just crazy to me but I’m not sure if that’s just a cultural difference or what?

hiler8@gmail.com
C Hiler
2nd ID in 1983

I will say two words that old timers will know about Uijongbu & want to share some “war stories”, those words are “basket job”.

Tom,
those two words used to be said about Sonju ri over by Paju, I believe.

I lived in Uijongbu for 3 years in the late 90′s. I was a world class Soju drinker. My bar was the World Hof. I left in ’97 and have never been back. I enjoyed everything about Korea.
When I was at Hovey in the 80′s there was only one flashing light between Red Cloud and Casey. I will probably be going back within the next 2 years. hope I can handle it; it sure looks crowded now.

ChipperB

Are you referring to this Sonju ri ? I was there in 1983

http://www.camppelham.com/

When I was there in 94, they where building a tunnel through the ridge line that runs behind Camp Kyle. Just to the east of Camp Sears. There was a road over the mountain which was a narrow winding one. One weekend a few of us where bored and decided to ride bikes over the mountain for something to do. The tunnel construction looked like they where putting in a 6 lane highway in place of the small 2 lane over the top. I didn’t understand the need for it at first, but the traffic picked up and I understood it – a constant stream of slow moving trucks and cars – even on a weekend day. I also remember on the other side of the ridge, we discovered what seemed to be a farm raising dogs. It had a big Purina sign on the fence. It didn’t seem like the where raising them as purebred puppies to sell — looked more like meat production to a farm boy like me….
I also remeber the rapid construction everywhere in general. Korea obviuosly didnt have the safety standards involved in construction they way we do in the US. I remember highways with buildings sticking out into lanes and utility poles in the middle of roadways with nothing more than yellow lines painted around them. Other places where they opened sections of new highways with no merge / speedup / decelaration areas — 2 or 3 lanes just go full speed to the end onto the old 1 lane (or worse, gravel) road….every trip to Yongsan was allways an adventure….

I’ve lived here in Uijeongbu since 2007 and I really liked this article. The 1950s pictures are great. Currently they are building a Shinseghe mall around Uijeongbu station that is supposed to be the largest in Korea. Bigger than the Seoul malls. Also they are adding another subway line. I think they have big plans for Uijeongbu.

Nick,

Are you in the military or living there as a civilian?
SOFA?

Wow. Seeing Camp Sears flattened was a bit sad, but I suppose that was going to happen sooner or later. I was there from 80-81. What a great year that was. I had a really memorable time there. I couldn’t wait to leave, but I didn’t want to go so soon if that makes any sense.

I’ll have to get out my G Co. 702nd year book and see which old friends I’d like to get back in contact with.

I recently found an author named Martin Limon that has written a good series of books about two US Army CID guys in Seoul set in the early to mid 70′s. I think anyone that was stationed over there would enjoy reading them. I did.

Having been stationed there in 1965-66, I find those pictures of what has happened to the place amazing. Not many ox carts now.

@ BOB 13 – I’ve read A couple of Limon’s books about a pair of CID Agents primarily working out of Yongsan Garrison. Good reads.

I just shot the link to this page to some friends so they could see the geography of my temporary “home”. AWESOME!

I was stationed on Camp Kyle in 1970-71 D Co 4th Maint
also at Camp Stanley

Great post – I had no idea there were so many military installations up there once upon a time.

The U-line has made some appearances on the subway maps inside the subways – have you heard anything about when the line will open?

Shinsegae Department Store is opening its Uijeongbu store in April this year.

Job seekers line up to enter a job fair at the Uijeongbu branch of Shinsegae Department Store at Uijeongbu Station from Donga Ilbo.

Even Daejeon doesn’t have a Shinsegae Department Store.

I was station in the Uijeonbu area 1959-1960, 13 Trans Co (Lt Hel), H-21C Helicopter. All these pictures are a marvel…I cant recognize the area any more. Wonderful progress!

stationed CRC May ’64 to Feb’65. TDY@ to Albany site and Hill 651…..What happened to them????

I’m moving here in a couple of weeks (non-military) and after a week of browsing this is by far the best overall account of the city. Thank You.

@21 – I am glad you liked the posting and enjoy your time in Uijongbu. I know that I really enjoyed living in the Guemo-dong area of the city.

Glad I found your site. I will be traveling to Korea in late June and didn’t know what to expect, having been there in 1953. You prepared me to not expect a village (Ouijonbu) or rubble (Seoul)

My name is Ronda Cavel, my husband served at 59th AVN at Camp Red Cloud from March 1966 thru April 1967. He now has stage 4 lung cancer in both lungs. I am trying to find out about any chemical spraying, just before these dates and during these dates. Also would like to find any of his buddies that served during this same time period.

What time will do to a place. Uijongbu was a small village in 1968-69. Maybe I just saw it from the base of the moutain, where our CommCenter was set up. We were north of the city, but it’s really changed.

