Long way to go for Yongsan Park

Black Hawk Village, a residential compound for U.S. military officers at the southeastern tip of Yongsan Garrison, will be open to the public from Aug. 1. /Yonhap

Future of national park hinges on Korea-US negotiations on soil contamination: experts

By Kim Se-jeong

Many are wondering how long it will take for Yongsan Park, which will become Korea's largest urban park, to be completed as negotiations on the return of U.S. military bases to the government have been moving at a snail's pace.

When completed, the envisioned park on a site roughly 3 square kilometers is expected to cover an area equivalent to 340 football fields combined.

The future of the proposed urban park to be built on land previously occupied by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) is gaining attention, after a joint panel of government and civilian experts unveiled a revised plan July 21 to expand the size of the park.

The idea of building Yongsan Park dates back to 2005 when the USFK agreed to relocate the base to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and to return the Seoul site back to Korea.

Almost 15 years on, very little seemed to have happened behind the garrison's high walls. Last week, the idea again made headlines with the government announcing the opening of a tiny corner of the former military base to the public, Aug. 1.

Will it ever open? When?

The idea of creating Yongsan Park became official in 2005 after the Roh Moo-hyun administration and the U.S. agreed to relocate troops there to Pyeongtaek.

In 2007, the National Assembly passed a special act on the creation of the park and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began allocating resources for it.

No one expected the relocation would take so long.

One reason for the delay was that government had to find money to finance the Yongsan Relocation Plan ― which it was supposed to pay for. Occasional provocations from North Korea were also a factor that influenced the project.

Now, the former U.S. site is more than 90 percent empty.

The land ministry projects the park will be opened in 2027, but many, including the Ministry of National Defense responsible for the site return negotiations, are cautious, only saying it will largely depend on the talks which are expected to hit a stumbling block over the issue of soil contamination.

The land ministry has got many things done so far.

In 2012, it selected a team of architects and urban planners to design the park ― the final version of the plan was made public last week and can be found at park.go.kr.

The ministry is also carrying out aggressive public awareness campaigns about the park.

In 2018, the ministry began offering tours of the garrison, inviting a limited number of residents to see the historic buildings and sites.

On Aug. 1, the ministry is opening up the 50,000 square meters of land that used to be a residential compound for U.S. military officers and their families. The land was returned to Korea in 1986 but instead of opening up to the public immediately, the government built new houses and rented them to USFK personnel until the end of last year.

Also, the ministry is planning to involve a panel of 300 residents in the park creation process together with the architects.

Yoo Hong-joon, a historian and former Cultural Heritage Administrator who is also on the land ministry expert group committee for Yongsan Park, said the park will become a major landmark for the capital.

"Geographically, Yongsan Park, when it opens, will connect Mount Nam and Han River. People will be able to walk from Mount Nam to the Han River via parks and this will make Seoul much more attractive. It's like Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London."

The garrison also holds historic value.

According to historic records, Japanese troops were first stationed in the Yongsan area during the 1592-98 Imjin War. In 1882, troops from the Qing Dynasty built a military headquarters in Yongsan during their mission to quell the Imo Incident, an anti-government uprising during the Joseon Kingdom. During the 1894-95 Sino-Japanese War, the area was controlled at times by both sides. The Japanese took the full control of the site and used it as a base for the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War.

Japanese control continued until 1945 when it announced its surrender that brought World War II and its occupation of Korea to an end. The U.S. military took control of the land briefly, but its presence became permanent after the Korean War. The USFK was founded in 1957.

A Japanese military stockade building, residences for Japanese officers, an ordnance depot and troops barracks for the Japanese Imperial Army from the 19th century have been preserved close to their original condition. The garrison is the only place where Mancho Stream, a historic body of water running from Mount Nam to the Han River, appears aboveground, and various other historical Korean relics are scattered all around the base.

The Yongsan Relocation Project is nearing completion and base return negotiations are still underway.

As Han Yong-sup, a professor from the Korea National Defense University, noted, the soil contamination issue is expected to be the main hurdle.

"There's no other obstacle other than who will clean up the contaminated spots," he said.

Soil contamination was first reported in 2001 during the construction of Noksapyeong Station on Seoul Metro Line 6. The soil was found to contain benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene above acceptable limits.

In 2017, local environmental organizations reported oil leaks in more than 100 spots on the base, citing documents obtained from the U.S. government.

The Ministry of Environment, which is currently taking part in the negotiations, refused to comment citing rules for the talks.

The environmental groups continue to pressure the government to get the U.S. to pay for the clean-up.

"For the U.S., there's nothing to lose. They have already moved out. Instead of staying quiet, the Ministry of Environment should speak out and make it clear that the U.S. is paying for the cleanup," Green Korea activist Shin Soo-yeon said.