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HOW IT WAS!KUNSAN AIRBASEPhotos of Charles Bustion (1952-1953) |
HOW IT WAS:
KUNSAN AIR BASE
(1952-1953) |
Photos of Kunsan Airbase (1952-1953):Acknowledgement: Thanks to Charles Bustion of Rolla, Missouri for his narratives and photographs that illuminated another side of the Korean War -- the human suffering of the children.
 Charles Bustion was an Air Force photographer in 1952 and 1953, stationed at Kunsan. He was assigned to the 3rd Air Base Group. His primary job was to photograph maps for the pilots to take on nighttime missions. However, the photos he took around Kunsan of the children are powerful studies on the poverty and suffering amongst the people at the time. People remember the farmers working in their fields; children in line marching off to school; and children at play in the streets. People remember seeing photos of the neatly dressed orphans dressed in the donated clothes from the Chaplain with their faces scrubbed clean. However, Charles' photos show another side of life in Kunsan. People don't like to talk about the people living in the hillside next to the railroad tracks in Kunsan City. People don't like to talk about the people living in the caves. People don't like to remember seeing the kids scavenging through the base garbage dump looking for scraps of food. People don't like to remember the kids without shoes in mid-winter with feet wrapped in rags as makeshift shoes. People don't like to remember the haunting looks of hunger and abject poverty that was all around. These were not pretty shots...but they depicted the fate of the Korean lower-classes during the Korean War.
Charles' daughter Nancy Hubing wrote, "I believe that all of the photos are from in and around Kunsan. He visited the orphanage with a small group. The trip was organized by the base chaplain. He also explored the surrounding area during his time off and took photos, mostly of children. I don't believe he ever went very far from Kunsan. Most of the photos were actually taken by him, but some may have been taken by other AF photographers, since they tended to share good photos. He doesn't remember which ones were taken by others, except that the one of the dog with soldier was definitely not taken by him."
She continued, "We recently put together a show of the photos for display on the University of Missouri-Rolla campus. In preparation for this, he created a document describing what he could remember about the photos and life at Kunsan. I'll try to get that document and send it to you by email. It describes several interesting experiences that he had."
Charles Bustion later wrote, "I guess I never felt that I "owned" the photos. They were made using Gov. equipment, film, printers etc. and many times, made on Gov. time. (While on duty) The only pictures I would classify as "mine" were those made with my 35mm camera that I sent to Japan for processing. If Nancy sent you any color pictures they were made from "my" slides."
3rd Air Base Group Photo LabCharles wrote, "My main task in Korea was to produce target maps for B-26 night raids. Since we employed Koreans all over the base to do menial labor, it did not seem to be very smart to generate the photos until the last possible minute. This would rule out the possibility of a North Korean spy getting wind of where the attack would hit. Usually, we received the map to be copied with the target area marked around midnight. The copy was wanted now! If not sooner. In order to speed up the processing we heated the developing chemicals considerably above the recommended temperatures. This allowed us to take an enlarged photo of the small area marked, develop the film, dry it and print finished pictures in about thirty minutes. Processing the film and prints normally would have taken three to four hours. The pilots that used the photos were amazed, by the time they returned to the base the photos were beginning to fade out." He went on, "Our caution was proven several weeks later. We had a very articulate Korean doing cleaning chores around the lab on the day shift. Kim spoke very good English, he was young and always smiling. One morning when the day crew came in they found that a screwdriver had been driven through the enlarger lens and the bellows had been ripped with a knife. Kim did not show that morning so, he was number one suspect. The damage was quickly repaired, we always had spare parts. The Military police contacted the local ROK Constabulary (Korean Police) and a couple of days later two of us were hauled to the local station to make an I.D. We recognized Kim immediately and informed the cops that they had the right suspect. Kim started to protest and got a rifle butt in the teeth and a very bloody face. They drug him away half conscious and probably shot him. Those people played rough!" He continued, "One of the targets our aircraft sought were the trains bringing supplies to the enemy from the north. The B-26 two engine bombers seemed to be having a great turkey shoot. Pilots were reporting at least one train destroyed on every run, sometimes two. This was wonderful until one of the officers in HQ started looking at statistics on the total number of locomotives in North Korea. He discovered that if our reported "kills" were correct we had destroyed more trains than existed not only in Korea but, all of Southern China. Obiviously, this could not be