I was there in 1978-79-80 we are getting old now I was in mp det am looking to see if there
is anybody i know still alive.

I was stationed at camp Essayon in 1954. The highest building in town was a 2 story bank. mostly surrounded by rice paddies and a river going through, right in front of camp essayon’s we used to was our trucks in it

Hi, has anyone heard of Camp Indian in Uijongbu. This was an army base surrounded by cinder blocks. Very small camp surrounded by creek and homes. This camp is closed and overgrown with weeds now. It is near Camp Stanly set off the main road. I don’t know when it was erected but was opened at least until 1961.

Hello Friends:
Reference my comment #19. When I was stationed at Camp Stanley there was a young Korean boy named “Johnny”. He stayed in the ROK barracks, I think. He was “adopted” by us soldiers. A man that was in my section Al Doucette. He wrote”As for Johnny, yes, I do remember him. I have quite a few pictures of him. He was a
nice young kid. Do you remember a Quackenbush? He was married to a Korean woman and had a little daughter. If, I’m not mistaken, he was trying to adopt Johnny. I don’t know if he did”…
Question: Does anyone remember Johnny? I pray that he is OK and maybe a citizen of the USA.
Good memories of the 13th Trans Co (H-21). God Bless, Donald R. Fox, retired, CSM

Just took a rushed 1/2 day trip from OSAN to see this city…my dad served somewhere here during the Korean War and I wanted to at least set foot in the same town since this is my first trip to Korea (2-weeks of USAFR training). I took several pictures of the blocks surrounding the train station and mall…I am really bummed that I didn’t have chance to do this research on the city before I went…your site provides a great overview and would have made my trip much more productive…since I had no idea what to expect when I got there. Let me know if you’d like pictures I took…would be happy to email them to you.

I’m trying to help my boyfriend’s daughter (Angela) find her mother’s family when I came across this website. The photos of the area around Uijongbu are beautiful! Angela’s dad was stationed in Camp Stanley and her parents were married there about 1980-81. Her mother was Korean. Does anyone know how to go about getting a marriage record from that time and place?

Thanks for any help anyone can give.
Dolores.

I’m trying to help my boyfriend’s daughter (Angela) find her mother’s family when I came across this website. The photos of the area around Uijongbu are beautiful! Angela’s dad was stationed in Camp Stanley and her parents were married there about 1980-81. Her mother was Korean. Does anyone know how to go about getting a marriage record from that time and place?
Thanks for any help anyone can give.
Dolores.
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Wonderful site. I’ve been stationed at Red Cloud almost a year. This past labor day weekend, I made my way through the trails that start behind Uijeongbu City Hall that lead to a trench system and a hiking trail. Went all the way to the top of a mountain. Not sure what part of what mountain, but it’s East by South east from Uijeongbu. Love the city and the Korean Culture.

Unbelievable!! When I was in Korea in 1953 Uijongbu was just an intersection of dusty dirt roads on the way from Seoul to Chorwon. drove through the place many times and it is hard to conceive of the progress that has been made. Guess that is why the North Korean government won’t allow their citizens to visit the South.

Co. L, 15th Regt. 3rd Div. went into reserve just north of Uijeonbu. We desperately needed replacements. It was just a sandy plain with some wrecked homes. I can’t believe how this city evolved.

I’m so glad I found this website. I was abandoned as a baby in 1966 and recently discovered that I was found in Uijeongbu. Seeing the photos from around that time was a real eyeopener for me. The only details the adoption agency can give me is the address of the house where I was found at the age of one month. Unfortunately all other records are now lost. Luckily for me I was adopted, not by Americans, but my dad was in the British army stationed in Hong Kong. Seeing these photos and reading the comments of people who were there at the time is quite emotional for me. Thanks for the images!

One thing I would be interested if someone could tell me if Korea was still recovering from the war by then (1966) as the adoption agency told me so and that a lot of families still abandoned their babies around that time?

I was there in 1965 and 1966. Yes, Korea was still recovering from the war, though I didn’t see any war-damaged buildings. That part of recovery was pretty well over. But modernization was around the corner. Farmers typically plowed with oxen, and ox carts were a common part of daily traffic along with bicycles. Riding a streetcar in Seoul I noticed that it was American and had a patent date of 1897 on the control panel. By today’s standards many people were poor, and there were a few beggars in the streets. I took a lot of pictures, and one of these years, if I live long enough, I’ll put them on my website.

Friends:
Reference # 19 and 29.
My tour was 1959-1960. Camp Stanley, 13th Trans Co (H-21). The road from Camp Stanley to Seoul was all dirt/rock. Women washed their clothes in rivers/creeks. Farmers used oxen. I never observed any tractors, etc. We had no showers/bath area for the first six months of my tour. I continue to marvel at the great improvements. It is beyond my understanding the progress in Korea and military installations also. God Bless You All,
CSM (Retired) Donald R. Fox

Does anyone have any information about the 60th transportation company at uijeongbu. I was stationed there from 1964 to 1965. I cannot remember the name of the camp. I cannot find any information about it. It’s like it never existed. It was a small camp not far from camp Red Cloud . Would like to hear from anyone who has any information and would like to share stories.

