Silvertown: Some people have asked where the name "Silvertown" came from. There was gold ("kum") placer mining and silver ("eun") within the immediate area, but that has been long since mined out. There appears to be no connection between the name and silver mining. The response has always been that "Eun-taun" was just a name without any particular meaning -- like "Eunpa" or "Eunjaksa" in the surrounding area. However, I would guess that the "Eun" meaning "silver" was first used to indicate its status as a "shopping center" or money-making business. This appellation (Eun-taun) was last seen on a rusted sign next to the bridge in the late 1980s. The plaque of incorporation in 1970 on the entrance to A-town only states "Silvertown" in English. Since that time, the name "Eun-taun" has been shortened to simply, "Taun."

As a side note, Kenneth Wisz of the Nike unit at Kimje mentioned the bar-row Silvertown (A-town or America town). Silvertown was still relatively "new" being "incorporated" in 1970 -- after they moved the graves that were on the hill. The streets were dug up in places and "paved" in concrete -- if at all. It was the typical Korean GI bar row with crudely built bars with concrete slab floors. "WC" (or Water Closets) was the terminology for "toilets." The surrounding area was still rural with the rice fields fertilized with "night soil" (human waste). The smells were overpowering in summer.

He later wrote, "As I remember it, Silvertown was a walled compound with a joint U.S./Korean guard at the gate. there was a free shuttle bus that ran every half hour from early morning to just before the 11pm curfew. I think the sign over the the gate read - "Welcome to Okku City-Silvertown". One has to remember that in 1974 is was still part of the Park Chung-hee era and there was a martial law in effect. In 1974, a North Korean sympathizer from Japan, in an attempt on the life of President Park Chung-hee at a public gathering, shot and killed Mrs. Park. There was a curfew in effect between 11pm-5am.

He said, "The girls in Silvertown didn't like us too much because we wouldn't pay the big money like the Air Force dudes would." Being a "cheap charlie" is an epithet in Asia that is hurled at any GI who "knows the score." The scenario has been true for all the ages that GI bars have existed. The newbies are easy to spot in that after a few hours in the bar, they are busted and went home. Only the "cheap charlies" have money left and are still drinking when the bars close. That's when the "cheap charlies" start negotiating with the girls who haven't been picked up for the night. However, we wrote back that it probably wasn't the money that turned the girls off to his unit. It was the fact that they were stationed 40km south of Kunsan and therefore made very poor "yobo" (rented wife) prospects. Every bargirl dreamed of getting a plane ticket to the "land of the big BX." Remember that Korea at the time was still a very poor country in 1974 and marrying a GI was a way out of the nightmare of poverty. For a bargirl in Korea, it was a dead-end road as she would never be able to marry into a respectable Korean family.

Silvertown Buses (1974) (Dan Edwards)	Buses passing on the way to base (1974) (Dan Edwards) (NOTE: Dan Edwards: "Bus passing bus back to base" is of the bus I was on coming back from A-Town passing another bus going the same way!! There were binjo ditches on either side of the road so I was hoping we made it, which we did. The bus and taxi drivers used to pass on blind curves and hills!!! Scared me to death some times!!")
Pine Hill and Club Friday (1974) (Dan Edwards) (NOTE: These clubs long gone. Up near the Las Vegas Club -- which had not been built at the time.)	A-town bar row (1974) (Dan Edwards) (NOTE: VIP and Oscars still in operation.)
A-town bar row (1974) (Dan Edwards)	"Business Girl" Hootches behind A-town (1974) (Dan Edwards)

Dan Edwards commented on the photos above in Aug 2005:

...I can remember the Korean hookers in the bars saying to us with as much pride as they could muster, " I am business girl". They really seemed to frown on being referred to as hookers. Imagine that!!! LOL

I got shit faced many a night at the different bars in A-Town! I can remember a bar called the "Someplace Else Club" that I used to go to on the weekends. OB beer and Oscar Champagne!!! A little salt in the OB beer made it go down a little easier. Took a sip of Soju once and it was like rubbing alcohol!!! Tried Mokoli too and it was nasty tasting to me, almost like a warm beer with milk of magnesia mixed in it.

