If you wish to listen to some golden oldies from 1940s-1990s, click on the selection on the list below.
There are about 80 full-length songs to choose from.
(NOTE: Song audio degraded due to space limitations, but adequate for computer listening.)
Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source
The photos are from
Christopher Shroyer's
Photo Album on
Webshots
. Shroyer, "Soup", SMSgt, USAF (Ret), was the Superintendent of the Information Systems
Flight, 8th Communications Squadron in 2002. His photos provide an excellent tour of
the base and its facilities. However, since then a new barracks, a new BX and new foodcourt have been built.
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. Neither the DOD, the Air Force, the 8th Fighter Wing nor
Mickey Mouse
has endorsed any of this site. All Air Force links are publicly accessible
through the worldwide web. If there is any discrepancy between eye-witness
accounts and OFFICIAL DOD records, this site opts to lend credence to the
eye-witness views.
This site has little in the way of technical information on Kunsan AB's
tactical planning, weekly exercises, or technical specifications on the
aircraft. Our position is that Kunsan AB has been promising to "kick ass" for
over thirty years and not a speck of bomb iron has hit North Korean soil yet.
These tactical plans change from week to week, if not daily, but the point is:
NO ONE from Kunsan has dropped a bomb on North Korea or shot a MiG from the
sky. All the plans are simply plans -- not reality.
HOWEVER, the hard work and ability of the airmen to carry out the war game
planning in the face of a hardship tour speaks loads of their caliber and
dedication. The PEOPLE is what we want to cover -- not the GAME. The second
item we wish to cover is the base which has served the airmen -- who served the
mission. Over the years, organizations have come and gone from the face of
Kunsan AB -- but the base has always remained to serve. The third item covers
those Korean events that affect the life of the airmen or mission at Kunsan.
This ranges from main gate protests to the ever-mounting efforts of Korea to
wean itself away from American military dependency.
HOW IT WAS!
OFF-BASE ISSUES:
A-TOWN AND PROSTITUTION
|
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT TAKE THIS PAGE TOO SERIOUSLY!!!
THERE IS NOTHING MYSTICAL ABOUT A-TOWN. IT IS JUST ANOTHER GI BAR ROW. THE ONLY DIFFERENCES ARE THE POLITICAL GAMES THAT ARE BEING PLAYED BY THE NGO ACTIVIST GROUPS, KOREAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, THE KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE, AND KUNSAN AB AUTHORITIES -- WITH THE FOREIGN BAR GIRLS OF A-TOWN AS PAWNS.
AS SEXUAL ASSAULTS ARE CURRENTLY A DOD SPECIAL INTEREST ITEM ALL USAF BASE INFORMATION ON RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULTS ARE BLACKED OUT. AS OF LATE 2003 BASE CENSORSHIP MAKES TRACKING BASE ACTIONS IMPOSSIBLE. THIS AREA IS NO LONGER MONITORED.
SPECIAL NOTE: In late 2004, we relocated away from Kunsan City so we will no longer cover A-town events. However, we will continue to cover the issue of prostitution and USFK efforts. We are NOT arguing about the morality issues involved -- only the hypocrisy that attempts to force the GIs to set the world-wide example, even though the US Congress has not ratified the UN protocol on human trafficking. We also object to the USFK and ROK hypocrisy of "window-dressing" campaigns that do nothing except to divert attention away from themselves and fail to address the root causes. |
RETURN TO MAIN TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A-TOWN:
KOREAN SEX INDUSTRY:
NGO ACTIVIST GROUPS:
USFK COMES UNDER FIRE
SEX HEALTH ISSUES:
CURFEW ISSUE:
BATTLE LINES OF MORALITY CAMPAIGN:
A-TOWN ISSUES:
BAR GIRL & SECURITY ISSUE::
OUR OPINION:
- Our Opinion on Various A-town Issues -- Censorship of Kunsan AB; Wing Commander Targeting A-town; Wing Commander's Morality Campaign; Justification for Putting A-town Off-limits; Morality Campaign without justification of Korean Law; How Can American Morality Standards Be Imposed on Korea Establishments in a Country Without Legal Standard For Trafficking?; Our Opinion on A-town Prostitution versus Kunsan City Prostitution; Our Opinion of A-town Bar Owners; Where the Bar Owners Went Wrong; Our Opinion of GI and A-town; Our opinion of Conditions in A-town
- Our Opinion of USFK Zero-Tolerance Policy -- Injustice as US and ROK have NOT ratified UN Convention; Injustice of Human Trafficking in the US; Human Trafficking Issue in Korea is NOT getting better despite all the hype (Korean prostitutes/Foreign Prostitutes); Human trafficking in labor in Korea; Prostitution Issue in Korea; Garbling of the Two Issues: Human Trafficking and Prostitution; Sexual Predators: Fear of the Side effects of the new Article 134; New UCMJ Article 134 to be Challenged???; Despite New Article 134, Korea will Continue to be Hypocrite on Prostitution;
KOREAN MODERN LITERATURE AND CAMPTOWNS: -- Book Review and Movies
|
Cool Dolphin Award of Excellence:
RoyceArt, Australia (NR)
Some of the awards this site has received. To view our awards, go to
Awards
.
HOW IT WAS:
KUNSAN AIRBASE
OFF BASE ISSUE: A-TOWN AND PROSTITUTION
IMPACTS OF BASE ACTIONS ON A-TOWN
|
Off-base Issues: Prostitution & A-Town
Background on A-Town: To hear Koreans talk, it was the American foreign devils who brought prostitution to Korea. But in fact, the Korean version of the Japanese "geisha" was the "kisaeng" girls. These were young girls that were sold to kisaeng houses to be brought up to be entertainers -- and by the nature of the trade were mistresses to their patrons. They were prostitutes but of a much higher class. They were trained in the kayagum stringed instrument and the "pansori" songs. Throughout Korean folk tales, the kisaeng plays an important role in society and some are portrayed as heroines. Lower classes of "kisaeng" were found in the roadside drinking establishments. There is a tale of a beautiful kisaeng in the Cholla Province who lured an invading general to a river where she killed him and then herself -- thus becoming a folk heroine. Popular movies continue to portray the kisaeng as stereotypes, but generally the treatment in the movies show a sympathetic view of the women.
Kisaeng at Pyongyang (Choson Dynasty -- 1910)
Kisaeng (Choson Dynasty -- 1910)
During the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945), the "kisaeng" title was dropped and they took up the title of "geisha." Though Kunsan was a small port for transhipment of rice to Japan, it had its own Kunsan Geisha Association in existence. When the Americans of the 3rd Battalion 63d Infantry Regiment arrived in Kunsan, the "geishas" operated out of the Yahhwa-dong area in the Japanese section of the town. Then Captain Robert Grenig remembered receiving a laughable complaint from the manager of the local petroleum plant that his mistress, the head of the Kunsan Geisha Association, was unfaithful to him and when he confronted her and her lover in her house, he was beaten up with the contents of the chamber pots being thrown at him. He brought his complaint to the local Military government representatives as though they would step in. The Kunsan harbor port facilities was also controlled by the 63d Inf Reg Supply Co. -- and bars catering to the Americans were soon established. Al Vidal of the 63d Inf Reg Service Co. recalled that just down the road was a bar (brothel) with its "working girls" gaudily dressed at the door as come-ons and how bad the inside of the bar smelled.
Travel was not restricted and the areas were on-limits, but there really wasn't much to see in the Kunsan area. Travel between the Headquarters in Iri (Iksan) and Kunsan was commonplace for the people from the Service Company and Kunsan AB Motor Pool. However, the Army personnel on base did not have much chance to get off base much unless on detail. According to Fred Ottoboni of the 803d Utility Company, 63d Inf Reg, personnel from the motor pool would smuggle women onto the base for purposes of sex in their trucks by hiding them in the cab -- and then transport them offbase in the same manner.
Remember that after World War II, people in Kunsan were starving and some were living in caves near the base. Many bare-foot orphaned children would be seen digging through the American garbage dump for scraps of food. Korea was NOT a pretty place. There was very little that could be said that was good about Kunsan. The Kunsan prostitutes still continued their trade. It was business as usual, but just under new management. There were the "geisha" who were the elite as entertainers in the Yahwah dong area -- and at the same time, there were the brothels with their "working girls" in the red-light district that sprang up near the train station.
It was during this timeframe in 1946 that the first "camptown" was established outside "ASCOM city" in Pupyong (Seoul). This "camptown" remained in place until the Korean War as the Military Advisory Group remained stationed there after the US Occupation forces were removed in 1949. As for Kunsan, the unit packed up for departure on March 1948 and turned the base, Camp Hillenmeyer, over to the Korean constabulary, the forerunner to the ROK Army.
