Tag: US Army Corps of Engineers

The FED became an oddly located military installation after Seoul’s explosive growth.  It is now about to finally close:

A few blocks from the sloping, spaceship-shaped Dongdaemun Design Plaza in one of Seoul’s trendiest fashion districts is another odd sight.

A tiny U.S. Army base sits just across the street from a hospital morgue and adjacent to a park that blocks its view from a major thoroughfare.

Know as FED, the compound has been home to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District, headquarters since the 1950-53 Korean War. Before that it was the site of a Japanese-built school from the nearly four decades when Japan occupied the peninsula until its defeat in World War II.

Surrounded by concrete and brick walls lined with concertina wire, the 13-acre base can be easy to miss, one of several sub-installations that belong to the larger Yongsan Garrison just a few miles away.

But its history reflects the highs and lows of the U.S. presence in the South Korean capital. In a final act, the Corps of Engineers is preparing to close the base after it moves to Camp Humphreys as part of the long-delayed relocation of most U.S. forces south of Seoul.

Kenneth Pickler, 64, the Far East District’s transportation chief, has worked on the compound since he was first deployed there as a soldier 1989, then took a job as a civilian after retiring from active duty.

The Cloverdale, Calif., native plans to retire after the FED compound closes, although he plans to remain in South Korea.

“My last official duty is to shut off the lights, lock the gate and hand the keys over … back to the garrison,” he told Stars and Stripes in an interview last month. “And that’s supposed to happen in mid-November.”  [Stars and Stripes]

You can read much more at the link such as the fact that a third of the buildings at the FED were built by the Japanese.  The first building was the Gyeongseong School of Education built in 1922 that is the main building used on the compound.

There is also an interesting story about a fuel leak mess created by the South Koreans when they razed an old Japanese courthouse adjacent to the FED back in the 1990’s that the US had to clean up.  It reminded me of the current fuel leak controversy over at Yongsan Garrison frequently blamed on USFK.

After the base closes in November there are not current plans on what the ROK will do with the land.  Considering that there are a number of Japanese era buildings on the property the bulldozer is likely coming for them.