• Off-Base Issues: Prostitution and A-Town - Wolf Pack to combat prostitution -- an object lesson in futility -- and on-base rapes increase; A-town Off-limits -- the makings of a scandal (Updated: January 2004)
  

• Military Affairs (2003) -- USS Carl Vinson arrives in Pusan; Elmendorf F-15s at Osan; Marine FA-18s arrive at Kunsan in May; Low-key buildup; End of May return to normal. (Updated: 3 June 2003)
• Military Affairs (2004) -- Seoul Courts Rule Against USFK Land Use; Vehicle Registration Policy Change; Crime Reports on USFK Soldiers; Continuing ROK-US Prosecutions; Bonus to Soldiers for Extension (Updated: 14 January 2004)
  
  
• Relocation of USFK Bases (2003) -- In March USF announces it will relocate off the DMZ and south of the Han River; Renegotiations of Restructuring of 50-year old alliance; U.S. to invest $11 billion in Korea defense; Korea forced to increase its Defense spending; Enmeshed and entangled, the ROK drags its feet and attempts to shift the financial burden to the USFK; U.S. playing hardball and negotiations hit major snag in September 2003. 15-17 Jan continuation of meetings on relocation and reduction in forces. The first bases Camp Greaves and Giant to be returned in Nov 2004 under the LPP instead of 2011. (Updated: 31 Dec 2003)
  
  
  • Stryler/LAVIII: Our Opinion -- Details on the Stryker SBCT (3d Bde 2d ID) that will be replacing the 2d ID on the DMZ as part of a global repositioning strategy. Included are short sections on current USFK weapons systems that may augment the Stryker units in Korea after all the smoke has cleared. Stryker headed to Iraq in mid-October; US wants future forces to have a "regional" role; Stryker unit in Iraq in 2003 and blooded in Jan 2004. Stryker with its jerry-rigged LPG protection screens undergo the acid test of combat. Strykers success in Iraq for urban warfare role, but still questions about use in mountainous terrain unanswered. Decision to return the Interim Brigade Combat Team to Korea appears to be still up in the air as of 2004. (Updated: Jan 2004)
  
  
  
• Relocation of USFK Bases (2004) -- 15-17 Jan continuation of meetings on relocation and reduction in forces. The first bases Camp Greaves and Giant to be returned in Nov 2004 under the LPP instead of 2011. (Updated: Weekly)
  
  
  • Proposed ROK FY2005 Military Budget -- Is It the Last Straw??? (OPINION) -- ROK Promised Defense Spending increase of 3.2 percent of GDP in 2004, but delivered a 2.8 percent of GDP. ROK Spending has now passed 1997 levels. The US position is that the ROK has the ability to increase its defense spending, but the ROK has not shown the will to do so. ROK "self-reliant" defense is delusional, but the ROK is maintaining the "free-ride" using the US High-tech warfare umbrella. Cursory look at why the ROK "Self-reliant" Defense is delusional. Though stated as reasons for Budget increase, the truth is that the E-X program will be sent out for bids in Nov 2004 and the SAM-X (Patriot) will NEVER be procured as long as President Roh is in office. The ROK is developing weapons programs that offer technology transfer or benefit industrial growth -- not necessarily what is essential to the defense programs. The ROK continues to be a thorn with its refusal to fund the Yongsan move and disputes over land use with the end result possibly being an explosion that destroys the US-ROK Alliance. (Posted: June 2004)
    
  • Dangerous Game the ROK is Playing (OPINION) -- Indepth look at the US Perspective on the evolving US-ROK alliance. Look into the r reasons for the ROK "Stall-and-Conquer" Negotiation strategy. Look at the growing American anti-Korean opinion; USFK and Department of Defense strategy; Head-on collision resulting in reduction in forces and pull-out of troops (Posted: June 2004)
    
    
• Korea Continues to March to Its Own Drummer -- Korea upgrades its military and seeks technology transfer. However, Korea aims to control its own destiny. Korea now has OFFENSIVE missile capability. Its indigenous-designed fighter-trainer is ready for production and the KDX-II "stealth" destroyer has been launched. German-designed submarines are rolling out of shipyards and KM1A1 Korean Main Battle Tank is being produced in Korea. The next-generation fighter has been selected as the F-15K. Whether unrealistic or not, President Roh is seeking "self-reliance" for South Korea's defense by 2010. (Updated: 4 Sept 2003)
  
  
• Military Affairst: North Korean Crisis: -- Equipment changes; Korea-wide Exercises; Force Positioning; Policy changes; North-South military dialogue. (Updated: Monthly)
  
  
  • Food for Thought: The Military Option in North Korea: -- Short comparison of a views on military parity: Korean versus U.S. view. (Posted: 26 April 2003)
    
  • Food for Thought: The Mythical North Korean Threat: -- An article building a case for U.S. withdrawal from Korea. (Posted: 20 June 2003)
  
  
  
• Spies, Espionage & Infiltrators: -- Personal Opinion on the Spy Situation in Kunsan. Covers the spy organizations and the abuses by Presidents from Syngman Rhee to Roh Moo-hyun. Covers cases of captured infiltrators and deep-cover spies discovered in recent years to back up conclusions. (Sources footnoted) Covers history of communism in Cholla Provinces; list of coastal infiltration with methods of infiltration and vehicles used. (Posted: 24 May 2004)
  

• Reviews of Books on Kunsan AB (Updated: 3 June 2003)
  
• Reference Sources/Links: -- Links to Pro-USFK/Anti-US sites and online Korean newspaper links. General, Military and USFK links. (Updated: 8 August 2003)

• Background
  
  • Subtopics -- Pro-American Demonstrations or really Anti-Sunshine Policy Demonstration? -- Anti-American Protests Waning? NO!!! -- Split in NGO Group Strategies and Shift to Pacifism -- America Responds -- Backlash of Anti-American Demonstrations -- Anti-American and the Generation Gap -- NGO Tactic to Boycott American Goods Backfires -- NGO-Initiated Polls Increasing and USFK Poll in response -- Roh wants to revise SOFA, but U.S. and MOJ Sees No Need -- Danger of Getting What they Want -- Considering the Improbable: What if the U.S. Leaves? -- OUR OPINION (Updated: 3 June 2003)
• Jan-Mar 2003
  
  • Iraq War & Korean Perspective of Iraq War (Mar-Apr 2003) -- Iraq and Korea DAILY events with emphasis on anti-War -- but in reality a continuation of the anti-American protests of 2002. President Roh tells nation that he is forced to send non-combatant troops to Iraq in order to protect the nation -- i.e., U.S. blackmailed him. Roh then rewrites the text of his speech for English publications. Coverage is a day-by-day chronology of events in Baghdad and Seoul. (Updated: 16 April 2003)
    
• Apr-Jun 2003
  
• Jul-Sep 2003
  
• Oct-Dec 2003
  
• Jan-Mar 2004
  
• Apr-Jun 2004
  

• North Korean Crisis Background and Reference Materials -- Background on events leading up to Nuclear Crisis; Materials from Selected Sources on Nuclear Crisis; OUR OPINION (Updated: 8 August 2003)
• For Your Information: North Korea-US Meeting: -- Special Report on Upcoming North Korea-China-US meeting and U.S./North Korean options with our comments. (Posted: 8 August 2003)

• Reformist Policy:
• Lack of Coordination within Government:
• Alienates Career Bureaucrats:
• Continuing Education Problems over NEIS:
• Attacks on the "Gangster" Press:
• Environmental Policy and Saemangeum Project:
• Nuclear Waste Dump Protest:
• Farmers Problems, Opening of the Rice Market and Surplus Rice:
• Chaebol and Business Reforms:
• Korea Under Attack for Dumping and Govt Subsidies:
• Korean Outlook Dims as Companies Leave Korea:
• Privatization Plans Put on a Hold:
• Financial Reform Turns into a Quagmire:
• Conciliatory Position to Union Strikes:
• 40-hour Work Week:
• Political Scandals:
• Political Harassment from GNP:
• Split-up of MDP:
• Autonomy: An Old Answer to New Problems -- Pass the Buck!:
• NIS and National Security Law:
• Exiled North Korean supporter, Song Du-yul, Returns:
• Peace and Prosperity Policy:
• Trusted U.S. Supporter during Iraq War?:
• NGO groups anti-Americanism and Opposition demonstrations:
• Roh Questions Removal of USFK:
• ROK-US Summit (May 14) Impacts:
• Can a Leopard Change its Spots?:
• Resurgence of Anti-Americanism:
• Resurgence of Anti-Japanese Protests:
• Radical Students Protest Roh:
• Roh's Falling Popularity starts in Third Month in Office:
• End of 2003: Roh's Leadership Vacuum:
• Roh Impeached: March 2004

Award of Excellence: The Home & Hearth (4.0) The Cozy Corner of the Web

Silver Surfer Award (Gold) Shadow Run (4.5)

Acknowledgement: Thanks to HQ PACAF History Office and the 8th Fighter Wing History Office for their source materials. Another excellent site used to trace the history of the 8th Fighter Wing is 8FW Lineage of the Air University.