Then came the disastrous Korean War that tore apart the country. During the Korean War, most of Korea was "off-limits" -- though "red-light districts" developed around the train terminals such as Yongdong-po in Seoul -- and the Yongsan Army Garrison area developed into what later became Itaewon. In 1951, the work was started to construct an air base at Kunsan (K-8) on the same site as Camp Hillenmeyer. However, the areas off-base were off-limits because of communist guerillas still roamed the area. The only ones allowed off-base were the drivers who it is rumored would smuggle women onto the base when they made their runs to pick up and drop off the "coolie" labor required to build the base. The men would dream of their Rest & Recuperation (R&R) leave to Japan. For the military on base without any source of sexual release, Jim Farr of the 3rd AIO remembered where GIs would sneak over the fence line for sex -- regardless that one could be shot. There were always women who waited outside the fence to play the game called "rice paddy daddy." The Army's 14th Trans Company stationed at Kunsan harbor fared better when it came to female company as the brothels in the city were just down the street. During this time, the prostitutes were called "Josans" -- taking it from the Japanese.
In the earlier days of the war when the main line of battle was still in flux along the 38th Parallel, many troops from the front lines would be sent to the rear areas to rest up instead of staying in Seoul. Some of these troops would be sent to Kunsan and sometimes these troops would be involved in instances of murder or rape against Koreans. Dave Smith of the 3rd Hospital Group said there was an incident in 1952 where a soldier from one of these units was found castrated and mutilated in a rice field near the base. It was said that he had raped a girl and the villagers had taken justice into their own hands. No action was taken.
During the Korean War there was desperate poverty everywhere. In Kunsan, many North Koreans fleeing south from the Chinese advance on Seoul resettled on the hills below Wolmyong park in mudwattle houses and shanties. Others crowded into the "red-light district" that developed around the train station. Ron Stout of the Marine VMF-513 vividly remembers in 1953 the sight of a young girl with an Amerasian baby covered with sores begging for food in exchange for sex. At that time, things were so desparate that people were living in holes dug out of the side of the hills.
"Josans" with GI coats in Kunsan during Korean War (1953) (Charles Bustion)
Shortly after the end of the Korean War, Kunsan City was again placed on-limits. There were houses with prostitutes outside the North gate in the area called "Sand Hill". Sometimes there were incidents between GIs and prostitutes. In 1953 Joe Smutts of the Marine MACS-1 remembered an incident where a USAF GI got into an altercation with a prostitute outside the North Gate over the cost of sex and shot her. A Marine Corpsman was sent to help, but it was too late as the woman was dead. The individual was apprehended and courtmartialed.
By 1955, the "red light" district near the train station was firmly established. This area was "off-limits" at night and town patrols were sent to patrol the area. In the old Japanese section (Yahhwa-dong), the "classier" bars for GIs were constructed. Actually they were described as two-story wood structures -- most likely of Japanese construction. There were only three sleazy bars in Kunsan City (Yah Hwa Dong) -- and only the Kimchi bus to connect it to the base during daylight hours only. This meant that any GI deciding to stay overnight in Kunsan was "trapped" or "lost" until the next morning.
However, because the personnel stationed on the "caretaker" base were so few, it was not worth the effort to "clean up" the problem. Instead, the attitude of the the 6170th Air Base Squadron was to simply "go with the flow." Kunsan was a place at the end of the chain of what would be called "civilized" life. Anything that wasn't nailed down was fair game for the "slickey boys" (thieves). Most of the perimeter fenceline was gone -- and attempting to guard the base with one man per ten miles was a farce. The buildings were for the most part from the Korean War and in various states of disrepair. Morale was the pits.
There were two separate forces on Kunsan in 1958 -- the permanent party and the nuclear forces out of Misawa, Japan. The nuclear forces settled down to life on the contingency pad (C-pad) and basically was a self-contained unit behind their barbed wire fence. Most of these TDY folks normally did not bother going down town -- because compared to the clean streets of Japan, Korea was a stinking hell hole. However, soon the prostitutes relocated to Haje just outside the perimeter fence near the C-pad -- which at the time was almost nonexistent. A thriving blackmarket was established with prostitutes in mudwattle houses. For a time, the nuclear forces were the 3rd Bomb Wing B-57Bs until they were phased out or sent to Vietnam. After that the F-100s started up the alert. Again, these TDY folks as a group did not frequent the off-base bars. It was strictly permanent party.
By 1959, the base was falling apart and morale was the pits. Many of the NCOs had "gone native." Col John Moench arrived in 1959 and attempted to "clean up" the mess and specifically mentioned the off-base bars and severe morale problems on the base. Col. John Moench as the 6170th ABG Commander remembers attending a special party with kisaengs that included entertainment -- geisha style. For the enlisted troops, there were two-story bars in the Yahhwa-dong area. In 1959, Col Moench describes visiting one of these bars (in his book Taking Command) on a "no-notice inspection" and GIs started diving out of windows to escape. On base, the practice at the Officers Club was to send a truck into town to pick a load of "josans" every week and then deliver them off-base at the end of the night. Incensed, Col Moench restricted the "josans" from base which resulted in a protest at the front gate by the "josans." However, he soon left for Osan and the base again returned to "going with the flow."
Life remained basically the same until the Pueblo incident in 1968 when the 4th TFW from Seymour Johnson decended onto the base with its three squadrons -- along with units from Vietnam. Suddenly the tiny hurricane evacuation/contingency base was overloaded with folks living in tents -- trying to stay warm in the bitter ROK winter. Things were on the verge of another war. Initially, there was no time to even think about downtown, but soon the crisis started to cool down. The 4th TFW returned home with their F-4s and ANG F-100s took their place under the cover wing of the 354th TFW. An Army Hawk unit (B Battery 6th Btn 44th ADA) was stationed at Kunsan to protect the base from aerial attack. It was at this point that the people had more free-time to go downtown -- and again the problem of people "disappearing" until the next morning's kimchi bus to base resurfaced.
The three-mile exclusionary zone was a new development initiated by the ROK government after the Pueblo Crisis to aid in protecting the bases. This zone limited the construction of any commercial facilities within the zone. At this time, the North Korean infiltrators were rampant throughout Korea -- and one large group just prior to the Pueblo Incident had been sent to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. Though Osan had the same three-mile exclusionary zone, Songtan with its sleazy bar row had already been built up outside the main gate so it remained intact. Kunsan, however, was prevented from establishing any bars outside the base as NEW businesses. Thus the bars remained in Yahhwa-dong in Kunsan City. The three bars from years past still remained. Because race relations took a nasty turn in the 1970s, a Mom-and-Pop store with a table out front became the hangout exclusively for blacks.
It was at this point, that a retired ROK general decided to profit from the idea by creating A-town as a "special tourist zone" specifically for American GIs. In this way, special tax advantages would be given to the bars. Korea would benefit from the earning of much needed foreign exchange. The benefit to the Americans was that by moving the "red-light" district closer to the base in a "controlled" area, the U.S. military could better "protect" their troops. This had been a problem of how to control the troops had plagued senior commanders on the base since the late 1950s. With the concurrence of base officials, construction was started in 1969. The graves were relocated and the first row of bars was built.
Since that time American town has been the play area for the GIs. In the 1950-1960s, the GIs were physically locked into Kunsan because transportation was a problem. Up to the mid-1980s, there were no freeways like there are now and the Americans stationed in Kunsan were truly on an isolated tour. Until the late 1970s, the roads to Osan were dirt and were a dusty ride in summer and a mud pit in wet weather. Going to Seoul was a major ride on the bus -- a tortuous trip. Even with the train, it was a long uncomfortable trip. Going to Osan or Seoul for weekend trips was NOT a feasible entertainment outlet.
A-town was a trade-off solution to the problem by keeping their personnel in a "controlled" area -- while providing them an "entertainment" outlet. From A-town the military personnel could be easily recalled to base in case of an emergency -- instead of being trapped downtown without transportation or inaccessible. Buses from A-town were geared to the GI work schedule. The A-town claxtons for base exercises are triggered by the American Security Police Town-patrol -- who occupied rooms in a building at the top of the hill "donated" by A-town for their use since the mid-1980s. In the late 1960s-1980 there was an Army presence on Kunsan with the Hawk unit that was stationed about 3 miles east of the base (on a hill top in the three-mile exclusionary zone) and the Town Patrol also included Army personnel. These advantages to Kunsan AB made A-town very "convenient" for the Kunsan AB hierarchy.
American Town (1971)
An excellent description of the background and development of A-town can be found at Out of the Shadows: Camptown Women, Military Brides and Korean (American) Communities. This treatise by Yuh Ji-yeon covers the camps, prostitutes as well as black market and women who marry GIs. It also states the "special entertainment zones" were set up by the South Korean government that coincide to the camptowns. According to the treatise,
"American Town is a camptown developed with the collusion of both the Korean and American governments. Built by a South Korean general and landowner in 1969 during the height of the Park Chung Hee regime, American Town turned farm fields in North Cholla Province into a sanctioned red-light district for soldiers. Distinctly marked off from the nearby civilian town of Kunsan and the surrounding countryside by chainlink fences, American Town was at first wholly owned by the two developers, but later became a corporation with shareholders. During the 1970s business was so good that the clubs opened even during the day and a fleet of buses ferried soldiers between Kunsan Air Force Base and the town. Today two buses operate between the town and the base. The town includes dormitory-like housing for the women, about 20 clubs, a dozen stores and a government-run health clinic where women receive mandatory testing for sexually transmitted diseases. (My Sister's Place, 33-34)
For the South Korean government, these camptowns and the regulation of camptown women have been crucial to maintaining smooth relations with the U.S. government. Katherine Moon points out that making sure that the camptown women played their proper role as entertainers and sexual playmates would foster goodwill among American soldiers was essential for the South Korean government. Thus the South Korean government embarked on an official program during the 1970s that praised the women for earning foreign exchange and boosting the economy, and contributing to the national defense by serving as personal ambassadors to U.S. troops. ..."
