When I was stationed in South Korea from 1990 to 1992, I lived in and worked on Osan Air Base in a little town called Songtan (Republic of Korea or ROK). It was about 90 kms south of Seoul. Even though it had many Koreans working on it and even had a long runway originally created by the Japanese, Osan was a little island of Americana, complete with a Tex-Mex restaurant, a Burger King, a library, movie theatre, bowling alley, gym, golf course and rec center.
It was like that scene in Apocalypse Now when the air cavalry unit surfed and partied and Captain Willard said "the more they tried to make it seem like home the more they made everyone miss it."
Almost everyone who was stationed there was on a "short unaccompanied tour", which meant that they served 12 months to the day in the ROK and then got a new assignment either back in the States or elsewhere around the world. Unaccompanied meant that any airman who was married typically served their short tour without their dependents (spouses and children) to the ROK. The Air Force would not pay for dependents to travel to Osan and wouldn't pay for family housing if they travelled on their own dime. A select few were "command sponsored" to bring their families with them and served longer tours. But most were unaccompanied short timers.
The result was a base that was almost entirely young, single Americans of all races and genders -- or married without their spouses and children.
Outside the base were dozens and dozens of bars and nightclubs. We called it "the ville". Every night the narrow streets and alleys light up with neon and throbbed with thumping beats of all kinds - rock and roll, disco, country bars, R&B, rap/hiphop and soul.
You can probably guess what that led to...
The ville was a tower of flame and we were all just moths drawn to the light and the heat.
Somewhere in the hazy and drunken history of Songtan, a tradition had evolved to welcome a newbie with a "green bean" run. Members of the squadron or unit would share a "run sked", which listed 8 or 10 bars or clubs in a short list with times, like this:
Ma Boogies - 2000
Happy House - 2030
My House Up - 2100
U.N. Club - 2130
Stereo Club - 2200
My House Down 2300
Dragon Club 2400
A group of anywhere from a half a dozen to 20 or more would run the ville, following the run sked and showing the newbie on his green bean what the ville was like. Some of those bars were places to hang out, drink beer and play darts. The run would start on a street like Aragon Alley, which focused on heavy metal and rock and roll. Others were cocktail bars with hostesses and dancers. Later in the evening would often end at a big nightclub with a dancefloor.
12 months later, that same newbie, now an "oldtimer" would be counting down the days to when they would leave for home or their next assignment. If you were asked "how short are you?" the answer would be in days not feet and inches. Close to the end of the tour, another run would get scheduled for a goodbye tour of the ville - a "brown bean".