Americam Town is a camptown developed with the collusion of both the South Korean and American governments. Built by a South Korean general and land owner in 1969 during the height of the Park Chung Hee regime, turned farm fields in North Cholla province into a sanctioned red-light district for U.S. soldiers. Distinctly marked off from the nearby civilian town of Kunsan and the surrounding countryside by chain-link fences, American Town was at first wholly-owned by two developers, but later became a corporation with shareholders. During the 1970s business was so good that the clubs opened even during the day and a fleet of buses ferried soldiers between Kunsan Air Base and the town. Today two buses operate between the camptown and the base. The town includes dormitory-like housing for the women, about 20 clubs, a dozen stores, and a government run health-clinic where the women receive mandatory testing for sexually transmitted diseases. (My Sister's Place, 33-34)

American Town (1971)

Regardless, this treatise does provide an insightful look at the military bride and their scornful treatment by Koreans themselves. The Korean military wives are to the Korean-American community what the camptown women are to Korean society. The women are spurned by the populace as something "dirty." Even those who marry GIs and move to America will never be fully accepted by the Korean community -- though tolerated -- and are viewed as someone who was "erased" from their family. If in Korea, these camptown women are shunned -- consciously or unconsciously -- as being OUTSIDE the Korean community. At best, these women were referred to as "western ladies" (yang gongju) or "children of the west" (yang saeki) which embodies a duality of both a demeaning status of immorality and a corrupting influence -- while at the same time conveying a sense of modernity and material possessions of the west. However, once Korea became affluent and could afford the western conveniences, the most common references are to "western whores" (yang galbo). Even now, most former military brides who were married out of A-town bars usually reside near the town where they are not treated as lepers -- and shunned by the Korean populace. Thus to the prostitute in A-town marrying an American GI seems to be the only avenue out of their life of being a pariah in their Korea and assuming a "normal" life as a wife and mother.

According to the treatise above, "For the South Korean government, these camptowns have been essential to maintaining smooth relations with the U.S. government. Katharine Moon points out that making sure that camptown women played their proper roles as entertainers and sexual playmates who would foster goodwill towards Korea among the American soldiers was essential for the South Korean government. Thus the South Korean government embarked on an official program during the 1970s that praised the women as patriots for earning foreign exchange and boosting the economy, and contributing to the national defense by serving as personal ambassadors to U.S. troops. At monthly meetings at camptowns across South Korea, high ranking government officials thanked the women for their hard work and assured them that their sacrifice for the sake of the nation would not be forgotten." The treatise goes on to refer to these camptown women as "sacrificial lambs" and tries to equate their plight with that of the Japanese comfort women during World War II. The official government response is that the comfort women of WWII were involuntary sexual slaves, while the camptown women in Korean were of their own choice.

Modern camptown activists would rather "revise" history by turning a blind eye to a sad time in Korea's history. After the Korean War, Korea was devasted and under the corrupt government of Syngman Rhee (Lee Syng Man), the U.S. did as it pleased without a SOFA agreement. When Park Chung Hee came to power, the country was still desperately poor and corruption was a way-of-life -- kickbacks and under-the-table money flowed to those in power. In the "monthly meetings" in the camptowns in the 1970s described above, you can be certain that white envelopes with money as "tribute" were handed to the "high-ranking" government officials. To the poor, it was a hand-to-mouth existence. Life was cruel. When A-town was built after the first influx of GIs after the Pueblo Incident, Kunsan was still a hell-hole with beggars, street urchins and slickey boys just scrapping a living anyway they could. These conditions were common throughout Korea. To become a prostitute for many was simply a way to stay alive. Some families sold their daughters as house servants to stay alive -- or worse they were sold to the tea houses or brothels. It is not a pretty part of Korean history that modern activists care to talk about but it was a fact. Instead of confronting the facts of those times -- and attacking the continuing problems in Korea with open prostitution -- they turn a blind eye to Korean modern history and focus the blame on others external from Korea -- such as the Americans -- as the cause of all their perceived ills.