A-town was in operation starting in about 1969 as a low-class bar row. The "town" was built on a hill and the graves were relocated before the bars could be built. To get to it would have meant navigating across a dirt farm road to the "town" through Mimiyon. "American Town" was built (just outside the 3-mile exclusionary zone) as an alternative to the bars in town -- and to provide a "blind-eye" approach as a solution to the housing shortages on base. Very few ROKAF or "respectable" Koreans visited these bars except as guests of the Americans. The area was strictly for Americans and were basically very low-class tourist bars.
A-town was laid out with the streets in the same place as it is today. The first row of bars ran from the Game Room up past the VIP till the Las Vegas. These bars included rooms at the rear that were used as family quarters for the owners as well as rooms for the bar girls. At the intersection at the VIP bar another row of small bars led down towards the shanties in the rear of A-town.
In 1970, the road connecting the "town" directly to the main road was done with some American assistance. Gib Foulke, SMSgt, USAF (ret), wrote about his experiences at the "Koon" on his two tours (1965-1966/1969-1970). During his second tour, he talked about some off-base projects. He stated, "Another project was a joint US/Korea road construction project, ... from the main road to Kunsan City to a "new shopping" complex a few miles off base, known as "American Town". I had the "honor" of being one of the operators to build the road across the rice paddys to the gates of the complex ( believe it still exists). Among other "perks", several other CE types and I got to name several of the clubs (surely changed by now) and we received a "discount pass" for ANY services the complex offered. (FOND MEMORIES), especially for a young 2-stripe airman making it on $52 every two weeks."
He later wrote about the naming of the bars, "To the best of my recall, one of the bars was first named the "Dew Drop Inn" and we named another the "Eagles Nest". It seems that there was another bar/restaurant (?) called the "Golden Dragon" (not sure on that)." None of these names exist today in American Town's bar row.
The road that he mentions is still in use today though a bit improved over the years. The "shopping complex" was nothing more than a low-class bar row. The picture above shows the main entrance "street" leading up to the bar row. The bars were small and cramped with bar concrete floors and tables for the "girls." The toilets were "water closets" with the most primitive of facilities. The "streets" connecting the bars were unpaved in places and had open drainage trenches along the sides. The town was surrounded on all sides by rice paddies. (NOTE: In the 1970s, Korea was still poverty stricken and human waste was the common fertilizer. This led to some very strong smells in summer.)
The town was "incorporated" in 1971 meaning that it became a "business" with an office for renting small one-room shanties for the "girls" and providing garbage and other services for the town. The garbage dump was located to the rear of A-town. The one room shanties were built up along the rear of A-town to house the bar girls and GIs who lived in the "ville." The practice of having a "yobo" (rented wife) became common practice. Originally the town patrol were in the small building directly across from the Loading Zone in the 1970s, but later the A-town management traded places with the Town Patrol and they moved to the building at the top of the hill in the mid-1980s. The town-patrol by the Security Police controlled the claxton that would signal the start of an exercise or alert calling all personnel living in A-town -- or spending the night -- to get on the buses headed back to base. A "clinic" for checking the "girls" was established outside the town. In the mid-1980s a small church was built next to the clinic to minister to the A-town populace.
As a side note, Kenneth Wisz of the Nike unit at Kimje mentioned the bar-row Silvertown (A-town or America town) in 1974. Silvertown was still relatively "new" being "incorporated" in 1970 -- after they moved the graves that were on the hill. (NOTE: Up until the 1990s, a large sign with "Silvertown" was displayed above the Game room in the parking lot, though a beat up sign at the bridge near the main road said "American town.") The streets were dug up in places and "paved" in concrete -- if at all. It was the typical Korean GI bar row with crudely built bars with concrete slab floors. "WC" (or Water Closets) was the terminology for "toilets." The surrounding area was still rural with the rice fields fertilized with "night soil" (human waste). The smells were overpowering in summer.
During the 1970s, rats were a major problem in Kunsan and posters were affixed to farm buildings to protect against this threat to people --- but more importantly to the precious rice crop. In fact, school children were given day off from school during this time to bring back ten rat tails -- or at least that is the story. The times were very poor and the prostitutes of A-town were "praised" by the government for bringing in foreign currency from the GI trade. In addition during the 1970s, the cash-strapped government was trying to limit the birth rate of the rural community and posters of "birth control" were pasted on every building to encourage the traditionally large farm families to reduce in size. Up until the late 1980s, these posters were still seen on the buildings outside of the A-town walls. Unfortunately, "birth control" in Korea equated to abortion as a viable means of reducing population -- and in later years would prove to be a major problem as girl babies were selectively eliminated in the Confucian society that prides itself on male progeny.
Kenneth Wiscz later wrote, "As I remember it, Silvertown was a walled compound with a joint U.S./Korean guard at the gate. there was a free shuttle bus that ran every half hour from early morning to just before the 11pm curfew. I think the sign over the the gate read - "Welcome to Okku City-Silvertown". One has to remember that in 1974 was still part of the Park Chung-hee era and there was a martial law in effect. In 1974, a North Korean sympathizer from Japan, in an attempt on the life of President Park Chung-hee at a public gathering, shot and killed Mrs. Park. There was a curfew in effect between 11pm-5am. In Osan, everyone had to in the hotels and off the streets off-base by 10pm. There was no one to cut you any slack -- as North Korean infiltrators and "slickey boys" (hoodlums) were a real threat in those days.
He said, "The girls in Silvertown didn't like us (U.S. Army) too much because we wouldn't pay the big money like the Air Force dudes would." Being a "cheap charlie" is an epithet in Asia that is hurled at any GI who "knows the score." The scenario has been true for all the ages that GI bars have existed. The newbies are easy to spot in that after a few hours in the bar, they are busted and went home. Only the "cheap charlies" have money left and are still drinking when the bars close. That's when the "cheap charlies" start negotiating with the girls who haven't been picked up for the night.
However, we wrote back that it probably wasn't the money that turned the girls off to his unit. It was the fact that they were stationed 40km south of Kunsan and therefore made very poor "yobo" (rented wife) prospects. Every bargirl dreamed of getting a plane ticket to the "land of the big BX." Remember that Korea at the time was still a very poor country in 1974 and marrying a GI was a way out of the nightmare of poverty. For a bargirl in Korea, it was a dead-end road as she would never be able to marry into a respectable Korean family.
Though the base will never admit it, A-town was an essential evil in the 1970-1980s. A-town was strictly for the use of GIs -- and the "sailor bars" and brothels near the Kunsan train station were off-limits. Populated with "tourist clubs" that restricted Korean nationals, A-town was the only place the personnel of Kunsan AB could blow off steam. By and large, it was simply a place to get drunk and raise hell with your comrades.
However, there were scandals. In the days of the hondal space heaters, there were a few officers and airmen from Kunsan found asphyxiated by carbon monoxide in the rooms of prostitutes. There was also the case of serial murders of A-town prostitutes in 1977 by a GI. AlC Stephen Bowerman was convicted in the Korean courts for the murders. He could have been sentenced to death but was sentenced to life in January 1978 instead because of the "mitigating circumstances" that he was in Korea from a "friendly country in the defense of Korea." He murdered in cold blood both prostitutes -- strangling one and burying her body in a "red light district of Okku-gun" (A-town) and stabbing the other to death. (See 1977: Airman Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Murder for details. Note that in Korea, life sentences are most often commuted to 10 to 40 years. In this case, the individual is most likely no longer in Korean prison as the courts usually showed deference to the military in years past.)
 | Imprisonment for Murder (Courtesy Karl Hamner) (Click on image to enlarge) |
Wayne Hoff commented on A-town in 1978 as, "And who can forget "A"Town or Silvercity? Have a few nights there I can't remember but it's not that I didn't want to. You know how Crew Chief's are. Work hard and "play" harder. We did have an "image" to maintain. Between us, the Weapons folks and AMMO, I don't know who were the worst. I think AMMO were probably the best bet to get in the most trouble and get caught. "Chock Kickers" and "Load Toads" were a little smarter. Had many a ride on the "Animal Bus" back from "A" Town (last bus to get you back on base before curfew). Saw some pretty crazy things." We can humorously comment that times never change over the years and that "animal bus" is still operating.
In the 1980s, they built three-story dormitory-like structures with one-room studio apartments for the women of A-town -- though many American GIs opted to live there with their BAQ allowance. The family apartments were one-story, two bedroom apartments. At the top ramp behind the Las Vegas, a row of apartments were constructed again for the GI family group. These areas were normally not disturbed by the GI traffic and was relatively peaceful. It was not until the 1990s that the Koreans started invading A-town and their violence spilled over into this area. The once peaceful back area was now open territory for bloody fights between Koreans. It was no longer safe.
