Busan Military Mail Terminal held its opening ceremony at Busan Storage Center, Busan, South Korea, on April 30, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
BUSAN, South Korea — A new military mail terminal opened Thursday in Busan to improve speed and reliability of mail delivery to U.S. Forces Korea, according to the U.S. Army.
The facility is expected to strengthen “resiliency and efficiency” of military mail operations in South Korea, Col. Kimberly Pringle of U.S. Army Pacific said in a speech during the opening ceremony.
“This facility enhances our ability to receive, process and distribute mail with greater speed and reliability,” she said.
Until the Busan facility opened, the joint military mail terminal at Incheon International Airport was the only military mail terminal in South Korea.
Busan will process 40% of the total U.S. military mail that enters the country, which is more than 12 million pounds annually, according to an April 20 news release from the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.
The terminal is expected to shorten by a day the delivery period for priority mail -- from the typical 10 days to nine, James Register, Army Pacific chief of postal operations, told Stars and Stripes on Thursday.
Army installations Chinhae, Camp Walker, Camp Carroll, Camp Mujuk, Gimhae and the Pier 8 post office will benefit from the new terminal, with plans to expand the service to Kunsan Air Base, Register said.
The plan to build the Busan terminal started in 2018. Nine employees will operate the terminal with support from South Korean customs personnel, according to Register.
The Busan terminal will be the primary mail hub during contingencies. The terminal is “100% ready” for real-world conflicts and natural disasters, Register said. The mail operation would shift to Busan if Incheon were to shut down.
Pringle noted Busan’s historical role during the Korean War.
“During those early years...as a vital core and logistics hub, Busan served as a gateway through which supplies, reinforcements and mail flowed to support United Nations forces defending the Republic of Korea,” she said during her speech. The Republic of Korea is the formal name for South Korea.
Even though service members today communicate online, mail still plays an “essential role in sustaining morale and quality of life for our forces overseas,” Pringle said.