Larry, we’re in the same boat. I don’t remember the name of the camp where I was stationed either. I was over there just after you, 1965-1966, in the 5760h Signal Company attached to a missile battery. I guess I need to dig up a picture and post it to see if anybody can ID the place.

Larry and Steve, I’m not betting the farm on this, but it sounds like either Camp Falling Water or Camp Indian.

Wonderful site! So happy to find it.
I was there from 62 till 67 as a defense contractor, and have visited a couple of times since. But last time was in the 70s. What changes!
Do you happen to know anything about the 696th Ammunition
Supply Point just south of CRC. I think it was called ToBongSan ASP. I would like to know if it still exists. I heard there were some terrible floods in the area, but know no more.
In 62 it was the location for the 9th Ord Detachment (Direct Support) HAWK. The 9th later became a part of the 2/71st ADA Artillery.
Any leads about the area would be very much appreciated.
Thanks. and compliments on the wonderful work.

uijeongbu ,60-62 co.c 51st signal bn.I corp. most compounds were co. size,like 55th M.P.s , 3rd L.A.S, camp red cloud was 3-4 miles away. outside our co.wire the houses [houches]were mud with thach roofs.the people were very poor,hard workers.my heart broke for the children life was hard , winter deadly for them.
i’m glad things have improved so much over there.
thank you for this great site.
rance

just browsing thru,,shocked at the improvements,was at 128th aviation co uijong-bu 73-74. nothing there then except hangers and barracks,had a good time but lost and found some very good friends,changed my life forever, skoshi-man

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A Profile of USFK Camps In Uijongbu, South Korea

| July 30, 2007

Located just north of Seoul and about an hour south of Dongducheon, is the suburban city of Uijongbu:

Besides being nationally famous for serving the best budaechigae in the country the city is also home to soldiers of the Second Infantry Division. Below is a graphic of the locations of current and former USFK camps in Uijongbu:

Out of all of these camps only two remain operational today, Camp Red Cloud in the city’s northwest and Camp Stanley to the city’s southeast. All of the remaining camps have been closed since 2005 as part of USFK’s transformation program to reduce the force footprint in Korea. If you look at the map all of these camps used to be on the outskirts of the old city of Uijongbu. However, as Korea prospered economically so did Uijongbu and the camps were completely swallowed up by the surrounding city.

The urban density of Uijongbu played a part in the decision to reduce soldiers and consolidate camps in Uijongbu. After a number of these camps were closed down the anti-US groups started protesting that these camps were polluted wastelands that were a danger to the surrounding Korean community. During a recent visit to Uijongbu, I decided to see what the current status of the camps really is.

The first camp I started at was Camp Red Cloud:

Camp Red Cloud (CRC) is the home to the headquarters of the 2nd Infantry Division and a few miscellaneous units associated with the division headquarters. Here is a picture of the camp from a nearby mountain:

The camp’s namesake is Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud, a Winnebago Indian from Wisconsin that was post-humanously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War. The camp is quite nice and has a busy golf course that is usually over flowing with Korean golfers. Here is a picture of the division headquarters:

You can view more pictures of CRC at the below link:

From CRC I crossed the busy highway in front of the camp and walked down the road through the small “ville” in front of CRC and towards Camp La Guardia. The ville area in front of CRC is not really your typical soldier “ville” in Korea and is more of what you see in a typical Korean neighborhood. Camp La Guardia like many 2ID camps closed down in 2005. The camp is actually built around an old airstrip that originally gave the camp it’s name by being named after La Guardia Airport in New York. Before closing down, Camp La Guardia served as the home for an engineer bridging company because the runway provided plenty of room to park the large engineer equipment. The engineers are long gone and when I approached the front gate I noticed a ROK Army soldier guarding the gate. I asked him if I can take a picture of the camp from inside the gate and he would not let me. So I took this picture later on in the day from Cheonbosan Mountain that overlooks Uijongbu:

From La Guardia I walked down to the Uijongbu train station which sits adjacent to Camp Falling Water. Camp Falling Water used to serve as the home for the Department of Public Works (DPW). DPW is staffed with Korean workers that are responsible for maintenance operations on the USFK camps. Camp Falling Water is a very small camp, more like a collection of warehouses, that was closed down in 2005 as well.

