Yes, they named a military residential compound after him. This site has been sitting abandoned for a few years in a corner of a massive US garrison in central Seoul, but has been in the hands of the Korean government. Almost all the rest of the base will go through a similar process over the next few years. It's not strictly UE because this area has just been opened to the public, but it's extremely relevant to urban exploration in the surroundings.

1. It's pretty typical housing for North America, but very weird and alien for Korea. This was housing for military families.


2. There is graffiti left behind on some of the buildings, probably from the kids of families moving out. I'm wondering if they were encouraged to do this to leave a message for the people who visit the site once it's returned to Korea.


3. American landscaping is very strange compared to Korea. Grass is rare, and the land isn't as even everywhere else. I've been over here so long I don't know if we're supposed to avoid stepping on the grass.


4. There were a ton of playgrounds. I don't think that's typical of American neighbourhoods. At least in Canada they'd be much larger than this and built in sand.


5. There was a display set up with historic photos of the area, many taken by US forces arriving after liberation in September 1945. This one is important to me, because it shows the Host Tunnel, that stream running from the upper left corner, before it was buried. It's where we go every Christmas if you're familiar with my post histry.


6. This is something I've been trying to document before it's too late: American buildings on post, juxtaposed with Korean buildings off post. It's interesting to think the Korean tenants of those apartments would have a view over the wall.


7. This was the official opening day, but it was very low-key due to an ongoing typhoon, and of course COVID-19.


8. More graffiti left behind by Americans, memorialised. I don't really understand the purpose of that slot-machine-like feature below.


9. When the base was first occupied by Japanese forces, and later Americans, it was an oasis surrounded by destitute Korean villages built on flood plains. Over the decades, Seoul has expanded to engulf the base and tall buildings dominate the skyline.


10. One building displayed a scale model of the garrison. The small elevated corner in the lower right is Black Hawk Village. Above it is the PX and to the left is the National Museum of Korea, built on land already returned.


11. Here it is from the other side. That blue stream visible is one of two sections of the Host Tunnel that is still aboveground. I'm hoping when it becomes a park, they revitalise the stream.


12. There weren't that many people around, but there was 100% mask compliance. Our COVID-19 infections are getting under control again, but not going away entirely.


13. This image shows you the shape of the garrison.


14. Now here's a present-day city map. See if you can spot where the garrison is. Hint: that's no forest. Due to a security law it's illegal to post images of the actual base. The green splotch to the northeast is an actual mountain, not censored. The neighbourhood in between them was originally a refugee village, but now is a foreigner neighbourhood.


15. Looking out to the north, there is actual active US military property.


16. Part of the wall around the compound is memorialised here.


17. Also, one of the many barbecue areas is still there. It would be better if they were serving American hamburgers and hot dogs here.


18. The buildings look American but they were made by a Korean public company and the tiles are very Korean.


19. One last shot on the way out, looking out the front gate toward Korean apartments.


20. As I was driving home, I passed by a cluster of old buildings being prepared for demolition, right at a corner outside the garrison. Real estate speculation is high here, and I expect in a few years it'll rise in value while also dropping in historical value.


21. You didn't think I'd go outside without doing at least a little actual exploring, did you?


22. This used to be a pilates studio that had been heavily stocked with vodka.


23. Some kind of furnace on the roof. Maybe heating for the studio.


24. There was a door leading from the roof of this building to the fire escape of the next one.


25. It has been raining heavily since Saturday. I stopped by the entrance to the Host Tunnel, a location physically visible in the historic photo of image 5, to check the water level.


26. The river water level was pretty high. You can see the railings of a footbridge over there, that you could normally walk out on and see the massive Host Tunnel entrance. Normally the water level is so much lower that I can stand upright under that footbridge, and it's totally dry down there.


That's enough for now. Hopefully this gives you some idea of the geography of central Seoul and the prime source of major changes to the city that have been ongoing for decades and will get crazier in the years to come.