By the 1990s, most of the structures were falling apart. Currently, the one-room shanties are being torn down and the town has become strictly a bar-row -- versus a primary residence area for the camptown women. Outside the walls of A-town rooms were readily available as well -- and were preferred as the Town Patrol normally didn't patrol the streets outside the walls.
The town itself was a filthy, sleazy bar row with stinking toilets and surrounded by rows of one room shanties that housed the prostitutes working in the bars. "VD cards" were essential for all who worked in A-town bars. In the early 1970s, the bar girls had to wear tags giving the status of their latest VD check with the "red tag" being a warning to stay clear. A-town was surrounded by rice fields still fertilized by human waste and the stench was over-powering in summer.
In the 1980s, the smells of human waste fertilizer disappeared as the farmers converted to chemical fertilizers. Slowly A-town started to change. The bars were still filthy and smelly, but now the bars tried to upgrade the facilities. By the 1980s, the VD cards (booklets with the latest medical checkup date) were stored behind the bars for spot inspections by base authorities. The Town Patrol offices were located in the small facilities across from the Loading Zone. In the late-1980s, the Town Patrol moved to the gratis office space in the two-story concrete structure at the top of the hill. The Town Patrol had a small "holding area" for troublesome folks until they could be picked up and transported to base. The Town Office -- where GIs would rent their A-town shanty rooms -- moved into the office.
However, overall, A-town still remained a low-class bar row for GIs. In 1986 A-Town closed at 0200. Later they changed it to allow A-town to be open all night. However, most of the clubs still closed at 0200, and only a couple bars and restaurants would remain open to cater to the die-hard drinkers with nowhere to go. However, by the 1990s, the trickle of wealth from the miracle of the Han started to enter Kunsan. The first of the high-rise apartments were built and industry moved into the Kunjang Industrial area. With this new affluence, A-town started to change.
In the 1970s and '80s, the Korean Special Tourism Assn. enjoyed favorable treatment by the South Korean government. The South Korean government tacitly supported prostitution near the U.S. bases as a way of solidifying the military alliance and of bringing in scarce hard currency. The tourism association also enjoyed the privilege of selling tax-free liquor to Americans and other foreigners in its bars. (NOTE: The bar owner's membership in this organization is seen by the "Hibiscus" sign above the door of every bar in a-town showing them as a "tourist establishment.")
By the mid-1990s, Kunsan exploded into a bustling city of 350,000 people. High-rise apartments in Naundong and "room salons" and bars were being built everywhere. Affluence was apparent. The estuary dam area was opened up as a tourist attraction and "love hotels" were being hastily erected along the banks on the Changhang side of the river.
A-town had changed too. The bars were "upgraded" and the streets paved. However, the poorer Korean clientele started to appear in the bars of A-town creating a problem because of their clashes with GIs. A whole new set of rules had to be applied to the changing times.
There was a GI family area within the confines of A-town that was considered safe from the bar row traffic. The small area consisted of one-story two bedroom apartments in a row set to the rear of the bar row area. There were also one bedroom brick structures as well -- that normally housed A1C-TSgt and families. The advantage was that the A-town bus was conveniently close for the GI and dependent wives to get to base -- as most were lower-ranking GIs who were not authorized cars.
However, starting in the mid-1990s, the Korean riff-raff and "mafia" types started getting into fights in A-town using knives. There were occasions that this violence spilled into this housing area with the victims being cornered there pounding on doors for help as they tried to escape. During these incidents, the town patrol and Korean National Police were ALWAYS no where to be found -- and rightly so. This was a local problem involving VERY dangerous thugs. At this point, many of the higher-ranking GIs and civilians started looking for alternative housing outside of A-town.
The quality of the town patrol varied with the quality of the NCOIC assigned. When there were excellent NCOICs assigned, there were few incidents in A-town. During these times, the town patrol was pro-active -- emptying clubs at the slightest indication of trouble with local nationals -- though not appreciated by the bar owners. The worst were with NCOICs that only reacted to incidents. At that point, the incidents with local nationals were already out of hand and often off-limits sanctions were involved.
It was during mid-1990s that the rumors of A-town being OWNED by the "Korean Mafia" started to appear. The rumors were untrue. However, it was true that some bar owners were former "mafia" types who were trying to go "straight." This is because in Korea the only trades open to those with criminal records are in bars or low-level trades. As such many bar owners had friends who were associated with the criminal element. However, as a whole, the organized "mafia" elements of Kunsan did not interfere with the trade of A-town as it was a ROK Special Entertainment Zone with special government interests -- and entailed a whole group of high-level governmental problems if they moved into this area. Thus, they restricted their "influence" (extortion) to the Korean bar areas in Kunsan City.
Between 1993-97 the curfews were NOT strictly enforced though some curfew violators did play hide and seek with the Town Patrol by hiding on the roof tops within A-town. Overall, the curfew was simply a method to get the GIs out of the bar and off the streets. Many GIs would go to A-town restaurants to continue drinking. Then in 1997, a money changer was murdered in a shop near the entrance of A-town. A GI was accused of the murder because of scratches on his body. However, his guilt was not proven and the murder remains unsolved. In 1998, the curfew in A-town was strictly enforced as Korea was in the midst of an economic crisis and lower-class Koreans attempted to enter A-town to drink -- with resultant confrontations.
A-Town Bar (Sep 2003) (Kunsan and A-Town)
The Filipinas (pinays) started arriving in 1996 and more arrived in 1997. The first Russian prostitutes arrived at the Loading Zone in 1997, though they had been in-country in Pusan since 1990. The bulk arrived in 1998.
In the past, many airmen lived off-base because of inadequate space, but in about 1997 construction started on many new construction projects. The base built their new dormitories and the majority of personnel were relocated to on-base facilities. Gone were the days when many airmen had "yobos" (rented girlfriends) who lived with them during their tour. Also the days of "cheap" Korea were over. It was now getting expensive to live downtown.
Rebuilding the OB (Torn Down). Note the shanties behind the Hilltop Club
where GIs used to live with their "yobos." These buildings are being demolished.
Continuing up the lane at the behind the Hilltop Club is a two-story building
in which the A-town administration has given the Town Patrol offices rent free
since mid-1980s. (Kunsan and A-Town)
After the airmen were all moved on base, the one-room shanties in the rear of A-town were torn down as there were no residents to occupy them. A-town attempted to upgrade its appearance by paving over the concrete streets of the town and hiding the open drainage at the sides of the streets.
There were many hassles with operating a bar in a GI bar area. However, the tax advantage from being a "tourist-club" allowed bar owners to purchase of beer at advantageous rates and have a tax advantage not available to other bars. This was a hold-over from the days when these special areas were constructed strictly for the GIs of Kunsan in the 1970s. The interiors of the bars were upgraded, but A-town still remained a low-class bar area strictly for GIs. The names of the bars were a mix of old and new: Loading Zone, Oscars, VIP, Noble, Oriental, Eagles Nest, Golden Butterfly, Long Beach, Pacific Ocean, Wolf's Den, Stereo, Young 11, OB, Hill Top, Paradise, Savoy, Las Vegas, Utopia, Savoy and more. Some bars closed and then reopened with new owners -- some with new names, most with old ones.
In early 2000s, the tensions between the local nationals and GIs in A-town increased. More lower-class Korean nationals appeared in A-town seeking to take advantage of the cheaper prices. When turned away, these local nationals started creating troubles with the GIs. Actually the Koreans started coming to A-town in the late 1980s, but they were usually "friends" of the club owners -- some reputed to be mafia types. However, they created very few problems. The problems came when affluence hit Kunsan in the 1990s and the once cheap bars in the red-light districts started going upscale. The lower-class Koreans started trying to get into A-town bars to take advantage of the cheaper price of drinking. Many were violent drunks and some serious altercations occurred -- especially after the bars closed. The Wing Commander instituted "Wing Man" policy -- anyone leaving base must be accompanied by another airman -- but at the time it appeared to be more a result from the increasing anti-American violence that was being seen in Seoul and Tongduchon rather than at Kunsan.
In 1997-1998, the "IMF Crisis" hit -- a crisis created by Korea's protectionist investment in key industries who in turn created an unstable network of co-investments that led to the near collapse of the economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailed Korea out. The impact to Korea was that the bankruptcies and people thrown out of work forced low-income people to look for cheap places to drink. There were even more problems for the Town Patrol to handle.
Despite these problems, prior to the 9-11 incident and the concerns for "force protection," A-Town was a very lively place. However, after the terrorist attacks, there was increased concerns that A-town could become a terrorist target. Kunsan City was placed off-limits for fear of terrorist reprisals in the off-base bars. GIs complained that they could only go to A-Town or Osan on the weekend, period -- without a choice. A-Town basically had a monopoly on the bar trade for GIs downtown. The Wing Commander also started to take a dim view of A-town and it was closed at the slightest provocation.
To many the Wing Commander's actions seemed to be personal as Kunsan City bars were off-limits using "force protection" as the excuse, while other areas of the country were on-limits. For example, Songtan was on-limits though "backpack" checks were in force at Songtan. Some claimed the Kunsan clubs would not acquiesce to the "no backpack" rules so that was the reason they were off-limits. Then there was the fact that though Osan had a curfew, Suwon and Camp Humphreys didn't have curfews -- and they were a 20 minute-drive from Songtan. Tongduchon and the DMZ bars remained business-as-usual. Everything pointed to the clubs being targeted by the USAF units at Osan and Kunsan, while the Army took a "education of troops" approach to the bar situation.
