The new post must accommodate the troops, headquarters, motor pools and firing ranges, plus an expected 35,000 family members. Until now, troop tours in South Korea have been for one year, unaccompanied by families. That is being extended to three years accompanied by families, which requires new housing, schools, medical clinics, sports fields and movie theaters.
The engineers are building high-rise offices for commanders, barracks for troops and buildings with spacious family apartments. That housing, plus recreational facilities that include a gym with basketball courts worthy of the pros, an Olympic swimming pool and world class exercise equipment, are intended to make Pyongtaek a choice assignment.
Richard Halloran, formerly with the New York Times as a foreign correspondent in Asia and military correspondent in Washington, is a freelance writer in Hawaii.
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