The airfield, then known as
Altehru Airfield, was originally developed between 1926 and 1930 during the
Japanese Imperial period. The local population were used as forced labour to flatten and clear the landscape, and later to build underground tunnels. Initially, it was primarily used as a refueling station, as well as a base for
reconnaissance and
maritime patrol aircraft. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War it was also used as a forward base of the
Omura Naval Air Group for the bombing of cities in China such as Shanghai and Nanjing.
World War II Among other things, the base was used for the training of
kamikaze pilots and by the end of the war it housed 2500 naval aviation troops and 25 aircraft in hardened aircraft shelters. Nearing the end of the
Pacific War the Japanese were facing an inevitable defeat. Fearing a fight on Japanese soil, they planned on using Jeju's Alddreu Airfield as a last resort to defend against the
Allied forces.
Korean War The USAF designated the base as
Cheju-do No.2 or
K-40. It was apparently mainly used as a refueling & communications facility and came under the umbrella of the
100th Air Base Wing from 5 August 1951. Along with an airfield security
company of the USAF's
Air Police, there were communications, civil engineering, and food service companies permanently based at K-40 during this period.
Postwar A
TACAN facility was built on the base, now known as
Altteureu Airfield, during the early 1960s. Alddreu was handed over by the USAF to the ROKAF in the later part of that decade. The base continues to be owned by the Korean Air Force but has been largely leased to civilians since the time of the handover, with most of the site being currently used as
potato fields, though a large number of pre- and post-war facilities are still intact to one degree or another. These include 19 (out of an original 20) World War II
aircraft bunkers, and a 1,400-meter grass runway which is still in use as a
reserve airstrip by the ROKAF.
Seogwipo City planned at one stage during the late 2000s to develop the area as a theme park. ==See also==