In 2001, the Wing Commander used his powers to restrict A-town through off-limits restrictions for the slightest altercation with Korean nationals. After that the rate of sexual assaults on base increased incrementally. The end result was that in 2001-2002, court martials for on-base rapes increased dramatically. The ratio of men to women on-base is about 10:1 so with A-town off-limits, the sexual predators zeroed in on the "Kunsan Queens." These "Kunsan Queens" were the flirts who enjoyed their status of being the center of attention with a captive male audience on Kunsan AB. Sadly, most of these girls would not be given the time of day in a stateside environment, but only the lack of female availability made them a popular commodity. How many complaints never reached the prosecution stage is unknown, but if it is like the U.S. norm -- only 10 percent of the rape cases were reported. (See Kunsan AB: Quality of Life: 2001 and Kunsan AB: Quality of Life: 2002 for details.)
The increase in violent rapes on base in 2001 caused the Wing Commander to become concerned. Numerous rumors abounded over the increase in rapes/assaults on base that remained unreported. The acquittal of the Kadena AB SSgt for an alleged rape at Kunsan in 2000, would naturally have caused most females to distrust the "system" and contributed to the reluctance of the females to report incidents. (See August 26, 2000 issue of Pacific Stars and Stripes, "Kadena airman cleared of rape charges"). In addition, the sexual assaults that were reported in 2001 were stated to be "alcohol related" giving the impression that the females had somehow contributed to the incidents by their irresponsible drinking. The base was sending out all the wrong signals. Also the base never made the correlation between the off-limits actions of A-town and the increase of on-base rapes.
In February 2002, two airmen were convicted in Court Martial hearings for rape/sodomy for incidents that occurred in the fall of 2001. During the early months of 2002, the Wing Commander keyed in on the problem of sexual assaults in the barracks. He stressed that such behavior would not be tolerated and the rates fell off dramatically -- at least for a while.
Between Jun-Dec 2002, there were violent anti-American protests in other parts of the country, but Kunsan remained quiet. After June 2002, vile anti-Americanism spread across Korea over the accidental deaths of two middle-school girls by an Army tracked vehicle during a convoy along a small DMZ road. Anti-American NGO activist groups united and spread the fever throughout the country in a movement joined by members from every walk of life and profession. Journalists, lawyers, politicians, housewives, school children, teachers, labor all joined in unison to demand that America go home. The emotions made the song "Fuck USA" an instant success as a protest song. It was at this time that the Wing Commander instituted a mandatory "Wing Man" Policy.
Though Kunsan did not experience the same vile anti-Americanism seen in the other areas of the country, still all the people of Kunsan were ORDERED to go off-base with a wingman for their own personal security. In Aug 2002, Kunsan City was taken off the off-limits list and GIs could go to the bars downtown again. In 2002, the A-town bus service died because of all the off-limits and other problems. There were at one time two buses -- one private and one town owned. (These buses are stil parked in the A-town parking lot.) The town owned service was the first to go -- and then because of the Wing Commander's shutdowns of A-town the private bus couldn't make a go of it without steady service. The bus service was reinstituted but only for the periods when the A-town was on-limits for the bar operation.
The downtown off-limits lasted for a year. Though A-town had a monopoly, the frequent off-limits sanctions made the monopoly worthless. As for the downtown bars, they did just fine without the American trade -- and actually didn't need the GI trade at all. The nationwide anti-American campaign aimed specifically at the US military in 2002 was the prime reason the downtown bar owners didn't want the American presence in their bars. Americans would spell trouble.
Meanwhile in A-town, the tensions between the base and the A-town bar owners rose over the frequent off-limit restrictions at the slightest provocation. A-town bar owners went so far as to launch a protest at the Kunsan Main Gate over the frequent closures in the Jan-Feb 2002. The bar owners were having a hard time paying the bills -- as their contract foreign girls still had to be paid, but there were no customers. Some of the smaller "soju houses" went bankrupt. This loss in profits was not only evident in Kunsan, but throughout Korea as long as the anti-American violence and street protests of 2002 existed. All the "special entertainment zone" bars (GI bars) were having a hard time making ends meet.
Bar fines were reported to have been tripled to make up for the losses during this period. However, in defense of the A-town bar owners, it was most likely to bring the cheap A-town rates in line with the national average of 154,000 won/hr. ($130/hr) for a prostitute's services. Remember that A-town is looked upon by Koreans as "cheap trade" as free-lance Korean hookers in other areas of Korea could earn up to $5,000-$7,000 a month. This is why there are few Korean prostitutes involved in A-town's trade. Even then, Kunsan is considered the "low-end" as the bar girls earn more in Osan.
Rates for Songtan as stated in Waiting on Sundown for Songtan Nights (May 30 2000) were $100/hr or $200/night (Sunday – Thursday) or $300/night (Friday – Saturday) to take the bar girl out. She was basically an escort. The same was true for Kunsan at rates around $100-150 for a "short-time" and $300 for an "all-nighter." On top of this cost, you had to pay for that hotel that night as well because most of the foreign hookers lived 4-5 to a room in A-town.
Then in June 2002, the U.S. Senate turned up the heat on the international problem of human trafficking. Korea which had been identified previously as a major trafficker of women for sex could not be touched easily. Women activist groups knowing the frustration of attacking foreign government sponsorship of such a problem, chose the "soft targets" -- the U.S. military overseas. Thus Kunsan's "camptown" suddenly was brought into the spotlight. Tongduchon was the most popular and the U.S. journalists descended on it like a hoard of locusts. Article after article was churned out -- even the ARMY/NAVY/MARINE/AF TIMES -- featured these sensational articles.
The foreign press tried to uncover "dirt" on A-town after the success of the New York Times story on the prostitutes at Tongduchon in July 2002. However, there were no skeletons in A-town as the bar owners took care of their bar girls with few problems. This is the reason that in all the stories Kunsan is mentioned as being a "camptown" and then there is no further reference. This is not to say that A-town was squeaky clean -- it was just that the stories on A-town were not sensational or interestingly new.
What is different about A-town that sets it apart from Songtan, Tongduchon, Ueijongbu and other "camptowns" is that the A-town bars are specifically set aside for ONLY GI patronage -- though technically any "tourist" could enter the bar. In the other areas, there are Korean ONLY bars intermixed with the American bars. The other camptowns blend in with the towns/cities that encircle them -- meaning that Korean bars are also in the same area as GI bars. Unlike the other camptowns directly outside the gates of the bases/camps, A-town is just outside the 3-mile exclusionary zone -- and outside the Kunsan city boundaries. A-town was built behind a wall to prevent entry from outside -- though with the wall broken down in the rear it was easy to enter. It is a "special entertainment zone" set up by the Korean government.
However, because of the international scandal, the Ministry of Justice initiated action to tighten visa restrictions. Immigration problems started arising over the E-6 "entertainer" visas and the restrictions for "entertainers" on base toughened. Business in A-town started to fall off.
The Korean news reporters -- smelling blood -- started to jump into this fray. Suddenly all the Korean prostitutes were "dear sisters" -- though Koreans in polite society shun them publicly as pariahs. But the Koreans soon lost interest when the focus turned the smoking gun for human trafficking back upon Korea itself. Instead the articles condemned the USFK camptowns and the soldiers who frequented them, but the articles sidestepped mentioning the OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED redlight districts throughout Korea. (NOTE: The term "dear sisters" was coined after U.S. Army Specialist Christopher McCarthy beat Kim Sung-Hi to death after she refused to have sex with him and mutilated her body in Feb 2000. He was sentenced to six years for her murder -- which says something of how Koreans view the murder of a prostitute. See Murder.)
Starting in Nov 2002, the AFOSI started monitoring the prostitution in A-town very carefully after the big stink in Tongduchon. The AFOSI agents are normally more concerned with the blackmarketing and espionage areas -- but with the special interest in human trafficking expect their attention in this area. Every Korean bar owner in A-town knows -- or thinks they know -- who the AFOSI are and attempt to keep tabs on new replacements. Remember that many of the people who work in the BX or other agencies on base have relatives in the bar trade in Kunsan. The Korean grapevine spreads the word quickly as it is necessary information in order for them to do business. Though the linkages of A-town and the Kunsan "mafia" (gangster elements) has not been proven, their presence in A-town certainly indicates that they do have "influence" in A-town.
NOTE: The AFOSI normally tread lightly in this area -- and concentrate on on-base investigations. In the 1990s allegedly one of their group ended up face down in rice fields with death cause by persons unknown. In July 2004 a disgruntled reader commented that the only AFOSI death in Kunsan was a "unfortunate suicide" according to AFOSI sources, though it was announced at the time that it was a "murder" that was under investigation. At the time, the base released information that the perpetrators of the murder were unknown. There were periodic reports in the base newspaper seeking information on this incident. The bar owners identified the person as an AFOSI agent. To this day, the bar owners will sometimes bring up this event in passing conversation when fuming about base off-limits actions but will provide no further information if asked.
