Volunteer Linda Lee helps a customer at Second Hand Rose Thrift Shop on Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 9, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — A thrift store that served generations of U.S. military families and donated proceeds to scholarships and local charities will close at month’s end after nearly four decades in Seoul.
Second Hand Rose Thrift Shop is shuttering because of deterioration of its building, which is owned by the U.S. Embassy, volunteer Linda Lee told Stars and Stripes in a Sept. 9 interview. The embassy repeatedly notified the organization that the building must close, she said.
News of the closure comes years after the shop’s customer base sharply declined following the relocation of most U.S. military personnel and commands from Yongsan to Camp Humphreys, about 40 miles to the south.
Second Hand Rose opened at Camp Coiner sometime before 1988, although longtime volunteers no longer know its exact founding date, Lee said by email Sept. 11.
“The end is bittersweet for volunteers, customers and supported charities,” she wrote.
Volunteer Linda Lee organizes clothing at Second Hand Rose Thrift Shop on Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea. Sept. 9, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
The nonprofit shop sells donated clothing, furniture, books and kitchenware and is staffed entirely by volunteers.
Before the military’s relocation to Humphreys, Second Hand Rose generated about $220,000 in annual revenue, said Sharon Lee, who began volunteering there in 2011 and later became its consignment manager and treasurer.
The consignment program with the Army community once generated about $5,000 each month, she said by email Friday.
Susan Parker, who began volunteering around 1990, estimated the shop’s current customer base at just 20% to 30% of its former level.
Susan Parker, who has volunteered at Second Hand Rose Thrift Shop for about 25 years, organizes shoes in the store on Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 9, 2026. (Yoojin Lee/Stars and Stripes)
Still, the shop continued supporting military families and the surrounding community.
Through its scholarship program, Second Hand Rose awarded $500 to $1,500 annually to high school seniors and military family members pursuing higher education, Linda Lee said.
Since moving to the embassy building in April 2021, the shop has contributed around $120,000 to community organizations, including the Korea legacy Committee, Anna’s House and Myongdo Welfare center, she said.
Kim Kwang-hwan, who volunteered at the shop for nearly 30 years after retiring as a command fire chief at Yongsan, recalled donating items to a nunnery in the 1990s and later to a church.
Supporting the community and providing scholarships to students on post are among his most meaningful memories, he said during the Sept. 9 interview.
The shop was notified last month of its final closing date but was not offered another location, Linda Lee said.
Volunteers contacted other organizations and sought available buildings but were unable to find a suitable space before the deadline, she added.
