YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea - South Korean college students were invited to Yongsan Garrison Dec. 3 to learn about the importance of the Republic of Korea-United States Alliance and the contributions of U.S. and South Korean servicemembers to local communities around the Korean Peninsula.
Hosted by Republic of Korea Support Group, 25 young adults from the non-profit Youth and College Students Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea learned about the Good Neighbor Program and the roles of the RSG and Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, more commonly known as KATUSA.
Maj. Henry C. Brown, deputy for the 8th U.S. Army Operational Maneuver Directorate (G9), described the Good Neighbor Program and other activities that strengthen the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
"We are ultimately here to build a better country and, at the same time, help maintain the peace on this penninsula," said Brown.
Following a bus tour of Yongsan Garrison, students were then taken to the Korean Demilitarized Zone to see South Korean and American Soldiers working shoulder-to-shoulder to maintain peace at the line that divides the Koreas.
"As a civilian, this opportunity to visit the military post and DMZ gave me a valuable lesson. After listening to the lectures and seeing the stretched fence separating the country, it reclaimed the importance of ROK-U.S. Alliance and freedom in Korea," said Park Ji-min, director of education of Youth and College Students Alliance for Human Rights, at the end of her day tour.
Col. Yoon Won-hee, the commander of the ROK Army Support Group, plans to invite more organizations on a monthly base to enlighten them on the importance of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
"Many locals are not aware of these programs and activities that we practice throughout the country and I hope that this invitation of local organizations will help them rectify the view of our true friend and alliance - the U.S. Forces Korea," said Yoon.
Social Sharing