Pyeongtaek

Infobox Korean settlement
logo=Pyeongtaek logo.gif
hangul=평택시
hanja=平澤市
rr=Pyeongtaek-si
mr=P'yŏngt'aek-si
area_km2=452.31
pop=406052
popyear=2006
popnote= [ [http://www.pyeongtaek.go.kr/pub/eng/eng.jsp?sc=eng02040101 ▦▦ Welcome to Pyeongtaek city! ▦▦ ] ]
divs=2 "eup", 7 "myeon", 13 "dong"
mayor=Song Myeong-Ho

Pyeongtaek is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was originally founded as a union of two districts in 940AD, during the Goryeo dynasty. It was elevated to city status in 1986, and is home to a South Korean naval base and a large concentration of United States troops. The Korean government plans to transform Pyeongtaek city to an international economic hub to coincide with the move of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) to Pyeongtaek.

The United States and South Korea Government came to an agreement to enlarge Camp Humphreys, a US Army installation located near Pyeongtaek, and move the majority of US forces stationed in Seoul and North of Seoul to the Camp Humphreys area. Invoking eminent domain, the government obtained the surrounding land for the base expansion.

The move originally included the headquarters of the Combined Forces Command, which has operational control of ROK (Republic of Korea), US, and UN combined forces during wartime. In March 2007, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and ROK Minister of Defense Kim Jang-soo agreed to dissolve the ROK-US Combined Forces Command on April 17, 2012. [ [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200703/200703070029.html Changes to Wartime OPCON: Challenges for the ROK ] ] This would allow ROK forces to have wartime control of its military during a military confrontation with the North. The US/ROK agreement allows USFK to move to one centralized location away from the congestion of Seoul and its surrounding areas. This relocation agreement results in returning two-thirds of the land currently used by the United States Military back to the Korean government. By 2008, the US Military will have consolidated 41 installations down to just 10 due to the relocation agreement.

The United States Forces Korea's only jail facility in South Korea is located at Camp Humphreys. To the North West of the Installation is the village of Anjung-ri.

As planned, Yongsan Garrison, located in Seoul, and the Second Infantry Division will be moved to the same area by 2008. The South Korean government's handling of the surrounding land has led to conflict with local farmers in Daechu-ri, Paengseong-eup due to the planned expansion of Camp Humphreys.ref|conflict1

Recently, there have been heightened protests against the construction of the new USFK headquarters near Pyeongtaek. Moreover, authorities evicted protestors from occupying the elementary school and working the fields where the base will be built by placing barbed wire at the boundary of the future base.ref|conflict2

Struggles erupted on May 4, when some 13,000 South Korean military soldiers and riot police arrived to guard the land where the new Camp Humphreys was to be built. Farmers could not get to their own land to cultivate their rice. When troops arrived to set up the fencing, residents moved in to block them. The activists claim South Korean military troops injured over 200 people and rounded up 500 more. However, none of the Soldiers were armed on this day and the riot police's main role was to prevent the protestors from attacking the soldiers. On May 5, a undetermined amount of unarmed Korean Army soldiers were attacked by protestors with pipes and sticks after the riot police prevented the protestors from breaching the site. After a public outcry from the parents of some of the soldiers who were attacked, the government started to equip the soldiers with bamboo sticks and armor.ref|conflict5 It was the first time since the 1980 Kwangju massacre that the South Korean military, as opposed to riot police, were used against demonstrators.ref|conflict5

Pro-expansion protests were also witnessed during this time but at a much smaller scale. The main arguments of the pro-expansion protests were that the protestors that were occupying the Daechu-ri Elementary School were not farmers from the local area but were from an organized anti-US civic group from outside of Pyeongtaek. They estimated that less than 10% of the individuals that were protesting the expansion of Camp Humphreys were actually farmers that were being evicted. ref|conflict3

Osan Air Base is located in Songtan, a district in Pyeongtaek City.

Notes

# [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031801132.html U.S. Move Is Spurring Evictions In S. Korea (Washington Post article)]
# [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605030017.html Massive Force Mobilized to Evict U.S. Base Protestors (Chosun Ilbo article (English))]
# [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605030023.html Activists Are Only Using the People of Pyeontaek (Chosun Ilbo English Editorial) article]
# [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200605/200605090016.html More Violence Looms in Planned Rally at U.S. Base Site]
# [http://socialismandliberation.org/mag/index.php?aid=663 U.S. base expansion in Korea sparks protests (Socialism and Liberation) article] everything beyond the first paragraph is a news story, and though it is good information, and I am glad to learn about it, it is not telling a lot of info about modern day Pyeontaek

References

ee also

* Camp Humphreys
* Songtan
* USFK
* List of cities in South Korea
* Geography of South Korea

External links

* [http://www.pyeongtaek.go.kr/pub/eng/index.jsp Official Pyeongtaek Website]
* [http://www.usfk.mil United States Forces Korea (USFK)]
* [http://www.usfk.mil/usfk/index.html?/usfk/contents/relocation.html USFK Relocation Video]
* [http://www.usfk.mil/usfk/training/../video/_welcome_video_300.wmv USFK Welcome Video for US Service Members]
* [http://area3.korea.army.mil Official Camp Humphreys (Area III) Webpage]
* [http://antigizi.or.kr Anti-US Bases Coalition in Korea]
*dmoz|Regional/Asia/South_Korea/Gyeonggi/Pyeongtaek/
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA250012006 Amnesty International press release on the eviction of farmers]
* [http://www.saveptfarmers.org/ Save PT Farmers International Solidarity Coalition]
* [http://www.osan.af.mil/ Official Osan Airbase Website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgW7-Fv8pj8 The Last Days of Daechu-ri (YouTube)]