1996:

Wing Commander: -- Colonel David Moody (Jun 96-Apr 97)

Main Gate (1996)
Before Anti-terrorism Planters Installed

Terrorism Measures at Kunsan: On base, as episodes of bombings and terrorism increased around the world, all bases on the Korean peninsula started to take the terrorism threat seriously. The wing placed four concrete planters at both the main and north gates as part of its anti-terrorism campaign. Soon concrete barriers were placed on the "straight-aways" in the road ensure that any vehicle crashing the gate would be impeded.

North Korean Defection, Sea Provocations and DMZ Incursions: The tensions increased on 23 May 96 when a MiG pilot from North Korea defected to South Korea. The only problem was that he was already in Korean airspace when detected and over Seoul already when jets had intercepted him. He simply waggled his wings and landed. (NOTE: Needless to say, the Koreans were not happy with their ROK defenders...and some generals were fired.) The tensions then escalated in Apr 96 when the North Korean ships tested South Korean defenses by entering the disputed territorial waters. (NOTE: Both Koreas claim the same waters which was unresolved from the Korean War terms.) Then to add to the tension even further, about 200 heavily armed North Korean soldiers entered the DMZ repeatedly. The following is an article from the August 1996 Airmen Magazine.

For Those Seeking Action...Welcome to the Wolfpack

by Tech. Sgt. Ray Johnson
photo by Tech. Sgt. John McDowell

South Korea -- known as the "land of the Morning Calm" -- has been anything but tranquil this year. Harassed by a North Korean regime playing dangerous games of cat and mouse, the South has been riding an emotional roller coaster that has turned its population, at times, edgy.

Nowhere was that more evident than in the capital city of Seoul May 23, when millions of South Koreans scrambled to bomb shelters as blaring sirens warned of an approaching North Korean MiG-19 fighter aircraft.

To the country's relief -- including 37,000 American service members stationed there -- the MiG's pilot signaled to South Korean interceptors that he was defecting, not attacking, by rocking his plane's wings and lowering its landing gear.

The South Koreans' reaction is understandable. After all, they have lived with the threat of war for more than four decades. And North Korea, the most isolated country in the world, continually increases its rhetoric of reuniting -- by force -- the Korean peninsula, which was separated into two countries after World War II.

Such talk has rekindled memories of the North's all-out invasion in 1950 that started the bloody three-year Korean War. Furthermore, because no peace treaty was signed after the uneasy 1953 truce, the two countries are still technically at war.

Unnerving to many of the 45 million South Koreans, the war of words escalated into military actions this spring.

Since early April, North Korean gunboats and heavily armed soldiers have darted in and out of South Korea, blatant violations of the 43-year-old armistice. During one tension-filled weekend, nearly 200 communist soldiers, loaded with mortars, machine guns and other heavy weapons, repeatedly crossed the 38th parallel's demilitarized zone -- supposedly a neutral area.

None of the incursions led to serious clashes, but military forces from both sides -- estimated at 2 million members -- went on alert as a belligerent North announced it wasn't "if" war would start, but "when."

To some, this may sound overly melodramatic, or even somewhat like an apocalyptic version of "Chicken Little." But for 3,000 airmen and Army personnel stationed at remote Kunsan Air Base, the concern is real and immediate. They know that the North Korean military, although old and low-tech, has 3,800 tanks, 850 fighter jets, 82 bombers and an unknown number of SCUD missiles capable of inflicting considerable damage during early stages of war.

Kunsan AB is home to the 8th Fighter Wing -- commonly called the Wolf Pack. With its two squadrons of F-16 Fighting Falcons, it stands ready to respond if the next siren warning is for real-if the next MiG pilot roaring across the DMZ doesn't rock his wings and lower his landing gear.

During April's tense moments, Kunsan closely watched the incursions that triggered a state of emergency along the 38th parallel -- the most heavily guarded border in the world. But base members didn't change their normal, daily routines. For the threat is why the Air Force men and women are there in the first place. It's why they train daily and why they consider Kunsan the last remote warrior base.

"The reason we didn't panic is because we are ready [for any potential conflict] everyday," said Col. Charles Byrd, 8th Operations Group commander. "Being mission-ready is embedded in the reason we are here."

The soft-spoken colonel, a veteran of three one-year tours at Kunsan, believes such readiness and calmness is a product of the wing's frequent exercises, which are well-known throughout the Air Force.

"Although we have a high turnover rate," Byrd said, "we are able to execute our mission as if everyone has worked together for years. This comes from our intense, realistic practice."

Col. David Moody, 8th FW commander, added that his unit's even keel comes from a mission-oriented mindset that "numbs itself to outside hindrances."

"When you are totally focused on the job, day in and day out, you don't worry about what people say or don't say," Moody said after a busy day of meeting new troops. "And with our close proximity to the threat, it's very easy to remain totally focused."

But that proximity brings problems.

Kunsan AB, located on the peninsula's southwest coast, sits 109 miles south of the DMZ. Newcomers quickly learn the nearly 60-year-old base is within easy reach of North Korean weapons capable of delivering chemical munitions. Hence, the need for chemical warfare classes for everyone immediately upon arrival.

And, if anyone dares to forget, Army Patriot missile sites and machine-gun bunkers serve as constant reminders that the front lines of battle could be as close as the front door.

Kunsan's members have a three-fold mission: to protect the base from hostile forces, to accept augmenting forces during a contingency, and to drop weapons on selected targets during battle. In short, they must be ready for any conflict anytime.

"Kunsan has a daily goal, and that is being ready for war," said Chief Master Sgt. Walt McCauley, chief of the fuels management office. "Everyone here is prepared to fight if need be."

McCauley, a 45-year-old Texan, has pulled six remotes during his 28-year career. He believes what makes Kunsan unique from the others is a "clearly defined mission."

"We have an enemy five minutes away, with the sole goal of trying to unite this peninsula," McCauley said, pausing as four F-16s roared over his office. "The people of the 8th FW also have one goal ... and that is to deter such aggression."

It's a goal the wing has achieved successfully for more than 40 years.

The 8th FW, then known as the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing, was the first American jet wing to fly combat missions in the Korean war and the first unit to score an aerial kill in a jet aircraft. In three years, the 8th FBW flew more than 60,000 sorties while operating out of bases on Korea and Japan.

Just before the Vietnam Conflict, the unit was designated the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing and based out of Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. It was there it earned its nickname, the "Wolf Pack" from Col. Robin Olds, then wing commander and a World War II ace, who said the pilot's aggressiveness and teamwork while flying combat missions reminded him of a pack of wolves. Today's Wolf Pack commander said those same traits still exist as young pilots hone their warfighting skills.

"In one year, Kunsan pilots, mainly young lieutenants and captains, will fly more hours and receive more combat-related training sorties than at any other assignment during their careers," said Moody, a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. "And they will do it in an environment that is more conducive to training than any other base in the Air Force."

First Lt. Chad Davis, 80th Fighter Squadron, said he volunteered for Kunsan for such reasons. "This is the best place to learn about the fighter squadron environment," said Davis, 28. "You are constantly flying and studying."

The lieutenant, a former enlisted maintenance worker, said he was struggling between Kunsan and another base for assignment, when he received advice from members of his old unit, the Virginia Air National Guard. Many had flown F-4s at Kunsan in the 1970s and urged Davis to go to Kunsan.

"They all talked about the great flying and camaraderie," the lieutenant said. "It's still here."

Naturally, some things have changed throughout the years, especially the quality of life. New dormitories and services facilities have been built and more improvements are planned. Moody said most of the initiatives have been taken with the younger troops in mind to ensure "Kunsan is their home away from home" and to ease family separation woes.

"Being away from the family is definitely the hardest part," said Senior Airman Jennifer Kline, 8th Logistics Support Squadron. "I miss my son, daughter and husband, but I understand why I'm here. This assignment is only as tough as you make it."

And she said, laughing, "You're too busy to worry about the little things you might be missing, like McDonalds."

Kunsan is a challenge, but it is also where life-long lessons are learned, said McCauley.

"I wouldn't want anyone to come here unless they volunteer," he said. "But I believe everyone needs to come to a place like Kunsan to know the true meaning of serving your country.

"When a young person leaves here," he continued, "they will leave with a sense of accomplishment. They will know they have achieved something."

Welcome to the Wolf Pack.

Waterline Failures: At Kunsan, in FY96 there were over 33 waterline failures. There was the Thanksgiving Day 1995 outage and three days over the 1995 Christmas holidays. These were caused by a break in the reservoir pipeline near the village of Okku off-base.

