Kunsan K-8 Air Base | |
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Part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) | |
Located near: Gunsan, South Korea | |
![]() F-16C Fighting Falcons over Kunsan AB
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Location of Kunsan Air Base, South Korea
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Coordinates | 35°54′13″N 126°36′57″E / 35.90361°N 126.61583°ECoordinates: 35°54′13″N 126°36′57″E / 35.90361°N 126.61583°E |
Site information | |
Controlled by |
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Site history | |
Built | 1938 |
In use | 1938-Present |
Garrison information | |
Garrison |
![]() 8th Fighter Wing (USAF) |
Airfield information | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 29 ft / 9 m | ||||||||||
Website | www |
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Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: DAFIF
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Kunsan K-8 Air Base is a United States Air Force base located at Gunsan Airport, which is on the west coast of the South Korean peninsula bordered by the Yellow Sea. It is at the town of Gunsan about 150 miles (240 km) south of Seoul. The town (군산시 in Korean) can be romanized as both Gunsan and Kunsan. The United States Air Force uses Gunsan to refer to the town, and Kunsan to refer to the base.
Kunsan Air Base is the home of the 8th Fighter Wing, "The Wolf Pack," assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Seventh Air Force and the 38th Fighter Group of the Republic of Korea Air Force. It is one of two major Air Force installations operated by the United States Forces Korea, the other being Osan Air Base.
The following major units are stationed at Kunsan Air Base:
The history of Kunsan Air Base dates back to 1938, when Japanese forces occupying Korea built a base near Kunsan for fighter-interceptor aircraft.
The United States first used the base in 1945, but on a very small scale. From 1945 to 1950, the Army and later the Air Force intermittently operated small detachments from Kunsan, with these detachments maintaining liaison aircraft. At most these detachments contained a handful of people. When the United States pulled its combat units out of the Republic of Korea in 1949, it left only a Military Assistance Advisory Group in the country, and the periodic detachments at Kunsan became even more infrequent.