Busan Citizens Park (formerly Camp Hialeah) is a former Imperial Japanese Army base and United States Army camp located in the Busanjin District of the city of Busan, South Korea. The Camp occupying of prime real estate was closed on 10 August 2006 and handed back to the Busan city government. It was redeveloped as the Busan Citizens Park () and opened on 1 May 2014.
History
Racetrack
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, a horse racing track encircling the main area of the Camp was owned by the Chōsen Racing Association. A visiting American sailor is purported to have named the camp after the Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida.
Imperial Japanese Army occupation
The area served as the Imperial Japanese Army headquarters in Busan until the surrender of Japan.
United States Army occupation
U.S. troops took command of Camp Hialeah on 17 September 1945 and remained until the end of 1948 when control of the installation passed to the U.S. Consulate and the United Nations.
Busan was a critical strategic and logistical staging area during the Korean War. By 5 September 1950, the Korean People's Army held most of the Korean peninsula, except for the U.N. forces beachhead around the Pusan Perimeter. Busan port facilities were under the control of the U.S. military to handle the enormous support requirements of the fighting forces, with the 8069th Replacement Depot operating Camp Hialeah. After the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on 27 July 1953, most of the Busan port facilities were turned over to the ROK government.
Since the Korean War, Camp Hialeah was organised under different commands and missions. They included the 8069th Replacement Depot, the Korean Communications Zone, Busan Military Post, Busan Sub Area Command, Busan Area Command, Busan Base Command, 2nd Transportations Group, Busan Support Activity, U.S. Army Garrison-Busan, 34th, and 20th Support Groups, and 19th Theater Area Command, Area IV, 20th Area Support Group.
Camp Hialeah was a primary receiving point for materiel, equipment, supplies, and goods to U.S. Army bases in the Republic of Korea and was one of the primary Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) routes for U.S. personnel in and out of the Republic of Korea. Camp Hialeah supported tenant units that included: 142nd Quartermaster Battalion now designated the 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Busan Storage Facility, the largest (cold) storage facility within U.S. Forces Korea for supplies and goods to commissaries and exchanges Korea-wide 61st Chemical Company 552nd Military Police Company 4th Quartermaster Detachment (Airborne). Other tenant activities supported by Camp Hialeah included personnel of Air Force units at the Combat Ready Contingency Hospital, 25th Transportation Battalion Communications unit and the AMC Terminal at Gimhae Air Base 837th Transport Battalion Transportation Motor Pool Defense Contract Management Command-Gimhae Military Sealift Command Operations, US Navy 74th Signal Company Defense Reutilization Management Operations Chejudo Recreation Center 72nd Ordnance Company; C. Company 168th Medical Battalion 106th Medical Detachment Criminal Investigations Division Navy Office of Special Investigations USAF Office of Special Investigations 665th Medical (Dental) Detachment 524th Military Intelligence Battalion 1st Signal Brigade\ 154th Medical Detachment.
At its peak, the Camp and its associated facilities had a population of 2,500 U.S. military and Department of Defense civilian employees.