To many CE old-timers, the problem was one where the CE folks shot themselves in the foot. They said that when the workers drained the lines, it allowed the pipe joints to dry out. Whether true or not, when the water was turned back on, the joints started to leak everywhere throughout the base.

Base water started tasting "dirty" and the selling of bottled water became the norm as the base could not control the standard of the water. Though the base officials continued to say that the water was fit to drink, the water at the BX and NCO clubs continued to have a bad taste -- and started to smell bad too.

The base started the public relations campaign to explain the water filtration system and to try to reassure the folks of the quality of the water. However, grassroots rumbling continued over the quality of water. Soon thereafter, a machine selling bottled water was placed outside the BX -- and the drinking fountains disconnected inside the BX. No water fountain -- no complaints. The arcade started a concession for Diamond Water coolers where they would deliver the bottled water to your room on base.

But the problem with water problems was not only at Kunsan. There were six USFK installations that the officials could not vouch for the safety of the water. These installations subsisted on bottled water. People on-base started buying water by the cases -- especially in summer -- and it had to be rationed for a while.

It should be noted that at the same time, there was a boom on bottled water on the Korean economy as well. Almost all homes and restaurants moved away from "boiled water" (boli cha - barley tea) to filtered water or bottled water. The reason was that people could understand that boiling killed germs, but they now feared the chemicals that were showing up in the water from illegal dumping into the rivers and streams throughout the nation.

The most famous incident was when the residents in Pusan complained about a ammonia taste and smell in the water, but the government declared it was safe. Repeated complaints resulted in repeated responses that the water was safe. The people took it to the press and started staging protest rallies. It was only then that the government admitted that a factory had been dumping chemical waste into the river. So much for government trust and consumer protection.

If one says, where was the much-touted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that Korea patterned on the U.S. agency? The answer is that the ROK government simply killed the program by transferring the responsibility for the EPA program to the cities without providing any government funding. Consumer protection is not one of the prime concerns in Korea.

Depressed Money: For married personnel living off-base, the Korean economy was turning into a nightmare. The dollar-to-won rate was around 700 won-to-a-dollar and inflation was rampant. The prices of goods doubled, while at the same time, the American GI's paycheck had been effectively halved. A person living off-base with his family was hard pressed to make ends meet. In addition, the face of the "American town" bar row suddenly changed as the GIs were no longer "rich GIs" but rather poor cousins. As the GI business in the bars dropped off, the bar owners turned to Koreans to supplement their revenues. (This is strictly against the Korean law for a tourist bar). Another phenomena was the appearance of Filipino and Russian go-go dancers in the clubs. This reflected the economic conditions in the world as they were cheaper to hire than Koreans. "American Town" which had been a relatively safe area, now became Mecca for lower-class Koreans looking for a cheap place to drink. The confrontation between drunk GIs and Koreans created a new challenge for the Security Police Town Patrol.

American town:

Some people have asked where the name "Silvertown" came from. There was gold ("kum") placer mining and silver ("eun") within the immediate area, but that has been long since mined out. There appears to be no connection between the name and silver mining. The response has always been that "Eun-taun" was just a name without any particular meaning -- like "Eunpa" or "Eunjaksa" in the surrounding area. However, I would guess that the "Eun" meaning "silver" was first used to indicate its status as a "shopping center" or money-making business. This appellation (Eun-taun) was last seen on a rusted sign next to the bridge in the late 1980s. The plaque of incorporation in 1970 on the entrance to A-town only states "Silvertown" in English. Since that time, the name "Eun-taun" has been shortened to simply, "Taun."

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 -- the town outside the walls of American Town. 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.

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.

American Town (1971)

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. A town-patrol by the Security Police was established with offices on the top of the hill. A "clinic" for checking the "girls" was established outside the town.

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. 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.

He 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 is 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.

He said, "The girls in Silvertown didn't like us 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.

American Town (Taun) evolved over the years and upgraded some of its houses and apartments for GIs and dependents. The same basic layout of the town has remained until today...though the streets are now macadamized and the open sewer trenches have been covered over. 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. In the rear of A-town were rows of one-room shanties for the bar-girls. 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. A big change in recent years is that importing of Filipinas and Soviet girls for the clubs. Korean girls have simply outpriced themselves.

In 1999, a paper was written by Yuh Ji-yeon entitled Out of the Shadows: Camptown Women, Military Brides and Korean (American) Communities, Hitting Critical Mass, Vol. 6, Fall 1999. The treatise provides some very enlightening details into the evolution of camptowns in Korea starting from the first camptown in Pupyong in 1945 to the present. The treatise is definitely anti-American in its tone condemning America for the Cheju-do uprising of 1949 -- as well as claiming that America was "implicated" in the Kwangju massacres. The following was included in the treatise from information from My Sister's Place, a community center for these women at Uijongbu. It states:

American Town is a camptown developed with the collusion of both the South Korean and American governments. Built by a South Korean general and land owner in 1969 during the height of the Park Chung Hee regime, turned farm fields in North Cholla province into a sanctioned red-light district for U.S. soldiers. Distinctly marked off from the nearby civilian town of Kunsan and the surrounding countryside by chain-link fences, American Town was at first wholly-owned by 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 Base and the town. Today two buses operate between the camptown 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 the women receive mandatory testing for sexually transmitted diseases. (My Sister's Place, 33-34)

Regardless, this treatise does provide an insightful look at the military bride and their scornful treatment by Koreans themselves. The Korean military wives are to the Korean-American community what the camptown women are to Korean society. The women are spurned by the populace as something "dirty." Even those who marry GIs and move to America will never be fully accepted by the Korean community -- though tolerated -- and are viewed as someone who was "erased" from their family. If in Korea, these camptown women are shunned -- consciously or unconsciously -- as being OUTSIDE the Korean community. At best, these women were referred to as "western ladies" (yang gongju) or "children of the west" (yang saeki) which embodies a duality of both a demeaning status of immorality and a corrupting influence -- while at the same time conveying a sense of modernity and material possessions of the west. However, once Korea became affluent and could afford the western conveniences, the most common references are to "western whores" (yang galbo). Even now, most former military brides who were married out of A-town bars usually reside near the town where they are not treated as lepers -- and shunned by the Korean populace. Thus to the prostitute in A-town marrying an American GI seems to be the only avenue out of their life of being a pariah in their Korea and assuming a "normal" life as a wife and mother.

According to the treatise above, "For the South Korean government, these camptowns have been essential to maintaining smooth relations with the U.S. government. Katharine Moon points out that making sure that camptown women played their proper roles as entertainers and sexual playmates who would foster goodwill towards Korea among the 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 as patriots for earning foreign exchange and boosting the economy, and contributing to the national defense by serving as personal ambassadors to U.S. troops. At monthly meetings at camptowns across South Korea, high ranking government officials thanked the women for their hard work and assured them that their sacrifice for the sake of the nation would not be forgotten." The treatise goes on to refer to these camptown women as "sacrificial lambs" and tries to equate their plight with that of the Japanese comfort women during World War II. The official government response is that the comfort women of WWII were involuntary sexual slaves, while the camptown women in Korean were of their own choice.

Modern camptown activists would rather "revise" history by turning a blind eye to a sad time in Korea's history. After the Korean War, Korea was devasted and under the corrupt government of Syngman Rhee (Lee Syng Man), the U.S. did as it pleased without a SOFA agreement. When Park Chung Hee came to power, the country was still desperately poor and corruption was a way-of-life -- kickbacks and under-the-table money flowed to those in power. In the "monthly meetings" in the camptowns in the 1970s described above, you can be certain that white envelopes with money as "tribute" were handed to the "high-ranking" government officials. To the poor, it was a hand-to-mouth existence. Life was cruel. When A-town was built after the first influx of GIs after the Pueblo Incident, Kunsan was still a hell-hole with beggars, street urchins and slickey boys just scrapping a living anyway they could. These conditions were common throughout Korea. To become a prostitute for many was simply a way to stay alive. Some families sold their daughters as house servants to stay alive -- or worse they were sold to the tea houses or brothels. It is not a pretty part of Korean history that modern activists care to talk about but it was a fact. Instead of confronting the facts of those times -- and attacking the continuing problems in Korea with open prostitution -- they turn a blind eye to Korean modern history and focus the blame on others external from Korea -- such as the Americans -- as the cause of all their perceived ills.

