RyRy's in Korea: Republic of Korea Air Force Base

After we got back from Nonsan, John wanted to show us the Air Force Base and where he works. In Korea, it is a requirement for all men to join and serve in a branch of the military. I know they have Navy, Army and Air Force, but not sure about Marines or Coast Guard. If they go in as enlisted men (soldiers) they serve around a year. If they are officers, they have to serve 3 years, but it's better pay and more prestigious. They must serve before they turn 30 or they are no longer considered to be Korean citizens. John is a translator and I think might also teach English. There are also 5 foreign English teachers on the base.

The base is only open to civilians 1 day a year for their version of a cherry blossom festival, so it was important for LeeAnna to see the base today. Family members can come on base with prior approval, but they have to be Korean (I think). There are tons of trees lining the roads. Apparently once the leaves fall, they have to sweep up all the petals. We walked through their parade grounds where they get commissioned and kids were sliding down the hills on pieces of cardboard. It was kinda funny, but at the same time, I kinda wanted to do it.

We got to see John's office, the PX and a small pond area. There is a motto on the wall in the English building that says, "One for all and all for one" and I asked if he knew it was the 3 Musketeers motto and he said yea. They also get subscriptions to "People" which I thought was kind of funny. We also met one of John's co-workers. I guess they all give each other nicknames, John's is "Yoda" and his co-worker's is "Rambo". It's funny because that's how they introduced me to him, and that's what they call each other in regular conversation.

Sign outside the building

Pond near the BX (that's what they call it)

We also saw the Korean War Memorial, which was nice. It's kind of sad to me that people can't see this - it's a large momument, but also a collection of aircrafts and weapons. I didn't want to take too many pictures because I didn't want to take a picture of something I wasn't supposed to and get in trouble.