But now according to this reader, it is classified as a "suicide" according to AFOSI Public Affairs Andrews AFB -- which we find interesting as the USAF policy is to NOT release info on suicides because of the impacts to the immediate family. Whether he got it from this source or from "personal knowledge" is unknown. By the way, the AFOSI presence in Kunsan can be traced to 1957 when the Czech Armistice Monitors were in Kunsan, living in a compound downtown with a Korean houseboy. They have had a continual presence in Kunsan though they keep a low profile.
Because of all the heat that was generated from the Tongduchon incident, there were rumors flying everywhere that A-town would be shut down in November 2002. From the bar owners to American part-time DJs to the Security Police, this was a distinct worry. There was a belief the Wing leadership would come out with a policy on bar fines or "tickets." At the same time, it was believed that the Security Police would invoke a USFK regulation that bans ALL 3rd Country nationals from base -- to include Filipina Women -- and only DoD dependents would be exempt. There were rumors that the Wing Commander would place those clubs that are found to have promoted "inappropriate behavior" on permanent off-limits.
The Club Owners in a panic, expressed their intent to replace the outgoing Russian and Filipina Women with Korean Women. They would later back off from this stance as there are not many young Korean women who want to work in A-town -- at least for the wages proposed. Korea "free-lancers" consider the GI bars "cheap trade." Working in Korean bars provide a much highter return.
The bottom line was the owners could NOT find Korean women that would work for the offered wages of A-town. Most of the Korean women come with huge debts attached to them because they borrow from the bars to survive. Korean women would have entailed a massive investment of capital. It was not financially feasible. Though you find Korean women in the bars, they are usually young women who do not have the large debt (under $5,000) attached to their contracts. Thus in the end, the Korean bar owners gave up their pursuit of trying to find Korean women.
There were rumors flying everywhere because of the uncertainty in A-town. Due to the tensions off-base with the anti-Americanism and the pressure from the Wing Commander over the prostituion issue, the A-town crowd was diminishing quickly. Business was falling off dramatically and A-town was in serious financial trouble.
After the anti-Americanism of 2002, the USFK started up its "Good Neighbor Program" to become involved in the community and promote a more posititve image of the Americans. Under the Kunsan "Good Neighbor Program" (8th Fighter Wing Instruction 35-1 16 May 2003) "1.6. 8 MSG/CC or designated representative will: 1.6.1. Serve as Chairperson to America Town Bar Owner's Association." Yes, you heard it right...the 8th Mission Support Group Commander is the "Chairperson to the America Town Bar Owner's Association." After all the closures, I'm sure he was a welcome addition to talk over issues with the bar owners -- but at least it was a complaint channel for the bar owners who previously could only complain directly to the Wing Commander.
In 2003, the anti-American protests ebbed, but fears of terrorist retaliation for the Iraq War imposed "force protection" measures in March 2003. There was a 1930 curfew imposed for all USFK members. The tensions over the Iraq War and possible retaliation again forced the A-town shutdown as GIs were restricted to base. Soon after though the threat abated and the troops were allowed to leave camp. No attacks ensued and things returned to normal. However, the arbitrary off-limits impositions on A-town started in earnest as the Wolf Pack declared its war on prostitution. Profits in A-town were dropping rapidly and many feared hard times ahead for the bars.
 
VIP heading towards the Las Vegas; Long Beach (2001)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Kunsan and A-Town)
There was also a growing number of former A-town supporters who stated that A-town "sucked" -- some blaming the downturn on the GIs themselves who spent their whole pay checks on the Filipinas and Russians, thus driving prices up. Many remember that prior to 2000, anyone bought a ticket for a girl was considered a born-sucker. It was NOT the norm to pay a bar fine. Most blame the down turn of the conditions in A-town on the bar owners importing Filipinas and Russians. GIs who have returned for a second tour at Kunsan AB now look down on A-town as a waste of money. But they still return to A-town as it is the only option to blow off steam and play "grab-ass" without getting into trouble.
The Kunsan and A-Town Photo Section is populated with sleazy photos of some of the sordid goings-on of A-town, but by-and-large the majority of folks who go to A-town are there simply to drink with friends and have a good time. Gone are the days of the organized squadron "sweeps" where it was mandatory -- whether you drank or not -- to be present as a matter of group camaraderie. Now you only see small groups of members, but the same idea of camaraderie remains. On the weekends, you'll see groups of GIs wandering the streets, in the restaurants or visiting the DVD shop to get the latest copy of a pirated CD or to upgrade their Playstation. It has become what Osan was back in the 1990s -- while Osan has become a cheap version of Itaewon.
In the early part of 2003, the Young 11 club burned down supposedly due to faulty electrical wiring and it spread to the OB Club burning down both. The OB Club was rebuilt and back in operation within a few months in Jun 2003. At about this time, a lot of "old owners" were selling their interests to "new owners" and getting out of A-town. Many of the bars started to change names. In addition, areas started to be freed up in A-town and some places like Mama's Restaurant relocated.
Top: Young 11 and OB fire damaged
New OB Club Reopens (Jun 2003) (Kunsan and A-Town)
By December 2003, A-town had started looking like what the old Yah Hwa-dong shopping district in downtown Kunsan used to look like in the early 1990s. It had started becoming an American shopping area for clothing items. As one exited the gate the "supermarkets" on both sides of the street were still there. Outside the gate was the Playstation 2 Upgrade sign posted over the old Taekwondo studio. The old Hyundai's Marriage/Adoption paperwork shop also doubled as a VCR tape rental shop. Leather coats, jersey shops and Wilson tailor shops had moved to A-town -- and even a Korean furniture store. Small restaurants (i.e., Chicken Hof) were still in operation. The second generation of shop owners started operations. A coffee shop -- run by the daughter of the A-town hairdresser owner across the street -- opened up with the new concept of the "bottomless" cup with a one payment and a constant refill.
Game Room in background at A-town entrance
with Mama's Restaurant up the walk (After ORI 2001)
(Kunsan and A-Town)
Inside the A-town compound, the old roofed parking area next to the Game room was turned into a shopping arcade with a new prefab building. There was one shop selling training suits and another with baseball caps/patches and jackets were in operation. "Poki's" blanket/t-shirt shop folded in 2003, but a new blanket shop opened up in 2004. There was a cell-phone shop that doubled as a cheap DVD copy shop, but in mid-2004 business split and the DVD moved up to near the Bulgogi House, while the phone business stayed near the parking lot. (This is the DVD shop that used to be up next to the Las Vegas until the end of 2003.) New bars have opened up but the same faces are still around -- except for the Russians who are now significantly absent from A-town. All the old adjumas (older women) are still there, but just getting older.
America Town Gate and Arcade (Aug 2004)
(Kunsan and A-Town)
Game Room to left with VIP ahead (Aug 2004)
(Kunsan and A-Town)
Cherry Boy's Restaurant and Mama's next to Game Room (Aug 2004)
(Kunsan and A-Town)
Oscars looking down the strip (Aug 2004)
(Kunsan and A-Town)
The game room to the left as you entered the A-town bar row seems to have gone downhill with mostly older games and has fallen victim to the competition of home computer games and Gameboys. "Brother" -- with his beautiful golden retriever that always present in the back room -- still operated the place, but it was slowly going out of business. (The gentle hunting dog died in 2003.) Across the lane, the old money changer was still there but now in a well-lit office front window. Most of the old standby restaurants -- Arirang, Mama's and Cherry Boys (moved in 2004 next to Mama's) -- from the past are still in operation serving the same dishes they've served over the years -- but are now too expensive for cheap-charlies like us.
In a nutshell, A-town is the same as it was years ago...but with a new coat of paint.
"Jay at the Gate"
(NOTE: Gateman had a stroke in 2003 and passed away in July 2004.
Really a nice fellow who was always talking in Konglish to GIs.
Wife still works as waitress in Loading Zone.) (2001)
(Photo from Kunsan and A-Town)
Though the problems with "bar fines" continued to take center stage in the relations between the base and A-town bar owners, the bars continued to have a large amount of Filipinas (pinays) and Russian bar girls. In July 2003, the Ministry of Justice decided to no longer allow "entertainment" (E-6) visas, but did allow the women the option to extend their current visa. Many bar girls opted to extend their visas and remain in A-town.
However, in Feb 2004, it was learned that the Korean government was quietly reissuing E-6 visas again to Russians "entertainers." It soon became evident that the Ministry of Justice started reissuing the E-6 visas again after the public attention died down. In July 2004, the Philippine government asked the Korean government to limit the issuance of E-6 visas to people who are ineligible. The Philippine government said that some people are obtaining the visas with forged documents and bribery.
Though the USFK bars took the heat in 2003 for the abuses, the Korean bars found that they liked the cheap wages for these bar girls as well. For example, in Kunsan City there is the Cebu Club with Filipinas. There were Koreans and Filipinas in large quantities showing up in the port cities throughout the country. Though the economy was in recession, the sex trade was still a booming business. It was found that the Russians had started pimping through the use of the internet. In July 2004, in Yeosu 22 community leaders were arrested for solicitation of prostitution. However, many miss the point that the police were taking action against the Russians, while leaving the Korean internet sex market virtually untouched.
