인천시 부평 외국군 ‘兵站基地’의 성립과 해체, 그리고 현재적 의미

Abstract

Japanese and U.S. troops have long been stationed in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon. The Japanese and U.S. forces had a different time and purpose when they were stationed in Bupyeong, but they all used Bupyeong as a Munitions base. This was according to the geopolitical position of Bupyeong. With the official return of the U.S. Army's Camp Market to Korea in 2019, there are no more foreign troops in Bupyeong. Bupyeong's history of foreign military presence ends, and now the task of how we can utilize the legacy left by them remains.
 It was after the establishment of the Inchon Army Arsenal in 1939 that foreign troops were stationed in Bupyeong in earnest. As the Second Sino-Japanese War was prolonged, Japan tried to continue the imperialist invasion war by building a Munitions base on the Korean Peninsula. Since then, as Japan expanded its battlefield to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, Bupyeong's importance has grown even more. In the end, Bupyeong became a place to prepare for the final showdown against U.S. military attacks. It is noteworthy that the Japanese military tried to pass on the “responsibility for harm” and “damage” by building the Munitions base in Bupyeong and mobilizing Koreans.
 After liberation, the U.S. military built Ascom City in Bupyeong and gave it the role of a U.S. Munitions base in Korea. And for a long time it became a place to prepare for another form of war. As time passed, Ascom City, which had been vast, gradually decreased, and eventually, only the Camp Market remained in existence, but was returned to Korea in 2019. The return of the Camp Market means the end of Bupyeong's history of foreign military presence. In the future, we should consider using this place from a historical perspective.