🇰🇷 Alddreu Airfield (K-40) (Cheju-do No. 2)

Alddreu Airfield (K-40) (Cheju-do No. 2) (KR-0041), also known as Altteureu Airfield, is not an active commercial airport with typical traveler facilities or services. Instead, it is a historical site on southern Jeju Island, largely returned to farmland (potato fields) since the late 1960s, and holds significant historical importance from the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War. Visitors typically come for its historical and memorial aspects, often as part of "dark tourism" experiences in Jeju. Traveler sentiment, therefore, revolves around the solemnity, educational value, and preservation of this historical landmark.

What Travelers Experience (as a historical site):

• Historical Significance: Visitors find the site to be a poignant reminder of Jeju's painful past under Japanese colonialism and during the Korean War. It served as a Japanese military outpost, a refueling station for bombing missions, and later a training ground for Kamikaze pilots.
• Preserved Structures: Travelers can explore 19 (out of an original 20) World War II aircraft bunkers (hangars) that remain largely intact across the landscape. These concrete structures offer a tangible link to the airfield's military past.
• Somber Atmosphere: The vast, open fields, interspersed with the remnants of the airfield, evoke a sense of solemnity and reflection for those contemplating the forced labor involved in its construction and the historical tragedies, including the Jeju April 3rd massacre, associated with the area.
• Educational Value: The airfield is considered an important site for historical education, highlighting the impacts of war and occupation. Some visitors learn about the Jeju 4.3 incident (massacre) in connection with their visit.

Common Observations (not complaints, but characteristics):

• Lack of Modern Facilities: As a historical site and former military airfield, there are no modern airport terminal facilities, amenities, or services.
• Limited Signage/Information (Historically): In the past, identifying the abandoned hangars could be difficult due to a lack of official markings, though efforts have been made to improve accessibility for tourists.
• Rural Setting: The site is predominantly potato fields, giving it a rural and somewhat desolate feel, which for many enhances the historical experience rather than detracting from it.
• Accessibility: Jeju City has reportedly made efforts to lay tarmac roads to make the airfield easier to reach.

Alddreu Airfield offers a unique and impactful experience for those interested in history and reflection, rather than a conventional travel experience. It serves as a powerful testament to the past, with its preserved bunkers and somber landscape providing a direct connection to a significant period in Jeju's history.