A-town curfew was set at 10:00 pm on week days and 12:00 pm on weekends. Bars started to open at 6:00 pm to offset the losses of the earlier curfew. By the end of the year, the curfew had been moved closer to reality with bars opening at 4pm and closing at 12pm.
During exercises A-town was "closed" -- same as off-limits -- and did not open until 12:00 noon Saturday to supposedly give the GIs time to draw down. The bar owners remembered the good ol' days when A-town was open as soon as the "fat lady sang" or when "God Bless the U.S.A" was sung -- when the lost profits from the exercise was made up in one night. Those days were long gone.
In 2004, workarounds were put in place in which the bars no longer got their hands dirty with the direct involvement with prostitution. Basically, it returned to the same practice of years ago to buy out the tickets for drinks remaining (time remaining to work) meaning that it was NOT based on prostitution. What the girls did on their own was their own business. The "ticket" was now based on fixed time remaining to bar closure and anticipated earning loss. Though this workaround still violated the base definition of "ticket" sales as "prostitution." the base seemed to accept this arrangement as it was simply based upon an accepted "world-wide" standard of bar fines. The situation was being defused with the bar owners promising to police themselves in order to ward off off-limits practices.
However, soon some bars got greedy and girls were being "bought out" of the bars for between 20 -- 100 drink tickets. In July 2004, the Long Beach and Stereo were placed off-limits for this practice. This was pure stupidity based on greed alone. The bars downfall was girls were openly soliciting and telling the GIs about the practice. Needless to say, the word quickly got back to the AFOSI. These clubs are considered "new owners" and older clubs were not pleased that these clubs greed threatened to place them off-limits as well. According to reports, the girls in the off-limits bars were "loaned" to other bars because the off-limits bars didn't want to be stuck with paying the women's contracted monthly "wages" during their off-limits sanctions.
Other workarounds was the use of computers to set up "dates" outside of the bars. The Korean internet market for sex exploded as Korean "pimps" and "freelancers" started advertising their wares through internet sites. The A-town prostitutes had already been using the internet to schedule dates in 2003 and continued the practice -- mainly Filipinas because of their English skills -- started using private email to schedule "dates." This method is untraceable unless private base email is monitored -- which would bring into play major issues of invasion of privacy.
Because of the well-established practice of using the dormitories for sex rendezvous, the base took action to prevent Filipinas from entering the base at night. In June 2004, the base suspected that GIs were buying the girls out of the bar and using the facilities on base for sex -- instead of the normal hotels. The Filipinas were barred from base during the night hours.
In about July 2004, the ROK Immigration moved to evict the Russian element from A-town and Osan because of the ever increasing international pressure over prostitution and human trafficking. It was assumed the same was true of other USFK camptowns. By Sept 2004, the Russian element was gone -- though there were rumors that some Russians girls had run away instead of being deported. This was a prelude to the anti-Prostitution campaign that the ROK government started in Sept 2004.
Under the new ROK law a mandatory three-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of engaging in human trafficking for the sex trade. Members of organized crime would get a minimum of five years. Another new law offers rewards of 20 million won (around $17,000) for information leading to the conviction of human traffickers. Another provision lets the government confiscate all proceeds and property earned through the illegal sex trade. An additional new wrinkle would differentiate legally between women involuntarily in the sex trade (who would be classified as victims) and those who are determined to voluntarily sell sex (who would be punished as criminals). However, most Koreans look upon these new laws with skepticism as the "crackdown" in Sept 2004 will simply give way to "enforcement" in Oct 2004. In the past, it meant no action unless the spotlight is focused on the problem.
The bottom line is that for Korea it is business as usual, but for the Americans and A-town, there are going to be some massive changes in the future. In 2005 there looms the UCMJ change that will make it punishable by one year in prison and a dishonorable discharge if one goes with a prostitute. This will spell the death knell for A-town if it comes about...and a nightmare for the Wing Commander that he cannot even imagine as he will have lost complete control of the sex trade dealing with his personnel. As it is now, his "off-limit" power allows him to influence the bars. With the new UCMJ change, the sex trade will go to the internet/cellphones and go underground -- just as it did when the Korean National Police attempted to crackdown on prostitution in Sept 2004. The Wing Commander will be powerless.
The curfew controversy continued with the Army having one set of rules while the USAF at Osan and Kunsan had another. To resolve this controversy, a USFK wide curfew policy was placed into effect on 23 Dec 2004. To an outsider, it seemed to be a compromise between the 0200 Army curfew versus the 2400 USAF curfew -- with the USFK setting the time at 0100. However, the bars continued to be cleared at 2400 in order to allow the personnel time to make it into the gates by 0100. The other compromise was the 0500 curfew end in the morning allowing personnel to spend the night off-base time and still get to work on time. It was a reasonable compromise and applied to ALL personnel affiliated with the USFK.
According to the General Order for Off-Installation Curfew dated 23 Dec 2004 signed by Lt.Gen. Charles Campbell, USFK Chief of Staff, the curfew for ALL of the USFK is from 0100-0500 and applied to ALL USFK military, DoD civilian, contractors and dependents. All of these personnel had to be in their places of residence off-base or physically on-base between 0100-0500. The military purpose was that "Conditions in the Korean area of operations make it prudent to limit off-installation activities for late-night and early-morning hours for reasons of force protection, safety, good order, discipline and optimal readiness." (NOTE: Some old timers snidely wondered what made Korea so special as Europe didn't have such curfews and they were faced with the real-time Al Quida threat.)
At the end of 2004, the won grew stronger against the dollar and at the end of November the rate had declined to 1050 won: one dollar. What this meant was that the GIs had less buying power for their buck -- and it directly impacted on how much money the GIs would be spending in the bars. The Korean economy was in a recession and the bar owners were beset by their own problems to pay their bills and take care of their families. Times were changing -- and all for the worst. We only hope it doesn't deteriorate to the level of a decade ago when the won was 780 won: one dollar. It was VERY bad...and those GI families living on the economy really suffered. We only hope it doesn't get that bad.
A-Town Map (2003) (Kunsan and A-Town)
Questions and Answers on A-town Prostitution
We have been chastised by some readers of this article for our heaping all of the girls into one basket as "prostitutes" because of their possession of E-6 visas -- and their working in bars in A-town. Our position is that these women -- regardless of their personality, justifications for being there or status as a "virgin" hustling drinks -- have to accept the fact that the hurtful title "prostitute" is what they are based on their position. Though these women who work in A-town don't like this label, they generally accept it as coming with the territory of working in bars.
Nothing will change that fact -- and any person who attempts to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear is a fool. The Korean government identifies these girls as "registered prostitutes" once they get a VD card on file, even though as "entertainers" most possessed Korean foreign alien ID cards giving their E-6 status. In Korea there are supposedly 300,000 "registered" prostitutes working in 80,000 sex establishments -- with 70 "special tourist zones" in the ROK. The US military by having required VD checks recognize them as such as well.
The women accept this title as it comes with the territory -- though none like the term. In this article, a girl from the Wolf's Den wrote: "Atleast we still believe that earning money should get through own effort not just you will get it because of other's effort. And atleast we made this choice for a good intention, "To support & help our family financially without making it through crimes. We are doing this, "Just to survive!!!!!!! One juice pls."
It is true there are exceptions with some women who are NOT prostitutes, but unfortunately these women must also bear the stigma of this name simply because they work in the A-town bars. For example, we have known wives of airmen who have worked in the bars hustling drinks with sex as a come-on -- though not delivered. Equally uncomfortable is the fact that even the old adjuma waitresses and owner's wives must have VD checks -- by order of the base and Korean government -- because of this stigma. It is the penalty one must pay for work in A-town bars.
This requirement of VD checks may collide head-on with the new UCMJ requirement to NOT associate with prostitutes. The VD checks -- not health checks (i.e., TB tine, etc.) -- associates the women with sex acts. This new UCMJ regulation will force a confrontation over the issue of whether A-town is a bar row OR a recognized place of prostitution that it has been since its establishment in 1969.
There is no amount of liberal chest-pounding that will change our opinion. These liberal individuals claim we are prejudiced against these girls. Not so. We are simply stating an obvious fact. Their claim is that we are doing them a great disservice by labeling them "prostitutes" -- and our response is that these women should choose a different job if they don't want to be called that. The truth is that the women are not protesting by the title -- it is only the chest-pounding liberals who want something to argue about.
It is sad that there are some people in the world who can't understand that there is a difference in labels used for different purposes. We do admit that we are labeling the women, but it is for the purpose of analysis of the A-town situation.
- (1). Labeling a group of people for sake of an ANALYSIS helps in defining group characteristics and makes analysis of the facts easier. If we used "bar girl" as our definition in this article, there would be no article. "Bar girls" are NOT trafficked ... "prostitutes" are.
- (2) Labeling a group of people in HUMAN INTERACTIONS is based in prejudices (positive & negative) and prejudging of these people. Negative labels are used by small-minded people to pigeon hole individuals. Unfortunately even positive labels carry negative nuances. Even the liberals use of "bar girl" as a label (instead of "prostitute") comes a negative nuance. In my personal interactions with these women, I call them by NAME. I attempt to treat them as people and individuals -- without labels.
