I have been on the road the past week and have not been able to do any blogging. Expect some more blogging at the start of next week. I have loads of great material from this past week. I’m sitting in a PC Bang right now so I’m able to provide a quick blogging update.

I just finished reading this article from the Chosun Ilbo which points out how the city of Dongducheon is losing residents due to the deployment of 2BCT soldiers. The article argues that the deployment has really cut the revenue of the businesses of post which is causing businesses to close up shop.

I think some other factors beside the deployment are what is really hurting business in the city. The soldiers deployed from Camp Hovey are being replaced by soldiers from camps being shut down in the western corridor near Munsan. The argument that the deployment has effected business is losing creditability with the now increased number of soldiers on the camp.

If you have been to Dongducheon recently you will see that a big portion of the “ville” has been knocked down now due to the new railway line which undoubtedly caused a lot of families to move from Dongducheon. Also the crack down on prostitution and human trafficking has cut the amount of money flowing through the “ville” which means less money and less jobs. Plus the focus on force protection and anti-terrorism has made it more of a hassle to even get off the post. Soldiers just cannot walk off post. There are procedures they have to follow to be authorized to leave post. It is such a pain that it is easier just to stay on post which the Army would rather have the soldiers do. All these factors is what is hurting business in the “ville” more so than the deployment.

I think all this is good thing because it is forcing the businesses to either reform or close up shop. So far it appears many of them are deciding to close up shop rather then reform. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.

Remember continued light blogging ahead. Thanks.