However, one must admit that there is a grain of truth in the U.S. government "collusion" statement made in the treatise. When A-town was first established, 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. This had been a problem of how to control the troops had plagued senior commanders on the base since the late 1950s. By moving the "red-light" district closer to the base in a "controlled" area, the U.S. military could better "protect" their troops. At that time many GIs lived downtown -- or "disappeared" for overnight stays. A-town was an answer to a ticklish problem of control of the troops during their off-duty hours. They couldn't restrict the troops to base -- and unlike Camp Casey in Tongduchon, they couldn't build a bar row directly outside the base because of the three-mile exclusionary requirement (see Nuclear Alert). A-town was a trade-off solution to the problem by keeping their personnel in an "controlled" area -- while providing them an "entertainment" outlet. In addition, there was a shortage of barracks space on Kunsan and some Sgts and above were allowed to move off-base to relieve the housing shortage. 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 occupy rooms in a building at the top of the hill "donated" by A-town for their use. These advantages to Kunsan AB made A-town very "convenient" for the Kunsan AB hierarchy. (NOTE: Remember that prior to the mid-1980s, the roads and public transportation were so bad that going to Osan or Seoul for weekend trips was not a feasible entertainment outlet. The troops were trapped in Kunsan unless they took leave. However, by the 1990s, going to Osan or Seoul on the weekends was standard for most personnel.)

There were ethical problems for the Korean government associated with a government-sponsored "red-light" district in a country where prostitution is illegal. The way around this was to call A-town a "special entertainment district." In this way, the bars were allowed to operate with much lower taxation rate on alcohol and beer. In exchange, the women working in the clubs -- including the old waitresses -- were given a "VD card" number and "registered" with the government so that they could be controlled. In the 1970s, all the women wore tags on their dresses with the numbers and some were color coded "red" to show infection. By the 1990s, the "VD cards" were stored behind the bars -- for spot inspections by the U.S. "health" patrol from the base -- and tags were seldom worn. The bar girls were most often in debt to the bar owners -- and sometimes their "contracts" were sold to other bars. Many times these girls would runaway to another town.

All the bars in A-town were called "tourist clubs" and bore the "Hibiscus" (Mugu-hwa) logo of the KNTO (Korean National Tourist Organization) above the door. As such, these clubs are supposed to be strictly for "tourists" -- which category the GIs technically fall under. In other words, no Korean national customers were allowed -- except as guests of the GIs. A-town was a strictly GI preserve. This was fine when Korea was a poor country and only the Americans had spendable income to drink "expensive" beer or imported whiskey. However, when affluence hit Korea in the late 1980s, the lower-class individuals (i.e., fishermen) had income -- but not enough to afford the Korean nightclubs -- and started to appear in the clubs. Fights and other disturbances with Korean nationals became more common. The problem perpetuated itself when the base at times put the town off-limits because of these problems with Korean nationals. However, the bar owners having to make ends meet opened their bars to the Koreans. The problems got worse. By the 1990s, knifings, beatings and drunken brawls between drunken Korean nationals within the town limits were very common.

---

The following photos are from F-16 Mathis taken in 2000. (We attempted to find an email on the page, but this appears to be a "orphaned page.")

A-town main entrance
Entering bar row
Rice paddy at Mimiyon
Back road at Mimiyon

From F-16 Mathis (Click on photos to enlarge)

In 1996, Grace Lee released a documentary of the life in A-town, Grace Lee. (See 1999 for more on American town). The "guide" of the film, Yeon Ja Kim, used to work in the old Las Vegas and as of 2002, resided in Osan. Some older business owners stated she chose the role of a self-important "reformer" which led to a lot of friction with others in the town. Regardless, it was said that she was a faithful Christian and took on the role of "reformer" as a result of her religious beliefs. "Kim leads us through "American Town", a government-subsidized entertainment district for American Air Force personnel. She shows us the VD clinic, bars, and discusses her own life in the camptowns over three decades." What is interesting is the varied places that this film has been shown.

Grace Lee's Films:

Running Time: 28 min.
Country: USA/Korea
Year: 1996
Producers/Directors Grace Lee and Diana S. Lee
Format: Video
For rental or purchase:
NAATA
Third World Newsreel
Synopsis

From "Hooker Hill" in Seoul to "American Town" near Kunsan Air base, thousands of Korean women have been working as prostitutes for American soldiers since the Korean War. CAMP ARIRANG explores the lives of Korean women employed as "special entertainers" for American GIs, many in conditions tantamount to indentured servitude. Verite and archival footage are combined with interviews of prostitutes, soldiers, and scholars to reveal a disturbing story of Korean and U.S. military collusion in the sale and control of women's bodies. Our guide is Yeon Ja Kim, 53, a charismatic ex-prostitute who now devotes her life to the welfare of older prostitutes and their fatherless Amerasian children. Kim leads us through "American Town", a government-subsidized entertainment district for American Air Force personnel. She shows us the VD clinic, bars, and discusses her own life in the camptowns over three decades. We later visit her home, recently converted to a daycare center for Amerasian children.

Crew

Producer/Director Grace Lee and Diana S. Lee
Videographer Diana S. Lee
Editor Mary Beth Bresolin
Consultant/Translator Katharine H.S. Moon
Music Woody Pak & Probyn Gregory
Produced with grants from National Endowment for the Arts, National Asian American Telecommunications Association, Kentucky Foundation for Women, Center for Experimental Television, Fulbright Foundation

Distributors

Third World Newsreel
National Asian American Telecommunications Association

Screenings (partial listing)

Broadcast on "Through the Lens" series, WBYE-TV (PBS) Philadelphia
Free Speech TV (national public access program)
"Contemporary Korean American Artists," Korean American Museum, Los Angeles
Cinematexas, Austin, TX
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Women in the Director’s Chair Festival
Margaret Mead Documentary Film/Video Festival
Chicago International Film Festival - Intercom ; Winner Silver Plaque Documentary
Asian Cinevision Videoscape: Asian American Video Showcase (NY)
Visual Communications Asian Pacific Film Festival (LA)
Finalist, USA Short Film & Video Festival (Dallas)
Chicago Asian American Film Festival
Best Documentary, Utah Short Film & Video Festival
Central Florida Film & Video Festival
Film Arts Foundation Festival (San Francisco)
Documental series, Midnight Special Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA
Second Asian American Film Festival, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Broadcast on Free Speech TV affiliates, December 1996
"Kijichon" (G.I. Town) Film Festival, Seoul, KOREA
The film is also used in courses on Korea, gender studies, political science.

Yeon-ja Kim's religious zeal can be explained by the following webpage dealing with the ministry in American Town and the charitable work being done there for the older women. A small "chapel" has been opened within A-town in one of the former bars. Jack and Kim Wattleworth started the mission under the auspices of the Haesung Presbyterian Church, Sanbuk-dong 2706, Kunsan, Chonbuk, Korea 573-500. The Church's webpage of the Jack Wattleworth is about the Alabaster Jar Mission. It states:

Nineteen years ago, in 1981, Hae Seong Presbyterian Church, located here in Kunsan began a mission in the entertainment area of Kunsan known as American Town. This mission was to provide outreach ministry to those people who lived and worked in the American Town area. These were mostly Korean people but did include some American servicemen with Korean wives who lived in the area. This has been a successful mission from the beginning and has been responsible for leading a number of people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1994 my wife, Kim Son Ok Wattleworth, and I were sent here by the Presbyterian Church (U SA) to assist Hae Seong Church in running the Alabaster Jar Mission. Shortly after our arrival a number of girls from the Philippines arrived to begin working in the American Town area. Following them by several months were a number of girls from the former Soviet Union.

This changed the direction of the mission but not the emphasis. Now instead of missioning to only to Korean people with a few Americans we were now missioning to Koreans, Filipinos, Americans, Russians and those from the republics that were the former Soviet Union. There are presently approximately 200 girls working in the clubs and bars of American Town of these approximately 60 attend our mission. This number changes periodically since the Filipinos and Russians only stay for a given period of time, from 3 months to 1 year. During the time that they are here we try to win them for Jesus Christ and I believe that we have had considerable success since we have had over 50 girls leave the area since our arrival, many of them have married and gone on to be housewives and mothers.

In addition we also do outreach ministry to the older women who live in the American Town area, many former prostitutes who only feel "at home" in this environment. We currently have four women over the age of seventy attending as well as several more over the age of fifty. One of our future projects is to try and provide housing for these older women some of whom can barely survive after paying their rent. We are praying that before long we can have a social program going that will provide community housing for these women.

Some of the other things that are done by the mission are: holding a food bazaar once or twice a year, with the proceeds going to the socially and physically disadvantaged and periodically visiting the local prison to provide worship and social intercourse with some of the prisoners. Additionally, we provide counseling service, including marriage counseling, to all who need this service.

The worshipping opportunities provided by the mission are: worship service in English (at 1pm) and Korean (at 2PM) every Wednesday and Bible Study (1PM) every Thursday. On Sunday all those who attend the mission are asked to attend Hae Seong Church, the parent church, for worship services at 11 AM or 2:30 PM or both.

If you are interested in any, or all, of the programs at Alabaster Jar Mission or would just like to drop in, please either drop in or contact me or my wife through Hae Seong Presbyterian Church at (063) 466-3769

IMF Hits: And then to make matters worse, the economic situation started to unravel. By December 1995, people knew Korea was in trouble though the Korean government adamantly tried to deny this. Though the government moved to support its won, it was throwing good money after bad. By spring of 1996, Korea was faced with the reality that it was above its head in debt.

The "IMF Crisis" hit. Because of Korea's monetary excesses in supporting their "chaebols" (conglomerates) and allowing them uncontrolled expansion, the businesses had over-extended credit. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) moved in to bail Korea out of its $3.2 billion debt, but only after Korea promised to revamp its business practices, open its doors to free trade, and eliminate its practice of protectionism. As of the year 2000, Korea is well on its way to full recovery and has repaid the bulk of its loan. Financial institutions which had dragged their feet in making changes were forced by Kim Dae-Jung into insolvency or consolidation. Some troubled auto companies have failed to be "partnered" with other foreign companies who do not see the Korean offers as being attractive enough. The won-to-dollar rate is around 1100 won-to-a-dollar. As to its promises of free trade, well...the American Trade Representatives are still waiting.

The Koreans had started in 1990 on an ambitious plan to upgrade their military hardware. However, after the "IMF Crisis" started being felt in 1995, Korea shelved many of these ambitious plans...but only temporarily.

North Korea Abandons DMZ: In 1996, North Korea announced that it would abandon its responsibilities to take part in managing the Demilitarized Zone. Its reasoning was that it was short of funds to maintain its responsibilities. However, it soon became apparent that they wished the South to pick up the tab for reconstruction of many DMZ transportation projects that were previously negotiated. For example, the North asked the south for funds to complete a railway project and to start rebuilding the railway links to South Korea.

In April 1996 North Korea sent a 130-strong fully-armed platoon into the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom, in flagrant contravention of the 1953 Armistice. After three days of this had rattled everyone and put the military on alert, the incursions suddenly stopped. The North was appealing for food aid at the time, so it didn't seem to add up. Analysts shrugged and filed it under general Pyongyang bizarre behavior. In 1998, a new government in Seoul was determined to clean up the Agency for National Security Planning (NSP), formerly the KCIA and now called the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Accusations arose that the JSA provocations were more than coincidence - and the dirty truth came out. The errant agents and their bosses were duly sacked, tried and sentenced. Supposedly there was colusion between the North Koreans and the ruling party to create tension in the DMZ to cause voters to vote for the "standards."

On peace initiatives, the ROK and the US presidents proposed Four-Party Talks for peace on the Korean peninsula.

The following is from Psy Warrior in an article extracted from Part Two, "Security Environment and Threat Assessment", Chapter Three, "North Korean Situation and Military Threat", of the 1996-1997 Defense White Paper, published by the Department of Defense in Washington DC.

Recent North Korean propaganda and instigation are intended: to intensify criticism and reproach against specific persons and the South Korean government by criticizing and fabricating false stories on the globalization, summit diplomacy and reform policies of the incumbent government; to create distrust among the South Korean populace against the government by spreading distorted and exaggerated information on the irregularities within the South Korean military and regarding living conditions of the populace, and thus estranging the public from the government. North Korea, while it unilaterally abrogated the Armistice Agreement, has continuously strengthened propaganda offensives against the South as usual.

First, North Korea has intensified vilification and reproach specific persons. It has criticized and reproached South Korea's diplomacy toward Europe, the UN and the Asia-Pacific region as flunkeyism and sellout diplomacy. It has also vilified and reproached specific persons regarding the rectification of history and the general elections to the Fifteenth National Assembly.

Second, Pyongyang is instigating an anti-American and anti-government struggle in South Korea. It has been heightening tension on the peninsula, falsely labeling ROK government response measures to the nuclear issue as well as ROK-US joint military exercises as "exercises to attack the North." While it spreads anti-American sentiment among the South Koreans in relation with South Korea's market opening and the ROK-US SOFA agreement, North Korea is instigating an anti-government struggle to oppose the construction of nuclear waste storage sites and to abolish the ROK's National Security Law.

Third, North Korea has plotted the disintegration of public consensus among South Koreans by falsely propagating information on the South Korean military and society. It has intensified its vilification against the South Korean military service conditions to make the servicemen weary of their duties and to curtail their morale. It has also schemed to arouse distrust among university students and workers against the current government by vilifying government policy regarding the Kwangju incident and labor disputes, thus instigating an anti-government struggle and the disintegration of public consensus.

Fourth, it has continued to carry out disguised peace offensives by proposing "Ten Principles for Uniting the Korean People" and advocating a peace treaty with the US. It has intensified its disguised peace offensives to project a peaceful image for itself at home and abroad and to take initiative in the South-North dialogue. In order to carry out these aims, North Korea conducted the August 15 Pan-Korean Assembly and proposed the Federation of Koryo Republic, Ten Principles for Uniting the Korean People, and the replacement of the existing Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty with the US.

Fifth, North Korea has continued to launch propaganda about the supremacy of the North Korean-style socialist system. Faced with a system crisis after the collapse of the East European communist bloc, North Korea has stepped up its propaganda on the supremacy of the socialist system and its ideology. Since the death of Kim Il Sung, North Korea has highly praised Kim Jong-il's leadership and tried to implant a pro-North Korea group in the South and to strengthen internal cohesion of its system by calling for allegiance to Kim Jong-il.

All in all, North Korea has been trying to establish a basis for achieving unification by communizing the South through such psychological warfare as vilification of individual persons, thus attempting to impair the legitimacy of the current ROK government, and instigation of anti-government struggle and social disorder.

North Korean Submarine: A North Korean submarine ran aground in Kangnung in September 1996, leading to the deaths of 24 of its crew members in an incident that chilled relations between the two Koreas.

A shark-class North Korean submarine was found stranded off the South's east coast, touching off a 53-day manhunt for 26 occupants who came ashore. South Korean officials said that submarine hit a reef and ran aground while approaching the eastern coast to pick up three agents dropped off a day earlier. North Korea says the submarine drifted into southern waters by accident.

Twenty-six of the crew swam ashore. Eleven of the dead submarine crew were found together, killed either in a group suicide or possibly by their fellow crewmen -- each shot in the head execution style. The remaining were killed or found dead with one was captured and the last one was missing. The manhunt by 60,000 soldiers, reservists and police left 37 people dead -- 24 North Koreans and 13 South Koreans -- and sent relations between the two Koreas to their lowest level in years. One North Korean infiltrator was captured and another was believed to have returned to the North. The 13 South Koreans included five South Korean soldiers. The chase led to a full-mobilization of the ROK forces to capture the agents.

In December 1996, North Korea apologized for the submarine intrusion, but never admitted the infiltrators were North Koreans. In a statement from a foreign ministry spokesman, North Korea expressed "deep regret" and vowed to "make efforts to ensure that such an incident will not recur." In the coming years, North Korean midget subs were found or semi-submersibles were sunk in running gun battles. Thus the words meant nothing.

1997:

8th FW receives AFOUA: The Pacific Air Forces Commander awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA) to the 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan AB, ROK, for the period of Aug. 1, 1995 - July 31, 1997.

Col. Mark Welsh (8FW Cmdr) and Jeff Banks with recovered ring
(Click on photo to enlarge)

MSgt Jeff Banks wrote that he was stationed at Kunsan from 1996-1997. He said, "While I was at "The Kun," I had a unique experience. I happened to hear about our new Wing Commander's misfortune at having lost his wedding ring on the softball field. I'm a part-time treasure hunter, and I had taken my metal detector to Korea with me, so I rang up the Command Post and volunteered my services. I found his ring for him, and he had my pic put in the base paper with a short article. He also took me to the club and treated me to a steak dinner, and he gave me permission to "treasure hunt" around the base -- didn't find much else, but, that was a memorable experience!"

The pictures of the 8th Munitions Maintenance Squadron, Munitions Storage Area , known as the "Bomb Dump" below were excerpted from the home page of Jeff 9's Homepage .

Bomb Dump (1997)

Bomb Dump (1997)

Bomb Dump (1997)

North Korean Missile Threat: At Kunsan, the threat of missile attack increased. North Korea's more powerful Rodong-2 (No Dong 2) was complete. The Rodong 2 has a longer range than the Rodong 1, up to 940 miles but carries half the payload at 225 pounds. The North was rumored to have started mass production of the longer-range Taepo Dong-1 with a range of 1,000 km (600 miles). At Kunsan, the chemical warfare training continued in earnest.

Exercises: By 1997, "Team Spirit" was only a dim memory. During its existence, "Team Spirit" caused numerous excuses for North Korea to engage in saber-rattling. Now North Korea used "Ulchi Focus" or "Foal Eagle" to rattle their saber, but the world no longer paid attention as the exercises were relatively limited in scope. Combined unit operations were still held but now in other locations such as Alaska or Thailand.

Downsizing Military and Win-Lose Situation: Throughout the world the American military was scaling down -- starting first in Europe. In the early-1990s, America rethought its force strength policies. It proposed a "win-win" scenario in which it would be able to fight and win two regional conflicts at the same time. It then attempted to align it forces along these lines. However, by the mid-1990s, it became apparent that the policy would result in a "win-lose" situation -- where America could only win on one front.

By 1996, doomsayers were stating that it was a "lose-lose" policy where America had cut so deeply into its troop strengths that it could not win in either location if confronted with two conflicts at once. There was a frantic rush to increase military funding, but some argued it may have been too late. The cuts had gone too deep. In 2000, the military still mouthed the "win-win" philosophy and promises to deliver an additional 690,000 troops to Korea in the event of an attack. Only in 2002 did the DoD announce that it had a win-on-one-front policy meaning that they could win one war, but the other would have to be a holding action at best.

In the face of these depressing realities, the 8th Fighter Wing tightened its belt and pressed on. Its job was not to worry about military policy. It's job was to fight and win...and it exercised to this end disregarding all the nay-sayers. It practiced and practiced its war scenarios until there were fine-tuned.

Interesting Comment from the Navy: The following is an excerpt of the VAQ-133's 1997 Deployment to Iwakuni, Japan and the Far East. It stated, "After CQ aboard the Indy, I returned to Iwakuni, did my laundry and left the next afternoon for to meet the squadron for a detachment already in Progress in Kunsan, Korea. I was able to get an insight, thankfully brief into the Korean Culture during an exploration of their market. Now I am a fairly open minded individual, but I really couldn't develop the nose to tolerate the piles of dried squid, fish and god knows what other creatures. I was only mildly repulsed when I saw a man dip his finger into a vat of cold gray ooze that was salted fish guts. I was truly repulsed when he swished it around, then pulled it out and licked it off. I fled in terror like a child running from the bogey man when we arrived at the bow-wow butcher and there was Lassie all filleted and ready for roastin'. Okay, so I didn't flee, but I sure didn't eat anything until we got back to base. In the words of Bruce "Banzai" Kocher, I don't want that nation's food in my body". As an aside, we passed a pet shop on the way back to the bus station and I don't recall seeing any live animals in there. Okay, I'm being unduly harsh and judgmental. I actually did have Korean food (protein source indeterminate) up in Osan and it was very good. Osan, by the way, was a great place to go shopping too. You name it; it can be gotten there."

This is a standard commentary of the visit to our local open air market near the railway station. The market has been in the same location from the Japanese occupation days -- and will be there for many years more selling "Lassie" at the bow-wow butcher.

Aircraft Save: Recipient of LT GEN GORDON A. BLAKE AIRCRAFT SAVE AWARD in Feb 97, MSgt Neil T. Spissu (RAPCON, Coordinator), 8 OSS, Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea. While stationed at Kunsan Air Base, MSgt Spissu's outstanding attention to detail and vigilance are directly responsible for the prevention of a disastrous situation involving a valuable Air Force asset. An aircraft's onboard radar malfunctioned and locked onto an aircraft which was approximately 5 miles in front of him. Instruments showed the pilot was 5 miles south of airport causing the pilot to begin a steep descent for landing when, in fact, he was actually 12 miles south. MSgt Spissu caught the error deviation, thereby preventing the aircraft from crashing. (SITE NOTE: In Apr 2007, Tony Lawson, "your article (KUNSAN AIR BASE:HOW IT WAS) on the aircraft save award is missing some other information. Msgt Spissu was only assisting the controller that actually issued the altitude warning. That controller was also awarded the Save Award. I was the controller, actually working the traffic. Articles in the wolfpack paper during that period, decorations awarded and the actual aircraft save award certificate all will verify this information. Tony Lawson US AIR FORCE retired." Unfortunately, when we loaded this tidbit of info a few years ago, we failed to mark the reference. The Lt. Gen. Gordon Blake Aircraft Save Award is an existing USAF award, but we cannot find a source on the internet for a listing of past winners. Verification is required on this item.)

Protests: At the local level, the protests started getting vocal at the main gate of Kunsan over the increased landing fees for the airlines brought about by the increased frequency of flights. Remember that the new industrial complex at Kunsan was in full swing and businessmen needed this travel means between Kunsan and Seoul. Its popularity had increased from once-a-day for one airline; to once-a-day for two airlines; then twice a day for two; next three times a day for two.

The protests forced the main gate closures every Friday starting at 1300. The protests center around the argument that "THIS IS KOREA. KUNSAN IS OURS. GIVE US BACK OUR LAND." A little simplistic perhaps, but Kunsan AB will not disappear as long as the Korean reunification is not in place. But perhaps these patriotic protests may mask a more mercenary motive. If you note who the protestors are, you will find that they are the land owners around the base. If the base reverted to full Korean control, the 3-mile exclusionary zone would disappear and they would all become instant millionaires.

But the rhetoric from the Korean side says, "With the five demands of the Civilian Movement (SOFA revision, rent payment, eradication of crime by the U.S. soldiers, revocation of gratis land - land around the base that the U.S. army does not pay rent for, but which cannot be used by anyone else - and noise damage solution), we assemble in front of the main gate of Kunsan U.S. Military Base every Friday at 2 P.M. Up to now (as of Nov. 19, 1999) we have had 100th Friday Assemblies." They want to change the SOFA, but they fail to see the reality that the SOFA is based on MONEY share. If you pay more, you get more. The Koreans don't want to pay, but want the same SOFA terms as Japan. (NOTE: The SOFA talks resume in fall 2000, but it has consistently been deadlocked for the past four years over legal definitions to protect the rights of soldiers -- and now the Koreans wish to expand it to cover environmental and Korean worker protection.) As for the rest of their arguments, you can make up your own mind. In our opinion, it is filled with faulty logic and unrealistic expectations. (The homepage for information of this Cholla area protest organization is at http://inp.or.kr . However, it is all in Hangul (Korean). It used to have two articles in English on this on-going protest "The Civilian Movement for Regaining Our Land in Kunsan U.S. Military Base" and "Our Request for Regaining of Territorial Rights in the Kunsan U.S. Military Airbase." Both used the same rhetoric that was heard in the 1980s. For more information, write humanrights@sarangbang.or.kr .)

North Korean Defector and Spy Operations: Hwang Jang Yop, a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the People's Supreme Assembly and #24 on North Korea's pecking order arrived in a taxi at the South Korean Consulate in Beijing at about 10 am, on Feb 12, 1997 (Beijing time) and asked for political asylum in South Korea. Hwang was accompanied by Kim Duk Hung, president of a North Korean trading company stationed in Beijing.

Unfortunately after his arrival, his promised list of "10,000 spies" dwindled to people whose names he recognized during his work in North Korea. Whether his "list" is being suppressed or if he really has no useful information, is still a matter of debate in Korea. He remains under house protection in South Korea.

On October 27, 1997, a husband and wife spy team was arrested in Ulsan. This sparked a massive manhunt for spies. According to an American intelligence source, the confessed husband-wife master spy ring had provided a list of 10 master spies in South Korea. They were presumably sent to Seoul on a mission to reorganize Pyongyang's deep-cover agents.

Portions of this text is excerpted from S Korea's Anjibu Arrests Alleged NK Spies.

Ch'oe Chong-Nam and Kang Yon-Chong, husband and wife agents dispatched by North Korea.

Supposedly they were uncovered when they attempted to urge a man named Ch'oe, a core member of the Ulsan chapter of the National Alliance for Democracy and Unification, to go to North Korea with them and revealed that they were from North Korea. Their tactics were similar to Kim Tong Sik, a north Korean armed agent who infiltrated into Puyo in October 1995 and approached movement activists. They were arrested in Ulsan Korean Hotel on October 27 and launched an investigation.

In the course of the investigation, the ANSP confirmed that other spies were uncovered. On the list were 10 spymasters that included members of the ruling and opposition parties, workers and others from all walks of life. Ko Young Bok, a renowned emeritus professor of sociology at Seoul National University (SNU) carried out spy activities for over 36 years. In addition, Sim Chong-ung, a core employee of the Seoul Subway Corporation, and his family were resident spies who carried out secret activities for over 40 years after having infiltrated into the major industries of the nation, including the railway and subway systems.

Mr. Ko song-chin, chief of anti-Communist investigation section of the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), stated, "As for the incident of the husband-wife team of spies dispatched by North Korea, Ch'oe Chong-nam was selected as an agent in 1984 while studying in the senior class at Sariwon University in North Korea. Kang yon-Chong was selected as an agent in 1986 immediately after graduating from a high school. According to a directive from the leadership of the Guidance Department for the agents in November 1990, they got married and gave birth to a boy who is now 5 years old and lives in Pyongyang. Thus, they are an agent team of an actual husband and wife who received agent training for over 10 years, as well as field-adaptation training in China on four occasions. They appeared to be the most elite of the agents."

The spokesman continued, "As for the route of their infiltration, on July 30, they were supplied with pistols, poison guns, poison needles, radios, counterfeit IDs, and money. They departed Nampo port in an infiltration boat disguised as a fishing boat. [passage omitted on their landing route in South Korea - probably Koje-do] After the infiltration, they tried to understand the practical situation in South Korea by touring many places, including Kyongju, Pusan, Ulsan, Chonju, Kwangju, Ichon, and Suwon for over two months and rented a room for 200,00 won a month on the second floor of a Chinese restaurant in Kurodong, Seoul, thus securing a safe house."

He continued, "The main tasks assigned to them when they were dispatched to South Korea were: * To contact Ko Young Bok, an honorary professor at SNU who was already won over by north Korea, to examine his activities, and through him, to win over a certain professor Kim at SNU to their side. * To contact Sim Chong-ung, head of a facility work team in the Tongjak chapter of the Seoul Subway Corporation and to encourage his activities and to report on feasible methods to paralyze the Seoul subways in an emergency. * To win over to their side a certain Chong, who was a core member in the Ulsan chapter of the NADU, and a certain Pak, who was a member of the executive committee of the Wansan District chapter in Chonju of a certain opposition party and who is presently a Chonju municipal council member. Additional tasks were: + To collect information on the South Korean situation, including the presidential election; + To obtain good-quality seeds of a corn stalk developed by Professor Kim Sun-kun of Kyongbuk University in order to send it as a gift of loyalty to General Kim Jong Il; + To acquire copies of citizen's registrations and identification cards and electronic resident cards; + To discover Hwang Jang Yup's hiding place. [passage omitted on their contacts with Ko Young Bok and Sim Chong-ung to give funds and instructions]

"Ch'oe Chong-nam and Kang Yon-Chong created six caches in Mt. Kwanak, Kyongju, the ceramic village of the folk village, and the sports park in Pongch'on Chapter, and buried all their espionage equipment. In addition to these caches, there are two other caches made by other agents for an emergency, bringing the total to eight."

"Kang Yon-Chong (the wife) refused to testify and maintained her loyalty to Kim Jong Il. She committed suicide the very next day after swallowing a poison capsule, which she hid deep in her vagina, arrested her. Although she was taken to a hospital immediately, she died on October 31."

Prof. Ko is in poor health and he has been undergoing interrogation in a hospital bed. He went to North Korea in 1989 as a member of a S Korean government delegation. A relative of his presumably recruited Ko to spy for the North. Ko has been sending intelligence data since 1989. Prof. Ko was active in the Sae Ma-ul (a Korean version of the New Deal) in the 1970's and has written a number of books. The ANSP spokesman continued, "Now, let me tell you about Ko Young Bok, an honorary professor at SNU who carried out spy activities for 36 years. While behaving as a conservative rightist, Ko became a prestigious figure by serving as the president of the Korea Sociology Society, chief researcher at the Institute of Modern Society, and advisor to north-south Red Cross talks."

"During his school days at SNU, Ko volunteered as a militia during the Korean War and was imprisoned at a POW camp on Koje island. As he had confessed, he was thoroughly armed with socialist ideas from his school days. In addition, his uncle Ko Chong-ok, an SNU professor of Korean Literature, defected to the north during the Korean war and became a professor at Kim Il Sung University."

"Ko became a North Korean agent in September 1961, when he was won over by north Korean agents with letters from Chang Mae-yun, his SNU colleague, and his uncle Ko Chong-ok. Ko received orders from him to organize students and carry out spy activities at SNU, and was given the spy name of Kongsusan, and received $1,000, a table of random numbers, and a table of telegraph words. In 1966, he contacted a female agent who had infiltrated into the ROK, and received a new table of random numbers and table of telegraph words, and furnished a room in Songbook-dong as her safehouse. For a month, Ko helped her out by sending secret codes to north Korea in her stead. In 1971, during his visit to Pyongyang as an advisor to the north-south Red Cross talks, Ko secretly provided south Korean strategy for the talks to Kang Chang-su, who was disguised as a North Korean counterpart."

"In June 1989, Ko contacted Kim Nak-hyo, who has infiltrated into the ROK five times, and rented him a room in Chungjongno. Ko was ordered to provide Kim with the ROK's ability to develop nuclear weapons and information on professor Kim Sun-kun."

"Ko provided Kim Nak-hyo the information that the ROK was unable to make an atomic bomb due to US pressures, and that he would continue to study professor Kim. The information was submitted to Kim Nak-hyo via transliteration into English. [passage omitted on Ko's other spy activities, escape route via overseas in emergency] then Ko and Kim used halves of a copper pendant to identify north Korean agents. Ko recognized the Ch'oe couple with the copper pendant, and was ordered to hand over an analysis of the ROK's post-presidential election policy on north Korea. [passage omitted on talks with Ch'oe Chong-nam.] while preparing the requested data, he received a call on November 1 from an unidentified North Korean agent to go to the North Korean Embassy in Beijing immediately as it was an emergency."

"Ko tore up the orders from Ch'oe Chong-nam and the two-page policy data to get rid of the evidence, but investigators found them in the trash can in his office. Consequently, Ko has been found to be a deep-cover agent who thoroughly hid his identity, received orders from six agents, and carried out spy activities for the last 36 years."

"Next, I will explain the espionage activities of Sim Chong-ung and his family. All three brothers of Sim's uncle, including Sim Ung-sop, defected to north Korea during the Korean War. Sim Ung-sop came to the ROK several times on espionage. Sim Chong-ung, Sim's grandfather Sim Sang-hyong, and cousin Sim Chae-hun have served as North Korean agents, while his aunt Kim Yu-sun, brother Sim Chae-man, cousin Sim Chae-ch'on have helped their activities by establishing an underground resident spy network by Using their home in Taegun-myon, Kimpo county, as contact base and a safe house."

"In September 1958, Sim Chong-ung who was then a 16-year-old second year middle school student on temporary leave from school, went to the north with his uncle, Sim Ung-sop, who was dispatched to the south, and received espionage training. He received orders to enter a transportation high school since the north can be victorious in the war to liberate south Korea if the railway is paralyzed. Thus, he was ordered to work in the railway sector after graduation."

"He was entrusted with operational number, Ch'olmasan 66, which signifies the railway, and returned to the South. He graduated from the transportation high school as ordered and was immediately appointed as a civil servant of the Ch'ongnyangri locomotive office affiliated with the office of Korean National Railroads."

"He once again went to the north in April 1966 and learned in detail about the core facilities of the Railway and received orders to recruit as many sympathizers as possible so that they can be used in case of an emergency. He received $1,000 and 3 million won for communication equipment such as radios and operational funds and returned to the south and continued to work for the office of Korean national railways."

"In 1984 when the Seoul metropolitan subway corporation was inaugurated, he volunteered to work for the Seoul Metropolitan Subway Corporation to continue his operations in Seoul. From then until now he has been working in the facilities field."

"In 1989, Sim Chong-ung made contacts with Kim Nak-hyo, who was dispatched to the south 11 times. He also reported to him on the condition of organizations of members of eight various social gatherings including alumni associations and friendship gatherings of the Subway Corporation which were formed in accordance with North Korea's order to rally with sympathizing forces. He received operational equipment such as poison capsules, radios, and a table Of random numbers, which he hid in cache, and received 3 million won to buy an automobile for operational purposes."

"In particular, in the process of holding contacts with the husband and wife spy couple who were dispatched to the south on six occasions, he drew up and submitted a pledge of loyalty to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, pledging that it was an endless honor to work under the leadership of General Kim Jong Il. He learned how to use up-to-date radios from the couple in such places as the Han River park and Mt. Kwanak."

"Upon orders, he reported on materials which he had gathered on items such as certificates of residence; identification cards of an intelligence corporation's employees; identification cards of employees of the subway corporation; contents analyzing the propensity of friendly gatherings; and movements of a certain Mr. Chong, the former trade union leader of the Subway, who is regarded as an influential man in the subway trade union."

"He also reported on various materials such as the Ch'ongdung voice, subway trade union news, and wage struggle news. Moreover, regarding the order to paralyze the subway which was in accordance with the teachings of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, Sim Chong-ung reported on methods to paralyze the subway noting that if the underground water management facility and the electricity management facilities are destroyed, the whole subway can be paralyzed."