However, one must admit that there is a grain of truth in the U.S. government "collusion" statement made in the treatise. When A-town was first established, there were only three sleazy bars in Kunsan City (Yah Hwa Dong) and only the Kimchi bus to connect it to the base during daylight hours only. This meant that any GI deciding to stay overnight in Kunsan was "trapped" until the next morning. By moving the "red-light" district closer to the base in a "controlled" area, the U.S. military could better "protect" their troops. At the time many GIs lived downtown -- or "disappeared" for overnight stays. A-town was an answer to a ticklish problem of control of the troops during their off-duty hours. They couldn't restrict the troops to base. And unlike Camp Casey in Tongduchon, they couldn't build a bar row directly outside the base because of the three-mile exclusionary requirement (see Nuclear Alert). A-town was a trade-off solution to the problem by keeping their personnel in an "controlled" area -- while providing them an "entertainment" outlet. From A-town the military personnel could be easily recalled to base in case of an emergency -- instead of being trapped downtown without transportation or inaccessible. Buses from A-town were geared to the GI work schedule. The A-town claxtons for base exercises are triggered by the American Security Police Town-patrol -- who occupy rooms in a building at the top of the hill "donated" by A-town for their use. These advantages to Kunsan AB made A-town very "convenient" for the Kunsan AB hierarchy. (NOTE: Remember that prior to the mid-1980s, the roads and public transportation were so bad that going to Osan or Seoul for weekend trips was not a feasible entertainment outlet. The troops were trapped in Kunsan unless they took leave. However, by the 1990s, going to Osan or Seoul on the weekends was standard for most personnel.)

There were ethical problems for the Korean government associated with a government-sponsored "red-light" district in a country where prostitution is illegal. The way around this was to call A-town a "special entertainment district." In this way, the bars were allowed to operate with much lower taxation rate on alcohol and beer. In exchange, the women working in the clubs -- including the old waitresses -- were given a "VD card" number and "registered" with the government so that they could be controlled. In the 1970s, all the women wore tags on their dresses with the numbers and some were color coded "red" to show infection. By the 1990s, the "VD cards" were stored behind the bars -- for spot inspections by the U.S. "health" patrol from the base -- and tags were seldom worn. The bar girls were most often in debt to the bar owners -- and sometimes their "contracts" were sold to other bars. Many times these girls would runaway to another town.

All the bars in A-town were called "tourist clubs" and bore the "Hibiscus" (Mugu-hwa) logo of the KNTO (Korean National Tourist Organization) above the door. As such, these clubs are supposed to be strictly for "tourists" -- which category the GIs technically fall under. In other words, no Korean national customers were allowed -- except as guests of the GIs. A-town was a strictly GI preserve. This was fine when Korea was a poor country and only the Americans had spendable income to drink "expensive" beer or imported whiskey. However, when affluence hit Korea in the late 1980s, the lower-class individuals (i.e., fishermen) had income -- but not enough to afford the Korean nightclubs -- and started to appear in the clubs. Fights and other disturbances with Korean nationals became more common. The problem perpetuated itself when the base at times put the town off-limits because of these problems with Korean nationals. However, the bar owners having to make ends meet opened their bars to the Koreans. The problems got worse. By the 1990s, knifings, beatings and drunken brawls between drunken Korean nationals within the town limits were very common.

Go to American Town for 2000 photos of A-town.

Off-limits location in Kunsan
(Courtesy Ken Wisz)

Off-Limits Establishments The off-limits areas today are basically the same as it was years ago in 1974. The off-limits areas were the three-mile exclusionary zone around the base. For health purposes, swimming in streams, rivers, beaches, reservoirs or pools were forbidden. The reason is that the runoff from the fields fertilized with human waste made these areas very suspect for disease. Eating establishments were also forbidden unless specifically approved by the Veterinarian Services for the same reason. Most vegetables were fertilized with human waste and therefore considered unfit for Western consumption.

Drug shops were also off-limits. At the time, Korea had few doctors, so pharmacists were allowed to prescribe medicines on their own. This policy still exists today and the drug shops remain off-limits to GIs.