From the train station I caught a bus to Camp Kyle that sits on the northeast side of the city. The camp is named after 2nd Lieutenant Darwin Kyle who was post-humanously awarded the Medal of Honor during the Korean War. This camp was also closed in 2005 and was home to a maintenance company and a quartermaster company when it closed. At the camp’s entrance I once again talked to a couple of ROK Army guards that told me I could not take pictures of the camp because it was Top Secret. For being some place so Top Secret it sure was easy to get a picture by walking over to the nearby pedestrian overpass and taking a picture of the camp from up there:

No that is not a massive oil slick on the camp as the anti-US groups would have you believe, but just water from an earlier rain shower. I did see some ROK Army trucks moving around the camp, but besides that no activity at all. From Camp Kyle I walked along the side of the camp and followed a trail that leads up Cheonbo Mountain behind the camp and took this overhead view of the camp:

Notice that some how all these green trees are some how growing on this polluted USFK camp. From up on the mountain I could also see Camp Essayons which lies on the western slope of the mountain:

Camp Essayons many years ago was once home to an engineer unit that named the camp after the Corps of Engineers motto of Essayons, which is French for “Let Us Try”. Camp Essayons was last home to a military intelligence battalion before the camp also closed down in 2005 as part of the USFK transformation.

From the very top of the mountain I could see Camp Stanley as well, that lies to the city’s southeast on the slopes of Mt. Surak:

Camp Stanley is named after Colonel Thomas Stanley who was killed in a vehicle accident in Italy in 1944 during World War II.

Camp Stanley is currently still open and is mainly a logistical base for the 2nd Infantry Division. Camp Stanley has actually escaped being surrounded by urban sprawl due to the fact that is located right next to a Korean prison and it’s adjacent rice paddies. The Korean prison is the building you see above with the blue roof. From Camp Stanley you can sometimes hear the prisoners singing songs and cadence from the prison. You can often see them working in the prison’s rice paddies as well. The picture below is of Camp Stanley as viewed from Surak Mountain:

Across the street from Camp Stanley you can see the rice paddies the prisoners work in that helps give the area a distinct aroma during the summer months. The quality of life on Camp Stanley greatly improved two years ago with the opening of the new PX on the camp:

Camp Stanley is also home to the only real soldier “ville” in Uijongbu where one can find the typical juicy bars, pawn shops, chicken on a stick shacks, counterfeit clothing stores, coin & plaque shops, and other typical staples of a “ville” in Korea:

You can read more about Camp Stanley at the below link:

Finally, from Cheonbo Mountain I had a bird’s eye view over tiny Camp Sears:

Camp Sears was once home to a headquarters battery of a short-range air defense battalion. The Camp was named after Sergeant First Class Jerome Sears who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross during the Korean War. The camp closed as well in 2005. While walking down the mountain towards the camp I could see that some how locals were growing crops along the polluted fence line of this USFK Camp:

Quite shocking that locals would be willing to eat crops grown in such polluted soil. I then walked to the front gate of the camp and found no one guarding the camp and was able to take this picture of the front of the camp:

Once again the oasis of green growing in the middle of the dense urban jungle of Uijongbu is quite striking. The fact is that these USFK camps are much cleaner than an equivalent ROK Army base that has been open for 50 years. The camps in general are much cleaner than surrounding communities as well. The camps have plenty of trees and open space that could be turned into useful parks and facilities for the city of Uijongbu. The local government had big plans to turn the camps into parks and administrative centers for the city. Camp La Guardia and Camp Falling Water would have been an excellent locations to turn into a large city park in the section of the city in desperate need of some green space.

However, as usual the outside anti-US groups ruined things for the surrounding community by pushing their bogus pollution agenda. Because of the anti-US groups the hand over of the land was delayed for two years and when the camps were finally handed over, the land was given to the ROK Army instead of the local government. Many people I know in Uijongbu are very upset by the interference of the anti-US groups.

If anti-US groups like Green Korea really cared about the environment, instead of making bogus camp pollution claims, they should be complaining that USFK should clean the graffiti on Cheonbo Mountain overlooking Uijongbu. This faded unit crest is of the old 702nd MSB unit that was stationed at Camp Sears more than a decade ago:

The mountain also has other smaller patches of graffiti from other units as well. Now this is something that I can legitimately see people complaining to USFK to clean up, however Green Korea is silent. It is because the anti-US groups like Green Korea do not care about the environment and instead were formed to promote an anti-USFK agenda that has since been linked to a North Korean spy ring. Creating as many obstacles as possible to prevent the USFK transformation was the goal of Green Korea and their North Korean puppet masters, not any concern about the environment. So in the end the USFK transformation happened anyway and the only people that lost out due to the anti-US groups were the people of Uijongbu.

If you have an interesting or funny veteran story from your time in Korea I would love to hear it. If it is a good story I am willing to publish it here on the ROK Drop. It doesn’t matter what decade you served just as long as it is interesting or funny. If you have a story to share you can e-mail the story to me.

Thanks for reading the ROK Drop.

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link: