Tag: Camp Casey

The “TDC Ville” known in Korean as Bosan-dong, is the section of the city of Dongducheon located just across the street from the front gate of Camp Casey.

Camp Casey front gate, with Soyo Mountain in the background. I once saw a soldier arrested by the KNPs for pissing on the Indian statue.

This area is known as the “TDC Ville” because Dongducheon used to spelled Tonducheon and was shortened by soldiers to TDC. The ville is a bunch of old run down buildings that house a mixture of eating establishments, clubs, and shopping stores. The ville has actually seen much recent change. A large portion of the ville was knocked down to make way for the new subway line that runs through Dongducheon now.

New Dongducheon subway station

The new subway station is just a short walk five minute walk south of Camp Casey’s gate one. The subway is connected to the Seoul subway system and the trains running from Dongducheon actually reach Uijongbu in about 20 minutes. To reach downtown Seoul it takes about an hour and a half. Soldiers can even take this subway line all the way to Songtan, just outside of Osan Airbase, but it is a long two and a half hour ride.

Some of the new buildings across the street from Camp Casey. 

One of the fortunate things about knocking down the old buildings is that it has actually brought some much needed urban renewal to the ville. Some park like features have been constructed along with some newer buildings. There are still a number of vacant lots where nothing has been built yet, but I’m sure additional buildings will be constructed in due time.

Vacant lots left over from the subway construction

The ville is boxed on its eastern side by Highway 3 while on its western side is the Highway 3 bypass and to it’s north is Camp Mobile. The south of the ville is the Korean portion of Dongducheon known as the 2nd Market area.

Ville area highlighted in red

Shopping in the Ville
The shopping in the ville is really outstanding. You can buy a great hand made suit for about a $100. The tailors can make any suit that you have a picture of. I currently own three suits made in the TDC ville and I have never had any problem with them. You can also have leather jackets made. My leather jacket has lasted seven years so far with no defects. In the ville you can have unit coins, plaques, and other memorabilia made for the half the price it would cost you in the states. I actually had a buddy state side who sent me money to buy some plaques for his unit and to mail them to him because it was cheaper buying plaques from Korea and shipping them then buying them at his current post.

Plenty of shopping to be found in the TDC Ville

You can also buy lots of great Korean trinkets to send to your friends and family. Plus if you like furniture, Korea sells lots of beautiful hand crafted furniture with great oriental designs on them. This is just a small sample of what is for sale in the ville. If you need something the shop owners will find it and sell it to you at a reasonable price. Just make sure you bargain with them because the shop owners will initially give you a high price. In Asian culture you are expected to haggle over prices. So don’t feel rude trying to drive a hard bargain with the local shop owners because it will save you money.

The view from the entrance into the TDC Ville

The Food
The only American fast food establishment off post is the Subway located just outside the front gate. There is actually a Kentucky Fried Chicken located in the actual Korean part of Dongducheon but it is located quite a distance from the camp. The other restaurants are local Koreans who cook up everything from hamburgers, steaks, pizza, and Korean food for hungry GIs. Also it is possible to find Filipino eating establishments as well.

The Night Life
As far as the night life is concerned the TDC ville is loaded with clubs. The majority of the clubs are really sleazy joints with the infamous “drinky girls” in them. If you don’t know what a drinky girl is, let me explain it to you. A drinky girl is usually a third country national from mostly the Philippines that you can buy a drink of usually orange juice for $20 bucks and they sit there and make conversation with you. I’m not kidding it costs $20! What is more amazing is that people keep buying them these drinks. The last time I was in Korea the girls would at least hang all over you and you could feel them up but things have changed now quite a bit.

Picture of a “juicy girl” in the TDC Ville from a Time Magazine article on human trafficking and the US military in Korea.

Plus the last time I was in Korea the prostitution was quite public and in the open. The bar owners would always hit you up to buy the girl’s time for $200-$400 and to go back to the hotel and do whatever. However, things now are much more concealed due to the recent exposure the whole prostitution scene received due to multiple exposes’ in multiple media outlets expressing their outrage at prostitution in Korea. The problem I got with this publicity is that it is implied that the US Army is allowing this prostitution to go on when it is the Koreans that are allowing it.

What really annoys me is that the drinky girls in the media are treated as victims even though most of them know what they are getting into and enjoy the attention and financial incentives of being a drinky girl. The few Russian girls that are left are in it for money and are really smart about playing soldiers and sucking as much money out of them as possible. I know many a GI that has lost his shirt to a Russian drinky girl. The Filipino drinky girls are mostly looking to get married to a GI so they can escape the poverty of their home country. I can’t say I blame them.

A street filled with sleazy bars in the TDC Ville.

However, the juicy girls that do play soldiers are extremely effective and if you go through my USFK Crime Archive you will see many cases of soldiers committing crime to feed their juicy girl habit. For some soldiers these girls are like drugs and is a leadership challenge that is unique to Korea that NCOs and officers coming to Korea should be aware of. Some of these relationships between young GIs and these girls in the bars end up becoming a marriage that from my own experiences I have seen filled with problems and with most of them failing.

Despite everything I have said about the juicy girls there are some good clubs in TDC. The website for Mojo’s Bar. has a pretty good list of the various bars in the ville as well as which ones to look out for. Some additional clubs worth checking out are located in the actual Korean part of Dongducheon commonly referred to as the 2nd Market Area. Have a KATUSA buddy bring you to one of these clubs so you can try something different out. Who knows you might like it. Plus there are also lots of coffee shops in the area that have phones on the tables where you can call other tables in the shop on. Weird, but fun believe it or not.

Be careful in the 2nd Market area though because there is an area near the bus station where Korean prostitutes display themselves in windows for potential customers that is known as the “Turkey Farm” that is off limits by the army. It is supposed to be off limits due to health reasons but I think it is more because the Koreans don’t want GIs messing with their prostitutes. Also in the 2nd Market Area there is lots of shopping you can do, but once again be careful because the infamous TA-50 Alley is also off limits to US personnel where they sell military equipment stolen by “slicky boys“.

A small park that has been built in the TDC Ville in recent years.

You can view more updated pictures of the TDC Ville now known as Bosan-dong at this link.

The Toko-ri Ville
Another ville area in Dongducheon is the village of Toko-ri right outside the back gate of Camp Hovey:

Toko-ri as viewed from Google Earth.

Toko-ri a few years ago used to be one dirty, sleazy, and crazy place. If you have ever watched the first Stars Wars movie and remember the bar with the space aliens in it, in the city of Mos Eisley, that is what Toko-ri was like.

Obi-wan Kenobi once described Mos Eisley as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy”, Toko-ri wasn’t much different. However, instead of horned, green, or beady eyed aliens, Toko-ri had Filipino and Russian juicy girls covered in chocolate and wax, a retarded barmaid, strippers that used to hold what was known as the P***y Olympics led by a Korean woman known as the Dragon Lady who did anatomy defying things with cigars and beer bottles, and to top it off there was even a midget. Before I had even ever stepped foot in Korea I had heard about the Midget of Toko-ri from old crusty NCOs about how they used to “stick to the midget” especially on New Years; that is how well known she is in the US military. After seeing the midget for myself I can’t imagine why anyone would want to “stick it to the midget”, but hey to each their own.

Anyway I have heard that Toko-ri has really died down and is not the wild place it used to be. I wasn’t able to confirm this myself on my last trip to Korea since my wife probably wouldn’t like the idea of me trying to confirm the status of the P***y Olympics, chocolate covered juicies, and the Midget of Toko-ri. So if anyone reading this knows the current status of Toko-ri feel free to offer you two cents in the comments section.

You can view more updated pictures of Toko-ri which is now spelled Teokgeo-ri at this link.

Overall – As you can see, the options in the TDC Ville are quite numerous. Great shopping, adequate eating establishments, and a very lively night club scene is enough to keep any GI stationed at Camp Casey occupied. It should be enough to do to get you through a year in 2ID. However, just don’t lose your shirt in the ville. Remember drinky doesn’t love you, she loves your wallet. Keep that attitude and you will be alright.

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

The 2nd Infantry Divison, USFK lone combat unit in Korea is composed of two main hubs. The first hub are the camps located in the Uijongbu area just north of Seoul. Uijongbu is home to logistical, communications, and command & control units while the city of Dongducheon located 20 kilometers north of Uijongbu on Highway 3, is home to the division’s combat arms units. The division’s infantry, armor, engineer, and artillery units are all located in the Dongducheon area:

Camp Kwangsa-ri
The first camp in the Casey area is called Camp Kwangsa-ri, which is located halfway between Dongducheon and Uijongbu. The camp serves as a ammunition storage facility for the 2ID and is only staffed with a handful ordinance soldiers, a few American civilian workers, many Korean workers, and a ROK Army unit. I have been to Camp Kwangsa-ri more times than I care to remember handling ammunition issues, but the biggest story to ever come out of this camp was when a corruption scandal was uncovered on the camp in 2005 involving a Korean worker named Mr. Kim who was stealing expended ammunistion brass from the camp to resell to a private company. Mr. Kim made $300,000 from the scam and is still at large to this day.

Dongducheon
Just of the road from Camp Kwangsa-ri is the city of Dongducheon. Dongducheon by Korean standards is considered a backwater city even though it has a population of nearly 80,000 people. The city also has long had a seedy reputation due to being home to a large number of US military camps over the years:

The city and especially Camp Casey and Hovey are ringed with steep mountains including the popular local mountain Soyosan that makes up the northern boundary of Camp Casey. A river runs through the center of the city and is known to flood from time to time. In 1997 the entire Dongducheon “ville” area was underwater during the worst flood in recent memory.

Most people in the city either directly or indirectly are dependent on the USFK presence for their livelihood. However, factories staffed with third world laborers continue to sprout up in the area to contribute to the local economy as well. The mixture of Koreans, third world laborers, and US soldiers does give the city a vibe very different from everywhere else in Korea.

Camp Casey
The biggest camp by far in Dongducheon is Camp Casey:

The camp was named in 1952 after Major Hugh Casey who was an engineer officer that was awared the Distinguished Service Cross for combat actions during the evacuation of Hungnam, North Korea. Casey would later die in December 1951 when the light observer plane he was flying in was shot down by ground fire and crashed on a small hill in the middle of present day Camp Casey. This hill to this day is marked by a large white cross that can be seen from just about anywhere on Camp Casey.

Camp Casey is a large sprawling base located farther north than any other major US military camp in Korea. The camp is only 15 miles straight line distance from the DMZ that separates the two Koreas. Camp Casey is so close to the DMZ you would think it would be quite a spartan installation. That is not the case, as the camp has every facility any other US Army installation has:

It has numerous eating establishments both fast food and sit down restaurants. There are two different Burger King locations, a Popeye’s Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, Anthony’s Pizza, and a Taco Bell. The Primo’s restaurant has a really good lunch buffet that is worth checking out as well.

The largest PX in 2ID can be found here to buy all the latest products and a decent commissary that includes most the foods you would find in the states. The camp also has a nice bookstore and sports shop. The PX also has a number of Korean stores where you can buy typical Korean products, but they are quite expensive compared to buying the same items off post.

Camp Casey is filled with athletic facilities. There are gyms and weight rooms are spread out all over the camp plus numerous football and softball fields are available as well. Throughout the year there are numerous athletics leagues running that encompasses every major sport played in the US. The competition in these leagues is usually very competitive because most soldiers are in Korea away from their families for a year and thus focus much on sports to keep them busy.

The camp also has plenty of entertainment options. There are multiple bars on the camp and a dance club located in Primo’s. Near the PX there is also a nice bowling alley for the bowlers out there. The golf course is quite popular and usually filled unsurprisingly with Korean golfers.

Some of the major units on Camp Casey include Taskforce 1-72 Armor, 2-9 Infantry, 302nd Brigade Support Battalion, 1-38 Field Artillery, & 6-37 Field Artillery.

Golsandong
An unusual fact about Camp Casey is that it actually contains its own Korean village called Golsandong:

The village is actually spread out among the hills to the east of Camp Casey and contains 48 homes with 116 residents:

These homes can only be reached by driving through Camp Casey. So if you are stationed on Camp Casey and see some Koreans driving farming equipment on post, now you know why.

Camp Hovey
Located adjacent to Camp Casey is the medium sized installation of Camp Hovey.

The camp is named after Master Sergeant Howard Hovey who ended up being one of the last Americans to die during the Korean War during the battle of Pork Chop Hill in July 1953. For his heroic actions defending the hill from the massive Chinese offensive he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

MSG Howard Hovey

Camp Hovey has plenty of facilities to include a restaurant and club, a video store, gymnasium, and sports field. One minus about Camp Hovey is the distance from the PX and commissary on Camp Casey. It is about a 20 minute bus ride from Hovey to reach the PX.