In downtown Kunsan, the "Foreign Supermarket" area which was an area located near the Open Market. The area was filled with low class bars and brothels frequented by sailors and fishermen. At night, the area has remained off-limits to all GIs.

Off-limits sanctions were commonly used by Commanders to restrict access to establishments which had incidents involving GIs. Others were placed off-limits for having bargirls that were not "carded" -- a badge showing they had been checked for venereal disease.

Some of the establishments on base were off-limits. The Golf Course during hours of darkness were understandable. The Bulgogi House for the ROKAF would have been off-limits because of the Korean food, but normally the on-base restaurants had to pass Veterinarian inspections so were considered safe. Normally one would be permitted in as a "guest." The ROKAF probably requested the restriction.

ROKAF -- 111st Fighter Interceptor Squadron:

ROKAF Emblem

Go to ROKAF 38th Fighter Group (1953-Present) for the continuing story of the ROKAF at Kunsan Air Base.

111th Fighter Squadron

ROKAF Sign 111th Fighter Squadron
Click on Photo to Enlarge
(Courtesy Ken Wisz)

Between 1970 and 1974, there was a Seoul-Kunsan airline route that used the Kunsan runway. It ran from August 1970-March 1974 but was stopped supposedly due to the cost of oil. However, one should note that the 8th TFW arrived on March 1974 to take over the base. With a permanent wing, the base was no longer going to be treated as a "caretaker base" with aircraft "sitting" on alert and having a lightly used runway. The runway would be used for a full-time flying schedule.

Background History: The first unit at Kunsan AB was a small detachment under a Capt. Kim who were being trained in Air Traffic Control procedures in 1953.

The ROKAF started replacing their P-51 Mustangs with F-86s in July 1955. The aircraft was "given" to Korea after the U.S. units transitioned to the F-100s. In 1956, the ROK first of the F-86D All-weather Interceptors arrived at Kunsan. Afterwards, Kunsan would transition to the F-86F Fighter-Bomber (Day Fighter). The ROK pilots were trained in Misawa on the F-86s by U.S. military. ROK maintenance crews were trained by U.S. technicians.

In the early years of Kunsan AB, relations between the ROKAF and USAF was cordial but took on a "big brother" attitude. After the Korean War, the U.S. treated Korea as "their property" -- though this is not what the official history reads. There was no SOFA agreement signed until 1963 and the Republic of Korea was basically 100 percent dependent on U.S. aid. The U.S. dictated the policy. In Maj. Gen. John Moench's book, Taking Command, he mentions the ROKAF in 1959 in not so complimentary terms -- referring to them in a very demeaning manner. Though the Koreans with their F-86s were the only flying unit on the base in 1959, the 6175th ABG Commander, then Col. John Moench, treated the base as their own private domain.

There appears to have been little contact between the two occupants of the base -- though the ROKAF made attempts to bridge the gap by maintaining cordial relations. Moench mentions that the ROKAF Commander Colonel Lee invited him in 1959 to review the ROKAF troops. At the time, the ROKAF flew F-86D/Fs while the 6175th Air Base Group (ABG) of Col. Moench only a broken-down C-47and an old L-10 liaison aircraft.

The northern portion of the base was transferred to the ROKAF for family housing when the unit grew in size after the arrival of the F-86s. Moench's book mentions that some of the USAF BOQs were transferred to the ROKAF for use by their officers. As the 6175th ABG had no aircraft nor pilots, this would be reasonable as the ROKAF would have fighter pilots with families. (NOTE: Moench calls these BOQ units "Japanese" built, but they were actually built by the 63d Infantry Division, 3d Battalion in the Occupation years using Japanese war reparations materials.) The times were poor and Col. Moench observed the ROKAF kids only having tires for swings. As a gesture of goodwill, Col. Moench directed that a swing set be built for the ROKAF family children.

According to the book, the base had a U.S. military population of about 500 but there was an on-base Korean population of about 1000. This large on-base Korean population is rather strange...even with ROKAF families. It becomes evident that the Americans allowed their "on-base employees" to reside within the base perimeter. (Go to Kunsan AB (1954-1974) for an expanded writeup of the base in 1959.)

