USAG YONGSAN - Several Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores at Camp Coiner, including the American Eatery and barber shop, closed June 30 as part of the transformation of
U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan.
Camp Coiner, located at the northern part of the garrison, is being transferred to the U.S. State Department. This area has traditionally been home to single Soldiers with its many barracks. The Camp Coiner mini mall opened for business in November 1995 to provide sustenance to the Soldiers residing so far away from main post.
"The American Eatery at Camp coiner was there to serve members a nice warm breakfast, lunch and dinner with a variety of retail goods. Soldiers also cut their hair at the barber shop," said Yi, Chi-na, AAFES operations clerk.
Now Soldiers and community members are expected to experience some degree of inconvenience given the distance between Camp Coiner and other AAFES stores.
"I used to visit the barber shop here because it was the nearest one from the barracks. Now I have to go a long way to Main Post to have a haircut," said Sgt. Chang, Hyun-woo, senior KATUSA with USAG Yongsan's Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security.
The AAFES employees at Camp Coiner are also affected by the closure. Kim, Hyun-jun, Camp Coiner AAFES manager, has been working at Camp Coiner for four years. He is going to USAG Humphreys. Many of his colleagues who had been working at Yongsan much longer are retiring, he said. He felt badly for those losing their jobs and wished they could work together longer, but the reality is the transition to USAG Humphreys is not slowing down.
Now Soldiers and community members have no choice but to find alternate stores. There are
still food courts operating on Main Post (Bldg. 1455), the Dragon Hill Lodge (Bldg. 4050), and
South Post (Bldg. 4259). For barber services, Soldiers can visit the JUSMAG Barber Shop (Bldg.
1575), MP Barber Shop (Bldg. 1447), and the South Post Mini mall Barber Shop (Bldg. 4259). The
Camp Coiner Bike Shop is scheduled to remain open until November 2017.
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