The front gate of the camp is bordered by the sleazy and run down ville of Toko-ri:

You can read more about Teokgeo-ri at the below link:

• A Profile of Korea’s Teokgeo-ri Ville

Some of the major units on Camp Hovey includes 1-15 Field Artillery, 4-7 US Cavalry, & 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion.

Camp Mobile
Located right across Highway 3 from Camp Casey is small installation Camp Mobile:

Camp Mobile was known for decades by 2ID soldiers as the “Turtle Farm” because it was the location of the 2ID Replacement Company. The new soldiers that arrived at Camp Mobile were known as “turtles” because they had so long to go before their tour in Korea would be complete. Since the Replacement Company was on the camp the Central Issue Facility (CIF) was established on Camp Mobile to field gear to all the new soldiers.

I remember my first time pulling into Camp Mobile. I had been on a bus from Kimpo Airport and pulled into this camp that reminded me more of a concentration camp than a military installation due to the drab buildings, quonset huts, and barbed wire. This place was not a welcoming site to anyone pulling into 2ID for the first time. Fortunately the Replacement Company was moved to the much more hospitable Camp Stanley in Uijongbu. The company is now known as the Warrior Readiness Company.

Camp Mobile also has an air strip on it that is used for helicopter landings as well as UAV operations. The only thing I remember more than arriving to the “turtle farm” for the first time was waiting in the freezing cold of February for four hours on the air strip to do an air assault training operation with the 1-503 Infantry. We absolutely froze waiting for the helicopters that would never seen to show up. Finally we were told it was to cold and the visibility to poor for the helicopters to come. There was some seriously pissed off infantrymen that day.

Camp Nimble
Just down the road from both Camp Casey and Camp Mobile is the now vacated Camp Nimble:

Camp Nimble before closing, was home to two companies from the 702nd MSB. These two companies contained the military semi-trucks used to transport cargo and equipment for the division. This may be why it was named Camp Nimble:

I’m sure the camp had its good points, but to me Camp Nimble never seemed like a good place to be stationed and the roads leading from the camp were quite narrow and definitely a traffic hazard for military vehicles trying to drive through there. Fortunately this camp has finally been closed down.

Camp Castle
Just north of Camp Casey is the small installation of Camp Castle. Camp Castle for decades was home to the engineers units thus the reason for the name of Camp Castle. The engineers moved off the camp in 2004 and has been occupied by the 702nd Brigade Support Battalion since:

Something unusual about this camp is that the motorpool is located on the opposite side of Highway 3 from the rest of the camp. The motorpool is accessed by a pedestrian overpass.

Camp Castle is further divided with a small warehouse located just north of Camp Castle’s main post which is known as Camp Castle North:

The warehouse on Camp Castle North is used by the division to turn in old equipment to the support battalion unit that operates the warehouse. This is another place I have spent way to much time at before.

Overall, the Camp Casey area is not a bad posting considering how close to freedom’s frontier one is stationed. Combined the camps have just about every facility you could expect on any other US military installation and transportation to and from the post continues to improve, especially with the opening of the new subway station in Dongducheon. So if you get stationed in the Camp Casey area it is not the end of the world and it is not that bad of a place. Like most things in Korea, it is all what you make of it.

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

I guess this helps explain the increase in the USFK drug abuse numbers:

Three illegal foreign nationals tried to sell methamphetamine to an undercover Army investigator and were arrested by South Korean police in Dongducheon last week, officials said Tuesday.

A Criminal Investigation Command special agent posed as a U.S. servicemember a few blocks from Camp Casey’s main gate during a June 19 joint sting operation with local police, a Yangju police official said Tuesday.

The investigator offered to buy a half-gram of methamphetamine for $500 from the three women in the Bosandong bar district known as “The Ville.”

They arrested three Philippines nationals, ages 21, 28 and 31, whose names were not immediately available. Each of the women was in the country illegally and has no relation to U.S. Forces Korea, officials said.  [Stars & Stripes]

The juicies in TDC have been taking drugs for years so the fact they are selling them isn’t surprising.  The fact they were in the country illegally as well isn’t surprising either.  You can read more over at Nomad.