The following essays were among the best produced in Joel Friederich's ENGL 101 class at Yokosuka.

The United States military presence in South Korea first started during World War II. More than fifty years later, there are now 37,000 troops throughout South Korea in 96 different places. One U.S. Air Force training site called Kooni Fire Range, a 24 square kilometers area, has been getting a lot of attention lately from the media and the people of Korea. This attention was created because of the loud noise level caused by the explosions on the firing range. According to an article by Whitebook, “There is an average of 250 practice sessions on weekdays with an average of 11.5hours of firing practice each day.” In addition, the U.S. considers this firing range, “one of the best training sites in Asia because of the flat plain with the surrounding sea” (qtd. in “Kooni”—a).

Mae Hyang Li, a small fishery village in Hwan Sung City, is located right next to the firing range. The village name combines the meaning of a Japanese apricot tree flower (Mae Hwa) and the sweet aromatic scent (Hyang). An article by Whitebook stated that the name “Mae Hyang Li” originates from many apricot tree that were by the village beach in the past. However, this flower scented village is suffering regularly from noise pollution and explosions caused by the U.S. firing range. Due to the presence of the Kooni Fire Range, the residents of the village are suffering in three different ways, which are economic damage, quality of life damage, and health damage.

First of all, after the military training started in Mae Hyang Li, the community faced economic damage. The firing range was first established during the 1951 Korean War when a bombing plane, 1.6km away from Mae Hyang Li, started shooting towards the land and sea without any permission from the government of Korea (“Kooni”—a ). “Then, in 1968, the village farms were sold for 150-200won per acre, an unreasonably low amount of money compared to the lands’ actual value,” according to my translation from Kooni. “Mae Hyang Li, once the most productive village, now has the worst income per family in [Hwan Sung] City.”

Secondly, the constant noise pollution from the military training site in Kooni Fire Range caused a lot of damage to the Mae Hyang Li community’s quality of life. Jung Ok Soo, who witnessed a recent loud explosion reports, “The damages caused by the explosion and serious vibration were severe [to the community]. The glass windows were shattered, and all the dishes and other household items fell from the rack. Many residences’ roof and walls were shaken because of the battle planes flying right above it.” The article by Kooni reported that the school classrooms are frequently interrupted by the noise of the planes, and often, the teachers stop their lectures because the explosions are too loud. As a result of the noise pollution, student population of that school decreased from 650 to 450 students (“Kooni”—c). The U.S. did a noise level check in a request from the Mae Hyang Li residents, and the result was 90-110 WECPNL (Weighted Equivalence Continuous Perceived Noise Level) (“Kooni”—d). Kooni warns, “This is very loud, and it should be labeled as a non-residential area.” The standard 90 WECPNL is equivalent to a train, and 110 WECPNL is equivalent to an airplane’s arrival/departure (“Kooni” –c).

The most severe damage is done to the people and their domestic animals psychologically and physically. Asia Solidarity Quarterly says, “The citizens of Maehyang-ri are not regarded as citizens with equal rights under the U.S. law and institutions” (qtd. in Crew). Living with a war-like scenario for a couple of decades, the Mae Hyang Li people have experienced negative side effects from the noise pollution. City studies showed that the people of Mae Hyang Li have anxiety disorders, dizziness, insomnia, and tinnitus (ringing and buzzing in the ear). Furthermore, from these symptoms, Mae Hyang Li women are more likely to miscarry than women in other areas (“Kooni”—c). The people of Mae Hyang Li also claim that the suicide rate of the village as a whole is comparatively high (“Kooni”—c). Hee-Jeong Jeong, a writer from the Munhwa newspaper online, stated in a newsarticle that the people are having difficulty with their domesticated cattle’s growth and reproduction, yielding smaller amounts of milk compared to average cows. Jeong also stated that pregnant female-cows from other villages lose their offspring when they come to Mae Hyang Li. On the contrary, cows in Mae Hyang Li adapt to the noise, but the baby cows are said to be smaller than average (“Kooni”—c). Some of the people who own poultry farms say that the chickens die in groups (“Kooni”—c).

The Mae Hyang Li community is still going through extreme noise levels caused by the explosions and jet aircrafts. On top of that, the community as a whole is suing the U.S. Kooni Fire Range for the harm done to their health, land, and home. The facts listed above are quite hard to believe. Imagine if you were living right underneath an airplane when it departs and arrives. For the last half century, Mae Hyang Li people have lived with this intense noise pollution. I hope to see immediate changes so that they can be freed from the interruption. The United States should immediately come up with a new training site in a non- residential area.