correct since trains continued to operate in both countries. This problem was easy to correct. Long focal length, fixed focus cameras were installed in each bomber aimed straight down. Light sensors were hooked to the cameras so that each time the plane passed over a bright light the shutter would trip. To avoid snapping pictures of fires or cities, a power switch was added to the pilots control panel so that the camera was "0ff" except during the bomb run. The first pictures we developed from planes using these cameras were very interesting. You could plainly see a train and 20 to 30 yards to the side a bomb explosion. Suddenly, the reported "kill" rates reported by the flying crews dropped from a fantastic 80% to a more likely 20%. That was probably still too high but much closer to fact than previous reports had been." (NOTE: B-26 crews were known to radio in false damage reports at times. For example, a crew from another squadron came upon a train that they were going to attack -- but another another squadron's aircraft had already reported via radio that it was destroyed with secondary explosions. However, this was impossible as the MOVING train's boxcars were still covered with snow with no evidence of damage. In addition, these fantastically high number counts also proved to be a real bone of contention with the folks of the 474th Fighter Bomber Wing of Kunsan AB. They didn't believe for one minute the reported counts of the 3rd BW. They were also in the air-to-ground attack business too -- though in the daytime. Their numbers were low because, like in Vietnam, the fighters frag orders sent them repeatedly against the same targets at the same hour from the same direction. They were sitting ducks ... and they believed the B-26 numbers were pure fiction. However, they also understood why the B-26 folks bolstered their numbers. Glory was hard to come by in the Korean War for the bomber/fighter-bomber folks. All attention was hogged by the glory hounds of the F-86 fighter squadrons.) Go to 3rd Air Base Group, Photo Lab for more details of Charles Bustion's time at Kunsan AB (K-8)| Top left: Photo Lab; Top right: Photo Lab; Bottom left: Charles Bustion; Bottom left: Billets and tents on main base. (Click on photo to enlarge) The Photo Lab was down near the flightline in the mass of Maintenance and Operations tents. Notice the "duck walk" in front of the tent to keep from sinking in the mud in the rainy season. Also notice that a barbed wire fence divides the tent and cuts across the duck walk. Note the kerosene barrel to the side and the smoke stack of the oil heater. The billets were prefab type shipped in from Japan and hastily erected in 1951. However, there were not enough space and many of the Air Force were forced to bunk in the 12-man tents. All Army personnel on the base lived in the 12-man tents in the Tent City near the athletic field on the main base. |
Views from the Base | Photo taken of the north end of base looking south-east. The area is just above the BOQ area looking down from Gunsmoke Hill. This photo shows over-run area of the north-south runway under construction. The runway construction area is a long straight line running from left to right just inside the tidal mudflats. The construction was started by the 808th Engineering Aviation Battalion (EAB) (SCARWAF) and later completed by the 841st EAB (SCARWAF) in the winter of 1953. The runway was a 9,000 ft runway that required tons of rock and concrete to stabilize the ground. There is some sort of U.S. military building in the middle as there are electric poles running to it. (Korean farms had no electrical power.) There is a large cleared area probably for trucks running from the quarry operations at two locations just to the north of the base. The Korean farm houses were just outside the perimeter on the north end of base -- and sometimes inside the perimeter as encroached on the base to gain more arable land to farm. (Click on the photo to enlarge) |
NOTES: | Dec 99: View of Wolfpack Park after snowstorm. This is the highest point and northernmost area of the base. The photo is looking south-east. Charles took the pictures of the off-base areas from this vantage point. However, the photos are to the rear of the picture (right: northwest) and left (northeast). This is also the general area that Charles took the picture above. This area is directly above the BOQ and the the runway overrun can be seen on clear days over the apartments. The Yellow Sea can be seen beyond the runway. If you go to the right, the other side of the hill (east side of the base) can be viewed. The road leading up to Wolfpack Park is on the left along the fence line. The apartment buildings to the right are the ROKAF married officer/enlisted apartments. The area directly below the fence is off-base. In this little "finger" are farmer's houses. (Click on photo to enlarge) |
 Stone crusher at
quarry operation (Dec 53)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Courtesy Walter Bienieki) |  Concrete paver and
finisher on new strip (Dec 53)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Courtesy Walter Bienieki) |
 This group of photos appear to be taken from the northern-most point (and highest point) of the base on Gunsmoke Hill in the vicinity of the present-day Wolfpack Park. Charles stated, "We nearly always headed toward the N. side because that was closer to our quarters and the Lab."
