Tag: Dragon Hill Lodge

It looks like the end of the Dragon Hill Lodge may happen in the near future:

The government is in talks with U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) about having the site of Yongsan Garrison’s Dragon Hill Lodge returned to South Korea in exchange for an alternative plot of land, sources said Monday.

According to foreign and defense ministry officials, the two sides have been in negotiations to return a 105,000 square-meter site hosting Dragon Hill Lodge, situated next to the presidential office in central Seoul, to the South Korean government. 

In return, Seoul will provide a plot of land at a different site. 

The sources said the two sides are expected to reach an agreement in the near future. 

Seoul and Washington had previously planned to retain a U.S. military base at the Dragon Hill Lodge site to host a liaison office for USFK and the United Nations Command as well as a front office for the ROK/US Combined Forces Command in the wake of the U.S. forces’ relocation to Pyeongtaek.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering how popular the Dragon Hill Lodge is, I would not be surprised if from the US side these talks get slow rolled as much as possible:

There was sharp criticism from the city of Seoul and civic groups that leaving the 240,000㎡ ROK-US CFC on the site of the Yongsan Garrison would cause the park that will be built there after the land is returned to South Korea to end up looking malformed. South Korea and the US bowed to the pressure by agreeing at the end of last year to move ROK-US CFC to a building on the precincts of South Korea’s Ministry of Defense, located nearby. The relocation of the ROK-US CFC to the Defense Ministry grounds is reportedly supposed to be completed within the year.

On the other hand, little progress has reportedly been made in deliberations between South Korea and the US about relocating the Dragon Hill Lodge, which is located on the grounds of the base. The original agreement was for the 84,000㎡ resort to remain at Yongsan regardless of the base’s relocation. But recently, objections have been raised about leaving a US military facility that is not open to South Koreans at the center of the planned park.“There have not been any official discussions, and we are currently exchanging opinions,” said Defense Ministry spokesperson Choi Hyeon-su when asked about this in April.  [Hankyoreh]

You can read more at the link.

Could this be the beginning of the end of the Dragon Hill Lodge?  I hope not:

The Ministry of National Defense plans to discuss demolishing the Dragon Hill Hotel, a lodging facility for U.S. soldiers inside the Yongsan garrison with the United States Forces Korea (USFK).

This is in line with the relocation of USFK headquarters from Yongsan to Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province by the end of this year. The USFK initially planned to keep the hotel in Yongsan.

However, there have been complaints from locals that the existence of the hotel is not helpful for a plan to redevelop the Yongsan base.

“We will take enough time with the USFK to discuss the details for the demolition of the facility,” defense ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said in a media briefing, Tuesday.  [Korea Times via a reader tip]

You can read more at the link, but the Dragon Hill Lodge is a great facility and it seems like a waste to destroy it.  Plus there is a huge number of Korean national that are employed there that would lose their jobs.  Hopefully something can be worked out.

Have you ever wondered why the Dragon Hill Lodge costs so much more than other US military hotels, like the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo? Well the Stars & Stripes has found the answer:

Standard hotel rooms at The New Sanno hotel in Tokyo and the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul look much the same.

Both are in modern, well-adorned hotels that feature multiple restaurants, beauty salons, room service, shops and indoor swimming pools. Rooms at both come with a double bed, a sleeper sofa, television, DVD player and mini-fridge.

There’s one big difference, though.

The Sanno, run by the Navy, is $63 a night for a military business traveler, while the Dragon Hill charges $213 more than three times as much.

Both hotels offer similar and much cheaper  rates to servicemembers on vacation. A private on leave can rent a room at the Sanno for $40 a night, and $59 a night at the Dragon.

Sorting out the price difference, hotel officials say, involves fluid financial pressures that range from international agreements to exchange rates to meat deliveries. It also involves the Dragons unique role in the Armys resort system, according to officials who oversee the Armed Forces Recreation Centers.

Basically the Dragon Hill management is saying that they have to make up the costs of other defense hotels that may not be turning a profit or need to pay for renovations. The Dragon Hill receives such a high number of temporary duty (TDY) visitors that are on government travel orders that the Dragon Hill makes sure they charge to maximum room rates to receive the maximum profit from all the TDY visitors.

However, here is the real reason why the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo is so much cheaper:

Gorman knows the Dragons business rates cant always compete with those at The New Sanno. Thats mainly because the Tokyo facility operates under a special agreement in which the Japanese government pays the salaries of Japanese workers, according to Charles Cavill, the Sannos director.

The Sanno has 310 workers, 300 of whom are Japanese, he said.

We have the lowest rate in the system of all military resort hotels, he said.

Could you imagine the up roar if USFK tried to get the Korean government to pay the Korean workers at the Dragon Hill? The Korean government won’t even pay an equitable cost with the US for keeping American forces stationed on the peninsula much less do something that would help the average soldier by keeping hotel rates down at the Dragon Hill.

By the way I have stayed at both hotels and both are quite nice. However, I would never stay in the Dragon Hill on my own dime because of the steep prices. I have only stayed there on TDY and was always shocked by the room rates and always left feeling thankful the government was paying for it. The New Sanno I have stayed at while on leave in Japan and would readily stay there again because the room prices are cheap in comparison to other Tokyo hotels of similar quality. The only problem is that you need to book rooms there way in advance because they go fast because of the cheap room rates. Overall I think the Dragon Hill is a nicer hotel than the New Sanno, but not worth the price to stay there on your own dime, while the New Sanno is worth every cent.