July 5, 2005 

Comments

Ah yes, your cut and paste comment once again. Thank you for you wonderful insight into the life of a soldier in Korea. As we all know the infantry is the "brains" of the military right? After all, just think of all the work experience you are gaining. What with your resume and all you could easily get such jobs as a hired hitman, gangster, or carnival worker at the water gun booth. Just think of the possibilities! yes you are right; I am extremely jelous of you. I sure do wish I could be there sucking on sand and getting shot at for an extra $250 a month on my paycheck. I'll be sure to pray for you. haha.

I dont think your blog is interesting at all. There are too many soldiers in korea, i know because i was one of them, there is no real mission there. maybe if you were in a combat mos, you'd know a little about not having four day weekends and being out in the fuckin field for half your tour. you probably dont even know where camp giant was before we pulled out to iraq. you have it easy man...in yongsan, how can you complain about anything??!! being in seoul is probably on par wiith being in states or perhaps even better. what are you a chaplain's assistant?? well, i guess someone has to fill in that spot. im upset that you dont even mention the war in your fuckin blog...do you even have a small speck of concern??? while are on your "tour" in seoul, there are real solid infantrymen out here doing the real shit.

Thank you for your response. Despite the hardships of living in a small town in Korea, I enjoyed my time there and gained utmost respect for most Koreans. My husband was stationed at Camp Market [ASCOM] which was a small base half-way between Inchon and Seoul. The name of the town was Bupyong Dong, Inchon. From what I understand, prior to WWII, this was a Japanese base. The Americans took it over during the Korean War. Some told the story that ASCOM was the actual location that Americans were medivaced to not Seoul and at times on MASH it was mentioned. I never knew if this was true. There was also a rather large ROK base there too. I have always tried to keep up with developments in Korea, which has became easier when I discvered I could read the Korean Times on the internet. However, with my busy life I did not do this conisitently. We have always planned to retrun to Korea; however, the price of airfares and children it has not happened. Perhaps, once the college years are over we will return. Unfortunately, even 30 years ago, Americans did not always present themselves in a positive way. Their behavior was just better tolerated then as the military was considered of great necessity. For example, I arrived in Korea 20 days before the 25th anniversary of the invasion of Inchon. As a dependent, I was mandated to attend an informational session which explained that there was a possibilty of another invasion and we were on alert. I was then informed that I needed to have a bag packed with food etc. and be ready to go in case of an invasion. Needless, to say I was in culture shock and this only added to my anxiety. Obviously, there was never an invasion, and I learned to live with the alerts and taking cover when the sirens went off [which wasn't very often]. I should add that I wan't an authorized dependent in Korea. I paid my own airfare to and from country. Once I arrived the Army allowed me an ID and my husband received a small housing allowance. The Army most likely would not have authorized my going to Korean and we avoided having to spend 2 years in country and a reenlistment. It was an experience. I am off to visit relatives and take my daughter to visit colleges. I will continue to read your BLOG when I return.

Question #1: I the Brita filter I got on base, yes. It was about $20 for the pitcher and 4 fiters. I have sen them at E-Mart in Seoul (over by Electronics Market in the Space 9 Building) though. Comment #2: Thank you for the story. I always like to hear about different peoples experiances. Yes, Korea has changed drastically in the last 30 years. I don't want to paint the wrong picture though. Not all Koreans hate the Military here. Just cerytain sects and many of the younger generations. The elders in my opinion, have some respect for the Americans here because they do remember what korea was like 30 or even 50 years ago. I do understand a little why they might have some sentiment against us though. I have on more than one occasion seen Americans treat the Koreans bad over here and be downright rude. I guess they feel because they are outside of the US that they don't have to abide by the rules of common decency. Of course this is going to leave back feelings torwards the U.S. because of a few people's actions.

Thirty years ago, I was in Korea with my husband. When I was in Korea I did not have the luxary of a washing machine, large refrigerator, central heating and the like. The first family we rented from literally did my laundry by hand using a wooden washboard. I still have the washboard and over the years have attempted to expain the memories to family members. To obtain a small refrigerator, our names were put on a waiting list at the PX. We still own our Sanyo, which was used in our first home until we could afford a larger model, borrowed by my sister, accompained my son to college for 5 years, and now is being by him in his apartment. It saddened me when you spoke about the hatred the Koreans have for Americans. Thirty years ago, Americans were for the most part treated well. I believe this was due to the fact that Americans played a major role in the Korean economy. Also, most Koreans remembered the war and valued their freedom. Our second apartment was rented from a woman who was North Korean and had been in Seoul on a school trip at the start of the Korean War. She had suffered and been through so much, but yet valued what she had and she helped American military. We helped her alot too. One of her biggest fears was that the north would invade and her Korean-American daughter would be abused. When the military personal she rented to left Korea, she requested an American address that she might be able to use as a contact in case of emergency. I had given my parents address to Moon. Imangine me attempting to explain to my mom if she was contacted by a Korean to get all the information as I had promised Moon that I would always be there for her family. The call never came. Korea is no longer a poor country. I enjoyed your entries and pictures.

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