Top left: Photo showing what was known as "Sand Hill" which had a quarry used by the base. From the angle to "Sand Hill" this photo is taken to the northwest from Gunsmoke Hill. The access road shown leads down to the main road from the North Gate. At the intersection with the road that goes to Kunsan City, the Kunsan Airport is to the left. (This is the rice paddy area in the photo.) If you go straight ahead, about a 1/4 mile up a dirt road you'll find the MACS-1 hill. Top right: The hill in the background appears to be the site for the Marine MACS-1 located about a 1/2 mile north of the North Gate. The Marines operated the Ground Control Intercept (GCI) operations for the region. They were forced to move off-base to the hill after the north-south runway was started in 1953. Bottom: Another view of MACS-1 hill.
NOTES:
 | Top: View of "Sand Hill" quarry to north (1954). View looking north from the MACS-1 hill which was located a 1/2 mile north of the North Gate. The Yellow Sea is to left. (Courtesy Joe Smutts) Bottom: Photo of MACS-1 hilltop (1953) (From 3rd Bomb Wing Welcome Brochure (1954)) (Click on photo to enlarge) |
Right: Looking east as the rolling hills are to the north-east of the base. This land was higher than the rice field areas which were fed by gravity-fed irrigation. This land was used to cultivate cabbages and chili peppers. Left: Looking east. Farming hamlet of mud-wattle houses (choga-chip) with thatched roofs. The location of the kitchen hearth area is identified from the smoke flue each house has. Road connecting the North Gate to the Kunsan main road is seen in the upper left. This road now leads to the Kunsan Airport just outside the North Gate.
(Click on the photos to enlarge) |
 | Picture taken from Gunsmoke Hill looking out over the base. Photo taken directly above the Wing Commander's billet -- seen between the two houses on the right. The Commanders' billets were built on three tiers with the Wing Commander on the bottom tier closest to the main base. To the left was the Base Hospital. In the center of the photo is the tent city of the 808th Engineering Aviation Battalion. At the top of the photo is the Yellow Sea. (Click on the photo to enlarge) |
NOTES: Company A area in Tent City (Dec 53)
(Courtesy Walter Bienieki) |  Aerial View of Base (1952)
(Courtesy 13th Bomb Squadron Site) |
| Left: Picture of the 808th EAB tent city seen in the center of Charles picture above. Right: Aerial view of the base before the north-south runway was built. The Commanders' billets are in the top right corner in the BOQ area. One sees three rows of white houses on the side of a hill. The Wing Commander's house is on the left and to the bottom (bottom tier). This hill -- currently called "Gunsmoke Hill" -- has the highest, as well as the northern-most point on base. The area he shot the pics in is currently called "Wolfpack Park".) From the hill, Charles shot the other photos looking north towards the Marine MACS-1 and east showing the farms on the hillside. The picture Charles took of the runway construction was taken just above the BOQ area -- outside the base perimeter just outside the North Gate. The runway construction started in the rice field area in the upper left-hand corner near the BOQ area and extended south-east. The original construction was for a 5,000 ft. runway but was later extended to a 9,000 ft. runway. (Click on the photo to enlarge) |
 Security Police and K-9. (Photographer: Unknown)
(Click on the photo to enlarge) |
Adults in the Local Area| Top left: Farmer ladies; Top Right: Farmer lady; Bottom: Josans with GI coats (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
Little boys along fence line| Little boys along the fence line. Notice the typical mud-wattle houses of the farmers with the thatched roofs. Note on the picture on the left, the tidal flats in the background. Suspect this photo taken on the north end of base looking west. Photo on the right shows the rolling hills on the east side of the base. (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
Faces of Poverty on the Children| Summer was a little easier on the kids. One didn't have to worry about frostbite from the bitter Korean winters. However, it was the working season and everyone -- even the youngest -- worked to survive. Even in the worst famine, you could scavenge millet (grass seeds) for food in summer. (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
