Vehicles Seen in Korea, 1963-1964

This is a twist from my usual street scene photo galleries of cars.

Part of my Army enlistment involved a tour of duty in Korea, 1963-64.  Thanks to my specialty of public relations and my organization (7th Logistical Command) that had facilities from Pusan to Inchon, I was able to travel in more parts of South Korea than many GIs stationed near the Demilitarized Zone up north could.

Nowadays Korea is a major producer of automobiles.  Back then, so far as I know, most domestically sourced vehicles were modified versions of American trucks and jeeps.

Below are some photos I took during my stay.  I haven't visited the county since then, though I suspect the place might have changed a little.

Gallery

Looking down towards Seoul's South Gate.  Almost no vehicles in view.

Looking towards Seoul's main railroad station.  More traffic, mostly Japanese-made taxis.

View from the train station the day I arrived on my way south to 7th Log headquarters in Taegu.  Vehicles include those Japanese cars, some hopsung vans and a few busses plus a Jeep.

Seoul street with a Japanese car, a Jeep with a locally made body, a 1958 Buick and a 1959 Ford.

Another Seoul scene.  That Buick is a 1959 model.  Behind it is a streetcar, to the right a hopsung.

Men exiting a hopsung.

Hopsun queue.  Since hopsungs looked pretty much alike, I think they were made by one firm.  What I don't know is how much besides the body and perhaps the chassis was locally produced.

Busses seen in Taegu.  My understanding at the time was that these were built on army 2 1/2 ton truck chassis.  They look similar, but are not identical.  Much of the variation was in the grilles.

Also seen on the roads were U.S. Army vehicles such as this Jeep from my public relations office having a flat tire replaced by our Korean army sergeant driver.

That's another locally converted Jeep.  Paved roads were used by farmers to thrash rice or, in this case, barley using traffic to do the job.