Sadly these heart-thumping liberals who chastise us cannot make a distinction between the two uses of labels.
In fact, we view such people who get involved in this type of trivial debates as abettors of the continuation of human trafficking. They focus on the women -- NOT the problem. By giving a human face to the prostitute, the condition that created the woman's situation is side-stepped. This is why the events in nailing the USFK to the wall for human trafficking in 2002 was so easy. The international women's rights NGO groups picked on the USFK as it was a "soft target" that could not talk back. There strategy was simple. In order to get the publicity, they focus on the plight of people (prostitute) and once they have the people's attention, they voice their case for reforms. People such as these make these types of events so easy -- and they do a great disservice to the individuals caught up in this tragic problem. They think they are helping, but all they are doing is making noise.
In truth the countries that are involved in human traffiking know that such attention is fleeting. They know the attention will go away so they bend temporarily -- but return to their original path once the spotlight is removed. That is why after all the hate mail to the ROK government in 2002-2003, they returned to their old ways in 2004 because the liberal heart-pounders had found new targets to bleed over. In 2000, the US condemned Korea for being a major human trafficker, but in 2004 praised it for its efforts to stop the problem. In Sept 2004, the ROK undertook a major campaign to eradicate the embedded practice of prostitution. However, Koreans don't believe it will last long. When the attention goes away, so will the police enforcement. Nothing changed -- and in some cases, got worse.
Some readers condemn us in that many these women go on to become good mothers after they marry a GI. We agree that many do find happiness after they leave A-town, but our point is that what the bar girl becomes AFTER she leaves A-town is irrelevant in the topic discussed here. If you ever talk to a woman who was in A-town, they will NEVER admit that they worked the bars there. If you press the issue, you are a bastard of the first rank. No woman wants the stigma of being from A-town and have that stigma passed on to her family and children. But the bottom line is that the stories about the girls who leave for the land of the big BX is NOT covered here. How they handle their past is their business. This article is about the girls who are still in A-town.
We do not need lectures on the fact that I label the women of A-town "prostitutes." It is just a title. I stated in here that personally, I don't care what they call themselves -- they are people. I think of them as "people" -- with a job that just happens to be in a bar -- and the title used here comes with that job. I do not need lectures from people who have one or two tours in Korea -- while I have lived most of my adult life in Asia. I am also old enough to know about the "waves" of GI marriages from Japan, Germany, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and all points between. The majority of these marriages produced a whole generation of solid young men and women. They were good mothers -- but this was all AFTER their past was left behind.
We don't need to get into semantical games that my using the term "prostitute" is in effect "judging" them -- because IN THIS ARTICLE we admit that we do so. However, we do so because that is the only way we can analyze the situation in A-town. However, in real life, we find the term abhorrent and demeaning when we apply it to a real person who has a face and name. These are just women who are doing what they think they have to do in order to survive.
Over the years, I have treated the bar girls -- that I liked -- as my "daughters" -- as people with feelings, dreams and desires. These women are not sex objects; they are not toys to be paid for and thrown aside -- they are human beings with hearts and feelings. I didn't judge them -- just as I would not like others judging me. I was always there for them -- to listen to their dreams without recrimination -- and only support in speech and deed. Years later, my "daughters" call me from Europe, Hawaii, Virginia, Kansas and around the world -- and I in turn have the deepest aloha for their husbands and children. We certainly don't need lectures on how to treat bar girls based on these bleeding-heart liberals' limited drinking experiences with bar girls in A-town.
Lastly, these people who get mired down in the small stuff, cloud the main issues of importance. "Labels" and how these women are called is small stuff. The major issues are:
- Kunsan AB being a target by NGO human rights groups (according to their plans in December 2003) -- and if you don't know who they are look out the Kunsan AB front gate each week.
- The hypocrisy of the Korean government in dealing with human trafficking nationwide -- with policies that continue to feed its massive sex industry.
- The hypocrisy of the Kunsan City government that allows conditions to prevail that causes girls to be burned alive because they are locked into whorehouses -- TWICE -- and then their acts to coverup the incidents as city officials and police were involved!!!
- The hypocrisy of the base that will condemn A-town, but remain silent about the conditions in Kunsan City.
- The questionable base morality campaign against human trafficking that was prosecuted OFF-BASE against KOREAN establishments in a country WITHOUT a legal definition of human trafficking using a contrived AMERICAN definition. Even the base had problems with the morality campaign. Top Pentagon officials announced in Sep 2004 their intention to add a specific anti-prostitution charge to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, making a conviction punishable by one year confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Though Gen. La Porte in Sep 2004 stated that 400 soldiers had been punished, but these were non-judicial punishment as there has been only an amorphic prostitution UCMJ article on the books that no one wants to use.
- The human suffering caused by the base's off-limits actions in A-town that inflicted great pain on the Korean populace (bankruptcies, loss of jobs, etc) and -- DESPITE OUR WARNINGS -- the increase in on-base sexual assaults and rapes in 2003 based on our historical observations of a similar off-limits strategy in 2001.
- There is the case of base censorship and intimidation to suppress information in the name of OPSEC and investigations. Along with this the unproven use of potential intimidation in 2003 to "silence" Yahoo newsgroups critical of the A-town situation.
- Then there is the third-nation issue where women of communist nations (Russia) are not allowed on base because they pose a security risk, but then are allowed to fraternize with American soldiers/airmen -- a tantalizing question I'd like to see answered. (To say they have NO control over A-town as an answer then returns to their off-limits strategy where they DID interfere in A-town affairs.) In Jul 2004, the Russian women were removed from A-town by the ROK immigration because of the problems with the women and prostitution throughout Korea. This may answer the question of Russians, but how many ethnic Korean CHINESE nationals are in the woodwork?
(1). Is prostitution illegal in Korea? YES and NO.
In the past, the ubiquitous anti-Prostitution law was so vague that it was worthless. The only thing the law specifically banned was prostitutes under 18. Even then it was still a fact of life in the Mairi district of Seoul where it was estimated that 30 percent of the girls in the brothels were runaways under 18. There were a mish-mash of laws to fit the situations from pandering to operating a brothel, but they are only enforced when there was a problem. Even the Korean editorials admit that the enforcement of what was on the books is a joke. Though solicitation is punishable by as much as three years in prison under the Anti-Prostitution statute, there has not been one arrest since its passage in 1995. In effect, Korea is an open market for prostitution.
NOTE: In July 2004, in Yeosu some community leaders were arrested for solicitation of Korean prostitutes via the internet. It is uncertain if they were arrested under the anti-Prostitution law or under the law prohibiting the use of the internet for the sale of sex. We suspect the latter. In the past other Koreans have been arrested for the setting of sex groups on the internet under the separate law dealing with preventing the internet use for immoral purposes.
Tougher anti-prostitution laws took effect in South Korea in Sept 2004, including one requiring a mandatory three-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of engaging in human trafficking for the sex trade. Members of organized crime would get a minimum of five years. Another new law offers rewards of 20 million won (around $17,000) for information leading to the conviction of human traffickers. Another provision lets the government confiscate all proceeds and property earned through the illegal sex trade. An additional new wrinkle would differentiate legally between women involuntarily in the sex trade (who would be classified as victims) and those who are determined to voluntarily sell sex (who would be punished as criminals).
During the Sep 2004 "crackdown" on prostitution in Korea, the police treated the majority of the prostitutes arrested as "victims" and they were released. However, the problem was that the crackdown shut down the livelihood of many prostitutes and soon a rally of prostitutes in Seoul demanded the government "license" the redlight districts and allow them to pursue their "profession." What the anti-prostitution law forgot to include was a safety net for the prostitutes thrown out of work. The remark of the government was they should find appropriate work such as hair stylists, but the government did not provide any training programs or financial aid during a transition.
The key point is that when you look carefully at these "NEW" laws -- they are only the "OLD" laws dusted off. Most Koreans are skeptical of this anti-prostitution campaign and feel it will soon fade. The proof is that the campaign waged by 3000 policeman in Sept 2004 garnered only 138 persons -- and it ended in Oct 2004 when the "campaign" reverted to simple "enforcement." At the end, there were over 4,000 arrests with the majority being the solicitors for sex. In the end, the police had to rely on informants to make arrests as the prostitution went underground.
The key point is that the anti-prostitution LAWS (plural) remained -- instead of making one all inclusive law. After the Sept 2004 crackdown was over, there was a lot of people who complained that the loss of the "sex trade" meant the collapse of ancillary business (motel, beauty shops, dress shops, restaurants, bars, etc.). The $22 billion trade is very hard to shut down without ripple effects.
(2). Are the bar girls of A-town prostitutes? YES.
Here we unfortunately have to deal with a definition that because ANY woman who works in A-town has to have a VD check, she is cast in the role of a prostitute. Even bar owner wives and the old adjuma waitresses have to undergo this indignity. Because of this requirement, there is no other conclusion than to cast anyone working in A-town in this ignominious category -- as sorry as it may seem.
But our opinion is that the bar girls opted to work in A-town voluntarily -- and thus knew that this appellation would be applied to them. It is a label -- but it comes with the terri |