The base was a backwater, rundown, neglected podunk of a base that the rest of the U.S. Air Force had forgotten about. It was far enough away from the prying eyes of the press that many of the "classified" or "clandestine" missions were flown out of there.

ROKAF Airman (1959)

ROKAF Hangar (1959)

In the 1960s, Kunsan had a mix of F-86Ds and F-86Fs until all the F-86Ds were transitioned out. (For more information on the F-86D/F, go to F-86F.) However, the North Korean threat of another invasion was real in the minds of the Koreans and Americans alike. For example, an incident in 1961 was related by Robert Koeser then of the 3rd BW from Yokota, Japan. He was TDY to Kunsan at the nuclear alert pad (C-pad) at the time. He mentioned that one of Kunsan's F-86s strayed over the border of North Korea and was shot up pretty bad. The Korean pilot limped home to Kunsan and landed safely. However, this incident put all the USAF aircraft in Korea and Japan on full alert until things died down.

After the ousting of Sygman Rhee (Lee Sik-Man) in 1963, the SOFA agreement was negotiated, but things at Kunsan AB did not change drastically. The ROKAF on the whole remained by themselves, though there was increasing social contacts between the ROKAF and USAF officers. During the 1970s, more and more ROK military were going to the U.S. for advanced training.

Like any unit, there were accidents. Nathan Sturman wrote, "And in Oct of 67, an F-86 of the 111th landed gear-up and burned, just as i shot my last frame on the roll, photographing sunsets from in front of the aerodrome fire dept. The pilot beat feet and got away OK, ran right down out the wing. When Sergeant Bouler (sp?) from TA raised the hulk with a small recovery crane, the landing gear dropped properly when lowered from the cockpit (what was left of it). The pilot was disciplined severely after a colonel came down from Seoul to conduct the inquest." It should be noted that in the Korean military, punishment can be very severe for negligence and is not something that is feared.

In 1971 President Park declared a national emergency after narrowly defeating Kim Dae-Jung for the presidency (51%). Because of Kim Dae-jung's attacks on the Park regime, he became a marked man of the KCIA.

Korea's Place in the Sun, A Modern History (p358) refers to the "Yushin" constitution this way. The 1972 constitution was written "removing all limits on his tenure in office and giving him powers to appoint and dismiss the cabinet and even the prime minister, to designate one-third of the National Assembly..., to suspend or destroy civil liberties, and to issue decrees for whatever powers the Yushin framers forgot to include." In 1972, President Park imposed martial law and was elected to a six-year term under a new constitution. Basically, with the "Yushin" system, Park could remain President as long as he wished with being bothered by elections.

Military expenditures grew steadily after 1972 due to the shift in U.S. Asian policy and the international situation. Most of this increase was due to the grants and loans promised by the President Johnson if the ROK Army would join the alliance in Vietnam in 1965. Though the 3rd TFW was at Kunsan, its manning was minimal. (It deployed one squadron to Vietnam and transferred 18 F-4Ds to the ROKAF in 1972 leaving it a "paper wing.") The base remained undermanned until the 8th TFW arrived in 1974.

In 1973, U.S.-Korea relations became strained in connection with the kidnapping from Japan of Kim Dae-jung, who would later become Presidents of Korea. He claimed that the government of Park was "highly militaristic" and it had been turned into a "police state" during his Presidential campaign in 1971. In 1973, he was kidnapped from Japan; underwent torture; and faced imminent death at the hands of the Korean CIA. It was the US intercession that saved his life.

Because of the growing discontent against his policies in 1974, Park imposed an emergency decree forbidding criticism of the "Yushin" constitution. With the power of the National Security Act, the KCIA enforced this decree through intimidation and torture. World-wide attention was being focused on Korea with outraged cries against the human rights violations.

In 1974, a North Korean sympathizer from Japan, in an attempt on the life of President Park Chung-hee at a public gathering, shot and killed Mrs. Park. Because of this and the continuing rhetoric of North Korea promising mass invasion, the ROKAF at Kunsan was always on a high state of alert.

