Dragon Hill Lodge
AFRC Resort in Korea
AFRC Resort in Korea
April 22, 2024
It has been said recently by several folks, they thought The Dragon Hill Lodge, along with USAG Yongsan, was closed and long gone. This could not be further from the truth! DHL is open, and will be for some time to come, regardless of the rumors you might hear around the Korean community that the DHL being sold, taken over by the Korean government etc etc. It's here and staying awhile.
DHL is one of four Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) resorts, the DHL located on USAG Yongsan in Seoul Korea, providing an array of affordable, wholesome vacation opportunities exclusively to our brave service members, their families, and other authorized patrons of the Total Defense Force.
You’ll find holiday specials and events year round at Dragon Hill Lodge to include events such as holiday celebrations, Oktoberfest, hosting military organization ceremonies, weddings and receptions, wine fests and more. You never know what’s in store, but you can depend on it being family-friendly fun that doesn’t break the bank.
The Dragon Hill Lodge, as an Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRC) Resort, serves members of the U.S. Armed Forces, their families, civil service and contractor employees and their families, and other authorized users. The AFRCs are Category C Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) activities operated by the U.S. Army as executive agent for Department of Defense (DOD). Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) G9 directly manages the AFRCs.
Personnel eligible to use AFRC guestrooms, food and beverage, recreation, facilities, and other guest services are defined on the DHL websites page https://www.dragonhilllodge.com/about-dragon-hill-lodge/eligibility
You may have heard that in January 2020 AFRC received new Department of Defense/Army Regulations which expanded authorized use at AFRC Resorts to Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war (POW), veterans with VA-documented service-connected disability ratings (VHIC cardholders) and Primary Family Caregivers of eligible Veterans under the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.
Important Note: VHIC cardholders ARE allowed to stay at the DHL
Dragon Hill Lodge is located on US Army Garrison Yongsan. This means guests of DHL who can easily access the DHL include active duty, retired, DoD civilians, contractors, other DOD ID cardholders, and VA Health Insurance Card (VHIC) cardholders, as they have unescorted access to the garrison. A VHIC card holder must have a VHIC card that displays “Purple Heart”, “Former POW”, or “Service Connected”. Veterans who do not fall into these categories are not authorized. Primary Caregivers of VHIC card holders are also authorized to stay at the DHL. Contact the DHL for details.
VHIC cardholder spouses are also authorized to stay at the DHL as a guest, even though they do not have unescorted base access. The DHL and Provost Marshall Office have coordinated a process to allow such family members access. To accomplish this, the VHIC card holder is to contact either:
1) Ms. Nain H. Kim, Director of Rooms Division/Sales & Catering
Work Phone: 0503-338-6258 / (+82) 02-6903-6258 / DSN 315-738-6258
E-mail: KimN@DragonHilllodge.com
Ms. Kim approved her work contact information for public dissemination
2) Contact the DHL Front Desk
0503-338-2222 / (+82) 02-790-0016 / DSN 315-738-2222
What will happen, and this is just a recap, you must contact DHL for details, but as an overview, once DHL is contacted the VHIC holder will provide the spouses passport and some other info DHL needs, and in-turn DHL will submit the access request to Pass&ID, who will quickly process access for the length of stay of the guest. The spouse will end up receiving a PMO approve memo from DHL authorizing them unescorted base access i.e. the memo allows the spouse to access the base without the VHIC card holder. Again, details on all this will come from the DHL ‘contact’ you make, but in a nutshell that’s it.
Guests who are escorted (those without unescorted access authority) must follow a different process for base access, which may take up to 30 days or longer to process through the Pass&ID Office mainly due to security checks. This process, while assisted by the DHL, is managed by the USFK Provost Marshall's Office and operated at each military installation. Contact the Dragon Hill Lodge for assistance.
For the time being, the Dragon Hill Lodge is safe in it's current location. It's no secret that eventually a replacement will be built, and this DHL (or its land) given to the ROK. But we are years away from that, with no plans on the table, so for now just enjoy.
Within Korea
DSN: (315) 738-2222
Comm: (02) 790-0016 / 0503-338-6258
From Overseas
(+82-2) 790-0016 / (+82) 2-503-338-6258
