Comments on: A Profile of the Chinese Tunnel

By: Ron Buzil

Ron Buzil — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:53:34 +0000

I passed through the tunnel many times in ‘75-’76. We (1st Bn. 9th Inf) were at Camp Hovey and did frequent training and mortar gunnery at Nightmare range. I just happened to stumble on this page and discussion as was fascinated with the history of the tunnel. At least in our unit and at that time we called it the Chinese Tunnel. Thanks for the information. It was fun remembering those days.

By: A Profile of Camp St. Barbara

A Profile of Camp St. Barbara — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:20:37 +0000

[...] finishing my tour along the old stretch of Highway 37 that runs through the Chinese Tunnel, I then proceeded down the road to check out the old Camp St. Barbara [...]

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:16:28 +0000

I am looking forward to seeing them. I hope you can email me full size copies that I can put on my web page, with credits of course.

I would love to walk that back road from St. Barbara to Kaiser again. Some great scenery!

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:45:44 +0000

Bruce, nice pictures. I have recent pictures of the Camp Barbara area as well I will get posted soon.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:25:00 +0000

For you guys that were in this area in the early years, I am sure you will enjoy looking at my Camp St Barbara web page. It has pictures of the area from the 50s up through this year. It has pictures of the Camp, the Village, the roads, even have recent pictures of the Village, the road and towns from Munson, old Munson-ni, across 37 to where it meets 43. Hundreds of pictures.

http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/stbarbara.htm

I also have many of Camp Kaiser

http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/ckaiser.htm

I have some recent ones of Unchoen, old Unchon-ni, and a few of the Camp, but would love to add more if anyone has any.

Beautiful Area

By: Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:25:55 +0000

A Katusa told me that the restaurant at the junction of old 37 and new 37 on the Camp St Barbara side serves dog. Don’t know if that’s true or not. I was stuck at the training area in 1996 after a very heavy storm closed the road because that Hantan had flooded. After a few days they allowed the 113 series vehicles to convoy out using the bridges. Not sure why we didn’t just all go back to Casey via Chorwon East. So, yeah, the Hantan will rise. The first day of the flood we couldn’t even walk across the small vehicle bridge at the training area from the tentage area to the motorpool because the pedestrian bridge had let go and been swept away.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:05:25 +0000

I drove through the tunnel in 2006 on a hiking trip I did up in that area with some of my KATUSAs and had them ask at the hotel how the tunnel got built. The “official” explanation from the hotel employees is that it was done by the Japanese, per the S&S article you had a link to above. This is a nice area now that it’s being developed more and the people are really nice.

By: Bob Walsh

Bob Walsh — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:59:48 +0000

The other weird things for me on that visit:

All of the foreign guest workers on the farms. Kang Taeseon told me that nowadays Korean farmers don’t want to have to pick up anything heavier than money. And a big banner across Highway 43, advertising a matchmaking service to hook guys up with Vietnamese women (“They don’t run away!”).

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:21:06 +0000

Bob I will have to drop into the BBQ restaurant the next time I am in in the area. Yes if that was your first time in the area in 20 years then the changes must have been a shock.

Bruce, great link with the S&S article that repeats one of the stories I heard that tunnel was constructed during the Japanese colonial period.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:32:14 +0000

This is a story about the tunnel that was in the Stars and Strips around 1970. What the real story is still in question.

http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/tunnelarticle.jpg