After some hotel breakfast, we were back on the bus to travel to Camp Humphreys, the largest US military base outside of the country itself. Never having been to a military base, I had no idea what to expect. Upon our arrival, we watched 2 short videos on the facilities and some history on Camp Humphreys. Following the videos, we got to hear from three-star lieutenant general La Neve who was from Pittsburgh! He talked about why he joined the army, his family, and the qualities and skills he’s gained. This was incredibly interesting to hear as it is important both personally and professionally.
Following his remarks, we traveled to the cafeteria for lunch and then for the 2ID Static Display part of our tour, where multiple soldiers took us around to explain and show us the vehicles used. It was so cool to hear about the technology involved with the vehicles and their purposes. For the last part of our tour, one of the captains joined our bus to take us around Camp Humphreys, talking about the important facilities, the 3.3 million sq feet size of the entire base, and the 95% capacity the base filled with soldiers.
One of the things interesting about this visit was the pricing in US dollars, which was a little bit confusing at first because of how much won I had been using so far on this trip. Despite the base being located in South Korea, it had seemed that this was a portion of America and felt like another town instead of being integrated within the country.
After the bus tour of the entire camp, we headed back to the hotel. With the free time we had, there was still so much to do in Seoul. After a quick trip to 7-Eleven, we decided to go walk to the Namsan Seoul Tower. The experience to the tower was interesting in itself as we were struggling to even find where the entrance point was. We hiked up the excursion trail for some time, before we finally found it. The views on the way and in the actual tower were unbeatable, as we could see the entire city of Seoul. To finish off the day, we went back towards the hotel and into the surrounding markets to get Korean BBQ.
Overall, it was amazing to get to see a military base and the astounding views of Seoul. I cannot wait for what’s in store for the rest of the trip!