| In the winter, it became a desperate struggle to survive. In the photos above, the socks, worn out from long use, hangs loosely around the ankles. The trousers of the youngster above has patches over the patches and tells the tale of desperate poverty. The little girl with filthy, matted hair, a filthy smock and runny nose was typical of the urchins that roamed the streets. GIs witnessed youngsters with frostbitten feet scavenging through the garbage dump searching for something to eat. Other units found these half-frozen waifs and brought them into the units to be fed and clothed. (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
| Dirty, unkempt and there is a look of hardness in their eyes. The little girl with the GI candy bar doesn't even smile. The look of pain on the others. There were signs of malnutrion on some. Middle left: The pony cart was a typical form of farm transportation of the time. The carts drawn by ponies or oxen were the norm for transportation. It was not until the 1970s that small one-wheeled farm engines that could be hooked up to a trailer became the standard. It was not until the 1990s that the farm tractors were introduced using low-interest loans. Bottom right: Drawing water. This was the norm for the farm areas. There was no running water outside of the Kunsan City area. Bottom left: Cooking in a farm kitchen area in a large metal pot inset over the fire. The fire also provided hondol heat to the "choga chip" (mud-wattle farm house). (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
 | Top left: The duty of caring for younger siblings fell to the children as the parents worked in the fields. Carrying the young child piggy-back with a blanket wrapped around one's midrift is still the custom today for many people. Top right: The typical school uniform for boys was the black shirt with silver buttons and a black cap. What was amazing was that in the middle of the war, the youngsters were going to school to learn in hangul (Korean) instead of Japanese. Schooling was only compulsory until elementary school. Middle left: The little boy has the look of suspicion that comes from scratching for a living. Bottom: The photo in the kitchen hearth area shows a family group clustered around the hearth for warmth. (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
NOTES: Kids at the Garbage Dump (1952)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Courtesy Jack Boyer) |  Kunsan Orphanage (1952)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Courtesy Jack Boyer) |
Orphanage Trip to BaseCharles wrote, "One of the guys I worked with asked me if I would be interested in visiting a Korean orphanage. Anything to break the routine, I was all for it. A chaplin set up the trip and hauled several of us to the little shelter that the kids lived in. This "room" was more like a small cave with a partial wood and canvas front to form an enclosure that kept most of the weather out. the floor was bare dirt with a few large rocks used for seats or tables. Frankly, the whole thing looked more like a wild animal den rather than a human habitat. There were were several young children, maybe five to twelve years old and a couple of Korean ladies that seemed to be the guardians who took care of the children. The only light in the enclosure was whatever reflected through the holes in the canvas from outside. They had a small fire in the room for heat and cooking. Bedding for everyone seemed to be a couple of ragged blankets spread on the floor. Running water and an indoor toilet were probably luxuries they had never even seen. Everyone had a haunted look of despair, they had little or nothing and did not expect their situation to improve. As much as we sympathized with their plight, we really had very little that we could offer. We took up a collection of the script that was used for money all over South Korea and gave that to the ladies." (NOTE: From the Charles' description, this is NOT the orphanage in Kunsan City. The orphanage in Kunsan City was in a small Japanese-style house on the side of a hill. The orphanage that Charles visited would most likely have been an "orphanage" set up for the North Korean refugees near Eunjak-sa (Buddhist temple) in Soryo-dong. This is closer to the base. The conditions in the "refugee camps" were horrific. About a hundred people were crammed into an unheated warehouse and were rationed food and charcoal to survive.)
