Soldiers from 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, as well as enablers from several other units.
When and why: March for Foal Eagle and various mil-to-mil engagements and cultural event as part of the Army's regionally-aligned forces concept. As long as Pacific Pathways rotations continue to take place, expect additional opportunities to spend time in South Korea.
About the area: The Army has almost 19,000 soldiers stationed in South Korea. During the Korean War, the U.S. fought alongside the South Koreans to defend the country from a North Korean invasion. A 1953 armistice split the peninsula along a demilitarized zone, and the U.S. has since had a presence there. Serious tensions with North Korea have punctuated inter-Korean relations in recent years, according to the CIA World Factbook.
South Korea is in eastern Asia; its southern half borders the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. It has a temperate climate, and its terrain is mostly hilly and mountainous with wide coastal plains in the west and south.
Activities: Tourists can visit the DMZ and take tours that go to the observatory, one of North Korea's infiltration tunnels, a military base, and right into the Joint Security Area in the middle of the DMZ where negotiations between the two sides are held, according to South Korea's tourism website.
Korea's Gyeongpo Beach in Gangwon-do province allows visitors to take a "sand bath," while those who visit Daecheon Beach can take a bath in the beach's thick, mineral-rich mud.
You also can go to Itaewon, Insa-dong and Myeong-dong in Seoul for some serious shopping.
Watch out for: Street crimes do occur, but they are infrequent by U.S. standards, according to the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. There have been few incidents involving U.S. embassy, military or expatriate victims. Most reported crimes involve pickpocketing in tourist areas and crowded markets, and most crimes are non-violent.
Bring back some: Dojagi, or pottery, according to the South Korean tourism website, and you can choose from porcelain, earthenware, stoneware and clayware pottery. Hanbok is a type of traditional Korean clothing typically worn during national holidays or weddings. Featuring vibrant colors, hanboks are custom-made and is often made from silk. Also popular are najeonchilgi, a traditional mother-of-pearl craft where shells are inlaid into wood and coated with a lacquer finish, and crafts made from hanji, which comes from the inner bark of the mulberry tree.
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
