Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Resumes Yongsan Base Bus Tours After 4 Years

by Roh Kyungjo

Published 19 Aug.2024 14:10(KST)

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 19th that the 'Yongsan Base Bus Tour,' which was temporarily suspended due to COVID-19, will resume from the 12th of next month.

Yongsan Base Bus Tour Route / Image courtesy of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The 'Yongsan Base Bus Tour' is conducted by having participants get off at key points within the base to listen to explanations from professional guides. In its first year in 2019, a total of 2,648 people (41 sessions) participated.

Yongsan Base was a military facility, forcibly requisitioned as Japanese military land in 1904, and foreign troops such as the Japanese and U.S. military were stationed there, making it inaccessible to the public. In 2018, the U.S. Forces Korea relocated to Pyeongtaek, and the following year, the base was opened to civilians for the first time in 115 years.

The bus tour proceeds through various military facilities such as the former ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command and U.S. 8th Army Headquarters located in the Main Post, and continues to the Dragon Hill Hotel in the South Post (the former Japanese military commander's residence and a U.S. military complex convenience facility).

The Ministry of Land conducted a pilot operation of the bus tour from May to July to check the course and observe participant interest and participation trends throughout the entire route. The regular tour will be held once a month, and the Ministry is also considering increasing the number of sessions in the future, taking into account public participation and interest.

Applications for participation can be made through the Yongsan Children's Garden Instagram, and the application period is from the 20th to the 29th of this month.

Jung Woo-jin, head of the Yongsan Park Development Planning Group at the Ministry of Land, said, "We hope the Yongsan Base Bus Tour will be a meaningful opportunity to learn about the culture and history of Yongsan Base," adding, "We hope the public will show great interest and support for Yongsan Park, which will be developed as the first national park."