"As such, he reported on the situation of core facilities and places where these core facilities were located. He even reported that in order to paralyze core facilities in an emergency, additional help would be needed from the north. As such, it was revealed that Sim Chong-ung secretly worked as a spy for 39 years to follow Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's teaching that the railway and subway are of utmost importance. It was learned that north Korea's operational guiding department intentionally trained young people and placed them in the nation's railway and subway system infrastructure."

"Also, Sim Chong-ung's second cousin Sim Chae-ho went to the North with his uncle, Sim ung-sop, who was dispatched to the south in 1967, and joined the Workers Party and received orders to operate as long as possible in Seoul. He returned to Seoul after receiving espionage equipment such as radios and stayed in hiding. His aunt Kim Yu-sun acted as a liaison by delivering espionage equipment and providing hideouts for spies dispatched to the South."

"Confiscated equipment used by the agents are as follows: 205 items of 10 different types of lethal equipment, including three hand grenades, 170 live cartridges, four poison guns, 14 poison needles, and six poison capsules; 94 Items of 16 types of communications equipment, including six radio transmitters; code books; reagent bottles and paper for hiding letters; four forged identification cards; forged policeman's identification for emergency use; some 23 million won in cash, which is the remainder of some 30 million won they had received as operation funds; and explosion fuses found at Sim Chong-ung's residence."

"In addition, it has been confirmed through this investigation that the north Korean operations offices committed previous acts of terror and kidnappings. The shooting death of the north Korean defector Yi Han-tong at Sehyon-tong, Pundang in February was committed by a special agent team referred to as the 'sun-ho' team, consisting of Ch'oe Sun-ho and an unidentified man in his twenties."

"As professional terrorists belonging to the north Korean Social Culture Ministry, they were sent to the south about one month before the murder. After Returning to north Korea, they were named heroes and received plastic surgery on their faces. The plan was to dispatch them to the south again in the future."

"The couple agent team, Ch'oe Chong-nam and his wife, stated before they were sent to the south that they received instructions not to contact targets through a public messenger service shop because a special team had been disclosed after it had used a messenger service, and that in an emergency, they could use operational equipment buried in Pongch'on-tong by the special agent team before they returned to the north."

"In accordance with the instructions, the couple had received, the investigation team dug a Cache at the area mentioned and found an envelope, with 10 poison needles in it, from the Hansol Foreign Language institute located at Sehyon-tong in Pudang, and a copy of the daily local paper Kyoch'aro dated 20 January, which was used to wrap the radio transmitter. These facts back up agent Ch'oe Chong-nam's Statement."

"Kim Yong-nam, who was reported missing from a swimming beach on Sonyu island off Kunsan on August 6, 1978 when he was a freshman of Kunsan technical high school, was actually kidnapped by three North Korean agents belonging to an operations office in charge of Southward infiltration. At Kim Jong Il's order to kidnap new South Koreans for use in operations because those who defected to the north during the Korean War were too old, they were sent to the south and kidnapped Kim Yong-nam from a beach on Sonyu island on August 5 in the same year."

"Yi Myong-u, then a senior at Ch'onan Agricultural High school and Hong Kun-p'yo, then a senior at Ch'onan Commercial High School were also missing from the swimming beach at Hong island in South Cholla province on August 10, 1978. However, they were kidnapped by north Korean agents and are now working as instructors of so-called 'southernization' who train agents on south Korean realities and intonation so they can be sent to the south. It has been confirmed that the Ch'oe Chong-nam couple, who were recently dispatched to the south, and Kim Tong-sik, who infiltrated into Puyo in 1995, received southernization training from them.

"In accordance with the investigation results, the ANSP will continue investigating north Korean agent Ch'oe Chong-nam to completely uncover his activities and identity and then will treat him separately. Ko Young Bok, Sim Chong-ung, Sim Chae-hun, and Kim Yu-sun, who have been arrested on spy charges, will be turned over to the prosecution today."

"In accordance with the statements by the North Korean agents dispatched to the south and the spy ring within the country, the ANSP is also continuing investigations through references and secret examination of some 200 suspicious people in various fields."

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Embarassment for Kim Dae-Jung:This incident was just prior to the Presidential election and it provided a lot of ammunition for the anti-Kim Dae-jung people.

The most significant thing about Prof. Ko's case was that Prof. Han San Jin, a close confidant of Ko is a high-level advisor to Kim Dae Jung. Prof. Han is a respected professor of sociology at the Seoul National University and he is a devoted disciple of Prof. Ko's social activism.

It is assumed that the alleged spies were 'in' with Kim Dae Jung's political party. The anti-Kim forces threatened to expose more info prior to the election day and stop Kim. Kim has been accused, among other things, that he has worked for the North during the summer of 1950. During the 1992 election, a similar incident derailed Kim Dae-jung's bid for the Blue House. An elderly S Korean woman, Lee Sun Sil, was trotted out as a 'cabinet-level' spymaster. She allegedly organized the S Korean Workers' Party. It was claimed that She was secretly escorted to North via Inchon by a North Korean Special Forces rescue operation.

However, the biggest embarrassment was Oh Ik Je, who was exposed as a "spy". Oh was the head of the Chundo-gyo (S Korea). He was a respected consultant to Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae Jung. Oh, a North Korean, left his wife and a daughter and came to South Korea some 50 years ago. He married another woman in S Korea. North Korea denies that Oh was a spy.

In October 1993, on the occasion of the Tong-Hak Rebellion centennial, Oh met a North Korean agent in Beijing. It is alleged that Oh was instructed to "visit" North Korea at this time. Oh received an official invitation and applied for the Unification Ministry exit visa. Oh claimed that his purpose for the planned visit was to meet his wife and daughter he left behind. His application was rejected.

On August 3, 1997, Oh told his wife that he was going out to get some fresh air. In actuality, he flew to Los Angeles on a commercial airliner. From there he phoned his wife and said that he was enjoying himself at a Korean resort and that he would be staying there a few more days. It is possible that Oh made the calls to lead the security people astray and to protect his "other" wife who may have known Oh's escape plan.

A Korean American, Kim Chung Ja, took Oh to Beijing on August 10. They went to the North Korean Embassy in Beijing for travel documents. Oh boarded a train to Pyongyang on the 15th. Kim returned to Los Angeles on the 18th.

South Korea claims that Kim Chung Ja established Jun-Gum Travel in April 1988 in order to promote pro-North activities in America. Her husband Kim Un Ha (a South Korean) publishes New Korea Daily (Sin-han Ilbo). Kim runs Korea-America Friendship Society and other pro-North groups. The ANSP claims that Oh's 'espionage' activity was financed by Jun-Gum Travel. Oh maintained several bank accounts which he cleared prior to his escape.

A person stationed at Kunsan should acquaint themselves with the Korean spy issue as it deals directly with their base defense. The initial Phase 1 attack on Korean defenses will be through the use of "sleeper" cells in the area. As late as the 1990s North Korean infiltrators were being chased in the mountains of Sochon whose mission was to contact local cells. As an example of deep-cover agents, a man was discovered in the 1990s working in a low-level job for the Seoul subway system whose task was to disrupt the subway and electrical system in case of war.

In Phase 1 of the North Korean attack, the deep-cover cells of North Korean spies will go to work to cut communications, disrupt power and paralyze the transportation infrastructure. During Phase 1, North Korean special forces will also go behind the lines to disrupt the services and communications. An attack on Kunsan AB will first be done from within...not without. The North Koreans will not attack the base until Phase 3 of their plan -- AFTER they have broken through the DMZ and consolidated their forces around Seoul.

The North's clandestine network of cells has been in existence for a long time. They have found North Korean spies in South Korea -- complete with radios and spy paraphenalia -- who had been agents for over 50 years while working as university professors or in other influential political positions. In the Cholla area, there is proof that these cells exist here. In 1992, North Korean infiltrators in the area were chased down and killed in the hills above Sochon -- 22km from Kunsan. The infiltrators' mission was to make contact with the local cells. North Korean cells do exist in the local area...and to assume that these North Korean deep-cover spies are not working on Kunsan Air Base would be a foolish mistake.

Historically, the Cholla area has been the home of the Communist guerillas dating back to prior to the Korean War. When the government tried to wipe them out, they fled into the Chiri Mountains. Though the Military Government of the Occupations Forces declared that they were all wiped out, many guerillas escaped to fight another day.

The large North Korean refugee population in Kunsan would have been an ideal place to hide any insurgents. During the Korean War, the Kunsan population of Kunsan increased from 40,000 to 100,000 overnight as North Korean refugees moved into the area. The North Koreans were assimilated into the area and all became loyal South Korean citizens. However, a sleeper cell could easily be formed within this group at this time. Remember that many recently uncovered spies have been operating as spies for over 50 years.

At Kunsan AB (K-8), there were numerous cases of "spies" being caught and summarily executed during the Korean War on base -- though most of these cases were probably only people trying to steal food and items of value from the base. These people were claimed to be North Koreans. As late as 1959, North