“Off Limits to Koreans” - The Casino of the Eighth U.S. Army

A man entered the camp, looking for a one-story concrete barrack 300 meters away from the gate. It appeared to be a normal barrack, but inside it is a totally different story.

There were tables on which many chips were piled up under a bright illumination, with approximately 100 “customers” playing intensely on card games such as blackjack and baccarat.

The “customers” headed for the tables after exchanging their won for chips at the entrance. There was also a bar, and it was observed that the housekeepers in their 40s and 50s were approached by people who lost their money in an effort to borrow some gambling money.

Korean signs such as “Mang-haet-nae” (“I was bankrupt”) or “Ei, Cham” (“Oh my goodness”) were heard all around the tables at the casino. There were only 10 people who appeared to be foreigners among around the 100 people. Mostly Koreans dominated the casino.

A current member of National Assembly named Song, wearing a blue checkered-designed shirt, was playing on a table. He was concentrating on his game so intensely, only talking on occasion with a lady sitting next to him. A stack of chips ($1,000 per chip) were piled up on his table as the same scene played on other tables.

As midnight passed, the crowd started to filter out. People who appeared to have lost money were muttering to themselves, “I was so unlucky today.”

A guy in his 40s who seemed to have won went to a van parked outside the barrack with his chips. The man gave the chips to a man in the van, and the man calculated the chips and exchanged it for dollars out of a safe.

The casino closed at 4 a.m. People started leaving one-by-one. Mr. Song left around 3 a.m.

A man in the casino said, “This casino is opened every Saturday.”

Regarding this, a staff of the ROK-US Alliance said, “There is no regular casino in the camp but instead we have a ‘Casino Night’ once a month.”

He explained, “Koreans are not permitted to enter the casino, but it is difficult to block even the Koreans who really want to enter.”

In the meantime, Mr. Song asserted, “About ten days ago, I saw people playing card games at the casino at the U.S. camp and played a little to have fun, but I was not there on the night of October 25.”