| Photos of the children of the orphanage. Notice in scene of children, the sign that reads "Food Will Not Be Taken Out" showing this was at an on-base mess hall. Scene of a crowd loading on a truck for a trip to base. (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
Kunsan Area ScenesCharles wrote, "When you first venture away from the cities into the countryside you encounter an overwhelming aroma. "Night Soil" is the fertilizer of choice. You can make a reasonable guess as to its composition. When you arise early in the morning and casually inspect the villages and farms in the nearby area you will notice an elderly gentleman in a white, sheet like dress with a straw hat on his head pushing a little hand cart of original manufacture from one small dwelling to another. At each house he is given a container which he empties into a large can on his cart. This mixture is carried to a nearby pit where it is dumped to ferment. At the proper time this concoction is removed from the pit and spread carefully on the fields and gardens. We were all amazed at the beautiful, deep green color of the growing rice and wheat in these farmed areas. We were also warned, repeatedly, not to touch, eat or have any contact with the native food if we wished to stay healthy." (NOTE: That advice of not eating anything grown in Korea was good advice in those days. Diarhea and intestinal parasites would be the least of their worries. During those times, there were large pots set up along side the fields to store the "night soil" for use on the fields. In Kunsan City, the oxen pulled cart was the common sight for the "honey wagon." It is only in the past twenty years that Korea has moved away from the labor intensive "night soil" collection method to chemical fertilizers. The Koreans no longer use "night soil" as a fertilizer and the days of the "honey wagon" are gone -- however, "pig poop" fertilizer is still popular and just as potent in smell.)
He continued, "Wood is very scarce in South Korea. Most of the fires that are used to cook or heat a dwelling are very small by necessity. We would often see elderly women, (that might mean 35 years old) walking along a path or a dirt road picking up small twigs or pieces of straw for a fire. We had more trees on the base than were visible anywhere in the area around it. They had probably been cut down years before for timber or firewood." (NOTE: In 1975, the Chonju Paper Co. (later Hansol Paper Co.) received the contract to reforest Korea. National Arbor day was started which people actually went out to plant trees. Trees seedlings were provided free to villages who replanted their own hills. The unbridled success of this program is seen in the results -- the hills and mountains are filled with trees. People who revisit Korea can't recognize the area. Throughout Korea, the re-forestation projects started with fast growing cottonwoods and weeping willows, but now have switched to hardier varieties of trees that add beauty in spring and fall to the hills.) | Top left: Grain fields being harvested. The dry land harvesting is most likely barley (boili). Top right: The farmer stooping over his crops was a common scene in Korea. The method of planting by hand persisted in Korea until the 1970s when the first mechanical planter machines were introduced. This photo appears to be taken in Okku-gu in a section on the road to Kunsan. The land is still used for farming of rice. Bottom left: Rolling hills east of the base. Notice that the hills are denuded of trees. Bottom right: Kunsan stream (location unknown). (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
| Top left: Small shrine. Very unusual. Appears to be Japanese -- possibly an ancestral shrine. Top right: People actually lived in hovels like this built on hillsides. In Kunsan near the train station, people lived in caves dug into the hillside.Middle left: Farmer hauling wood and scraps for firewood. Little girl balances a water can on her head. Middle right: Kunsan City scene. The stone wall construction indicates the location as in the old Japanese section of the City near the present-day Wolmyong Park. The high-walled structure identifies the location as against the hill near Jae-il Girls Middle School.Bottom left: Kunsan City market. Most likely the Open Market near the train station.Bottom right: Kimchee in barrels. (Click on the photos to enlarge) |
For comments or inputs, contact Kalani O'Sullivan.NOTICE/DISCLAIMER: The content of this page is unofficial and the views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of anyone associated with this page or any of those linked from this site. All opinions are those of the writer and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Links to other web pages are provided for convenience and do not, in any way, constitute an endorsement of the linked pages or any commercial or private issues or products presented there. None of this site has been endorsed by the DOD, the Air Force, the 8th Fighter Wing or Mickey Mouse. All Air Force links are publicly accessible through the world-wide web. When eye-witness accounts conflict with OFFICIAL DOD materials, this website opts to lend credence to the people who were there.
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