hankyoreh

PYEONGTAEK - Former residents of Daechuri make a flower garden as U.S. Forces vehicles pass by behind them during a command post exercise in Pyeongtaek on June 10.

Forty three families opposed the relocation of the U.S. Forces in Korea to Pyeongtaek until the final hour. They finally reached an agreement with the South Korean Ministry of Defense on February 13, 2007, to relocate. All of the families have since been moved to the nearby village of Songwhari. Before the agreement was made, the families and activists from around the country had fought the government’s decision to relocate the U.S. base in Yongsan, Seoul, to Daechuri in 2006.

All 43 families lost the farmland they owned in Daechuri. Only two families out of the 43 could afford to buy new farmland with the compensation money given to them by the government.

Members of the other 41 families were given civil service positions to counter their unemployment. They earn just 830,000 won (US$ 807) per month, but their contracts will be finished in November 2008, leaving them with few options unless they are able to find alternative sources of income.

Photo by Lee Jeong-ah/The Hankyoreh.