Untangling the Security-Development Nexus of the US Military Camptowns in South Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study unravels how discourses and practices on national security and economic development were intertwined at different scales via the US military camptowns in South Korea. While the camptowns have been generally perceived as problematic spaces in socio-economic or ethical terms, memories of camptown residents tell a different and more nuanced story. Yongjugol in Paju, once the largest camptown in Korea, demonstrates how the dynamic nexus between security and development has been constructed and shifted through various spatial scales and how this effectively served to legitimise the exploitation of military prostitutes. However, it also notes that underlining these women’s contributions to national security and economic development leads to unwittingly legitimising the US’s imperial rule in Korea. In this regard, we argue that unravelling the inter-scalar dynamics of the security-development nexus in camptowns helps us de-fantasise the empire’s operation in Korea.