DONGDUCHEON — Civic organizations have called on the city of Dongducheon, located in northern Gyeonggi province, to stop the planned demolition of a historical facility once used to manage sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among sex workers servicing U.S. soldiers. This appeal comes as part of a broader effort to preserve elements of Korea's complex historical narrative.
According to Yonhap News Agency, The facility in question, the Dongducheon STD management center, was established after the Korean War in 1953 and operated until its closure in 1996. In February, the Dongducheon city government announced plans to dismantle the building as part of a tourism development initiative near Mount Soyo. However, a coalition of 59 civic groups, including the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, has urged that the building be maintained as a historical site. During a news conference in Seoul on Monday, spokespeople for the groups emphasized the center's significance as a "symbolic space that shows the painful past of modern and contemporary Korean history," advocating for its preservation as a crucial reminder rather than erasing it from memory.