Brig.Gen. Chon Sang-hwan, ROKAF (ret), wrote that he was stationed with the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Kunsan in 1975. He stated he had many memories of his time at Kunsan. The time-period he was stationed at Kunsan was a pivotal period in USAF-ROKAF relations on the base. The 8th Fighter Wing had arrived in 1974 as the first "permanent" wing (versus a succession of "caretaker" units dating back to the Korean War). However, because of the U.S. and Korea's strained relationship in the early 1970s, close ties between the ROKAF and USAF was not fostered. The problem dealt with Park Chung-hees iron-fisted rule and human rights violations. This led to a movement to remove the U.S. forces from Korea in the late 1970s under the Jimmy Carter administration. The net effect to Kunsan was that the base took a "wait-and-see" attitude towards making any significant improvements to the base. Officially, the USAF and ROKAF relationship remained cool.

On a personal level, many USAF and ROKAF personnel made lasting friendships. Bruce Charles an F-4C Phantom II driver with the 67TFS between 1968-1970 said, "Yes, the 67th, and two other squadrons were "sitting" at the 475th in '68, '69 and '70. I suspect they hung around there for a number of years thereafter, but I do not know. All SIOP/GWP alert." He recalls being taught the Korean drinking art of "topshida" (bottoms-up) at the ROKAF Officer's Club. This involved drinking a shot of whiskey and placing the upturned shot glass on one's head.

Facilities: The ROKAF continued to occupy the northern portions which had a training area for the troops and the portions along the taxiway for the ROKAF ramp. The ROKAF area had a large hangar for F-86 maintenance. The F-86 ramp was constructed on the portion previously used in the Korean War by the F-84s of the 474th Fighter Bomber Wing.

The 111th Fighter Squadron was the F-86F unit. (All F86Ds were gone.) The ROKAF flightline location remained unchanged with the F86Fs being maintained out of the same ROKAF hangar built in the 1950s.

ROKAF Flightline	ROKAF Flightline
ROKAF F-86F	ROKAF F-86F
ROKAF Hangar	ROKAF F-86s Taxi

Aircraft POL for the ROKAF prior to the 3rd TFW arriving was from the POL storage area with its above ground tank next to Gunsmoke Hill. The JP-4 was pumped via a pipeline from Kunsan Harbor. After the 3rd TFW arrived, the POL area moved to the south of the taxiway next to the Ammo Dump as it was a more convenient location for refueling services.

From 1968-1980 these huts were used by the enlisted men of the U.S. Army B Battery 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery who operated the Hawk site south of the base -- above the fishing village of Oeeu-dong. (SEE B Batt 1st Btn 44ADA for more info on this unit.) All the Army tenant units were clustered primarily into two quonset huts sharing a common latrine facility -- meaning you had go outside your barracks to use the latrine. Some people reported that in the winter, people would urinate just outside the door because of the trek to the latrine -- which meant the smell was potent when summer rolled around. The enlisted men lived in these Nissen quonset huts near the flightline area until 1980 when they were turned over to the ROKAF. (NOTE: These quonset huts remained in use until the mid-1990s when a new modern barracks was built.) There was a small "restaurant" for the ROKAF in the area called the "Bulgogi House" that was off-limits to USAF personnel. Though all facilities on base were inspected by the Veterinary Services, the vegetables used were from the local economy and fertilized with human "night soil." Thus any food prepared for the Koreans was considered unfit for American consumption.

Vulcan 20mm Anti-aircraft

Quad-50 Anti-aircraft position

Quad-50 truck platform

The antique ROKAF quad-50 antiaircraft guns used in WWII were finally replaced with the towed M61 20mm Vulcan cannon. However, for some time both the Vulcan and the Quad-50 were used to guard the ROKAF flightline.

Prior to the Pueblo Crisis, the antique quad-50 was probably the prime AAA for the base. There were various sites, but one was located along the fenceline near the ROKAF Security Police. It is now a Stinger position. (See 76th AAA for details of the Quad-50). In 1975, the primary defense for Kunsan AB was the HAWK Missile Battery (b/2/44) a 1/2 mile north of the base.

