Why are families in the military discouraged from going to S. Korea?

Question

I really want to join my husband in Korea but I just don't know why we are discouraged to go. Was it a threat from N Korea?

Answer 1

"Of the 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea, only about 10 percent are on accompanied tours and have their families with them. Command sponsorship slots are limited due to several factors, including lack of housing and other facilities."


http://ww2.pstripes.osd.mil/01/jul01/ed0...

Answer 2

Everyone makes a great point here. Speaking from someone who spent three non consecutive tours in Korea, the issues include lack of housing for families, lack of medical care, the health issues (Korea is not the most sanitary place to be.), as well as the fact that there are still conflicts that go on over there every year. Even though there has been a cease fire, the war is not officially over. Every year N. Korea will buck up and cause the south to buck back. Every time that I was there, we would go under full alert waiting to see if something would happen. Be happy that families are discouraged to go. I was.

Answer 3

Because Korea is under a cease fire right now. They are not at peace. If North Korea were to invade South Korea, the Americans families that are there would be in great peril. The military is not wanting this to happen so they discourage you to go so as to not be put into harms way in the event something would happen. If you do go, they say its at your own risk, and they are not liable for you being there. Also there are some health issues involved.

Answer 4

You are discouraged from going, but that doesn't mean you have to listen :) I came over here despite what the military told me, and I am glad I did. Go to http://usfkforums.com/ there is a whole forum there and a HUGE thread about moving non-command sponsored (NCS) to Korea. But basically despite what you may have been told and what some of the others answering your question are saying, you do OHA (this started March 2006 that they HAVE to give you OHA(, you can use all the base facilities and I have NEVER had a problem getting health care for me or my kids. I even had my wisdom teeth removed here. If you go NCS you will have to live off base, but the apartments although different are nice, better than the housing at our base.


Go to that site it is really really helpful and it will give you all the info you need to make a decision about whether or not to come. Good luck to you and feel free to e-mail me if you'd like

Answer 5

It's a combination of things. Korea is considered a high ops assignment. Military members there are working at a higher tempo, taking part in extensive readiness exercises and in general have little off time. Schedules tend to be 12 hour shifts, with rotating days on and off. The posts there are not large, so medical facilities are smaller and staffed for treatment of the military personel, not family members and with the increase in deployments, family members would often have to wait weeks to be seen (active duty always gets first shot at available appointments). The quality of life off base is vastly different than what most people are used to and many family members would have a tough time. Base housing is limited. Korean deployment is in an area that carried a much higher risk level, because of the proximity of Northern Korea and China. In many case, families are not just discouraged to go, they are out and out forbidden. Going without military sponsorship means living off base, no access to the medical facilites, kids in local schools and no SOFA status if you are involved in any sort of run in with the law (and the legal system there is very different from the US...not something you want to get into without some government sponsership). Listen to the command and to all the postings here...both to your question and to other postings on the subject...it is simply not a place for family members.

Answer 6

If you were to go the tour would more than likely have to be command sponsored,and it would be extended to 2 years instead of 1 also as I understand it the bases in Korea are not all that family friendly

Answer 7

I don't think that they are so much discouraged from going, just that they don't have the housing and care that is needed to support the family members that want to go. I know that there are many spouses that would go with their husbands if they could but because of certain conditions they can't get the command sponsorship that is needed for them to go.

I know next time we will try like hell to go with him to Korea if he ends up going again even to the point of going non command sponsored.

Answer 8

There is no housing available
There is not adequate medical staffing to support dependants
There are not schools to support the children

Basically... there is no infrastructure to support a military family. As stated above, one of the bases has a very limited number of command sponsorship slots, and even those have restrictions. The rest of them... they cannot support you! It is tough enough living overseas where you do have the military support you needed... do you really want to do it in a country where there is none.

Your hubby will be gone 1 year... and he will get 30 days leave to come back to the states for morale leave. You can also go over and VISIT him. Most of us have survived remotes quite well. And the Army deploys for 18 months, with no chance of coming home midtour.

Consider yourself lucky, get a webcam, get lots of activities lined up, and it will be over sooner than you know!

Answer 9

Some very good answers to your question, all of them pertinent. However, the single main reason is MONEY. Korea is a "short tour" meaning it lasts only 13 months. The US Military does not allow the majority of its' active duty personnel to be accompanied on "short tours." It costs to much to move families every 13 months.

Answer 10

Most Asian countries are very very in to their culture. Americans are looked at as a free country with people that come and go as they please and take any and all pleasures. For the vast part of Asians cultures, we are not liked because we do not follow our own culture and do not stick with traditions as we use to. So families are asked to stay in the states not just for this but because Korea is kind of an isolated area for americans. Though families can go and have a lot of fun.