ROK Army 40mm Bofors (1975) (Dan Edwards)

Dan Edwards wrote in Aug 2005, "My friend Gary Lebak had a day off and I decided to take a walk around the perimeter of the base when we came upon this man who was polishing and cleaning his weapon. He didn't speak any English but made a motion with his hand and fingers that he would like a cigarette so we gave him some. He was quite grateful to us and offered for us to sit in the seats of the weapon and rotate/raise/lower it. Then he posed for this picture. He was quite proud of that AA gun!"

In 1975, the M61 20mm Vulcan cannon was positioned near the ROKAF Flightline. However, it would later be moved to "Little Coyote" on a small hill to guard the end of the runway. The Vulcan cannon had first been tested in 1953 and used in various models for ground and ship usages after the initial usages on F-104s failed. Because aircraft in the 1960s were designed more for air-to-air missiles rather than gunfights, the vulcan project was shelved. However, the shift back to guns in modern fighters made the M61 in one form or another an integral part of modern fighter aircraft such as the F-15, F16 and F-18. Though the six-barreled gun was extremely reliable, it was originally fed by linked ammo whose links that tended bend or shatter and jam the gun at high rates of fire. This led to a linkless feed system in later models.

The north end of base (near the north gate) was the ROKAF "base" with its living quarters, support and training facilities. The training area consisted of a two-story concrete building of the standard Korean design for school or government buildings. The design is one of a central hallway on the front with doorways leading to various rooms. In front of the building was an open sports field. In the rear of the training building was the motorpool, Security Police and POL dump. Other small units were located throughout the base.

A small POL fuel storage area is located in the area with an armed guard. This still serves as a vehicle POL storage area primarily for barrels of lubricants and other POL products. In 1975, there was a high pilferage rate and vehicle POL products were a sellable commodity. Thus an armed guard was posted.

Across the street from the Training building was the ROKAF Commander's house next to the ROKAF Officer's club. In a cul de sac just above the USAF BOQ area. The Officer's Club was closest to the road, followed by the Commander's quarters and then a two-story BOQ for the 111st Fighter Squadron pilots. It appears that the cinder-block Officers Club and two-story BOQ next door was built in the late-1970s.

Along the sides of the large yard were married NCO houses closest to the Avenue C entrance. The buildings were the original houses built by the 508th Utility Company, 3rd Battalion, 63rd Infantry Regiment from Japanese war reparation materials for the Army dependents. These had been transferred to the ROKAF in the 1950s, though in the latter part of the 1970s (after the 8th TFW arrived) portions of the ROKAF housing were torn down to construct new USAF BOQ facilities. (NOTE: Only one of these original structures Occupation Forces structures exists today, but has been modified greatly.) The other houses were newer cinderblock construction that served as a makeshift chapel for the ROKAF. (NOTE: It would not be until the 1990s that the ROKAF would be able to have a decent chapel when the area of old Civilian Personnel Office was transferred to the ROKAF and a new chapel was built.)

In the 1980s, new multi-story units for the ROKAF NCO/Officer families were built in their present location. The apartments design appears to be the typical "efficiency" design that Korean government-built housing used.

There was a small detachment of ROKAF F-4Ds from Taegu at Kunsan during 1972 for a short training period, but there never was any ROKAF F-4s stationed at Kunsan.

Currently the 111st FS is under the 38th Tactical Fighter Group of Kunsan. Currently the unit flies F-5E/F "Jegong" (Skymaster) fighter fighters that were produced in Korea by the Hanjin Corporation. The 111st Fighter Squadron transitioned from the F-86F directly to the F-5E/F in the early-1980s. (NOTE: During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the F-5A and F-5B were replaced in front-line service with the RoKAF by later-model F-5Es and Fs. The first F-5Es were allocated to the 1st Fighter Wing (115th, 122nd, and 123rd Tactical Fighter Squadrons) based at Kwang Ju air base.)

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