Construction of a mini Korea Town is underway near the fence at the western tip of the U.S. airbase in Bagram, Afghanistan. The three buildings will be completed in April. As of Tuesday, workers were putting final touches to the Korean hospital, vocational training center and staff accommodation.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency put W20 billion (US$1=W1,153) into the project since June last year. The two-storey hospital will have 30 rooms for inpatients and three operation rooms. The two-storey vocational training center will accommodate 75 new students, 15 each for electricians, computer operators, builders, welders and car mechanics. A KOICA official said, "We selected fields that would most benefit the locals and will recruit new students from March 26."

The staff building has three stories and will accommodate about 80 people. It also has a conference room and cafeteria. Jeong Yeon-taek from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who leads the Korea's reconstruction mission for Afghanistan, said the hospital and vocational training center have become a frequent visiting spot for U.S. military personnel since new buildings are something of a rarity in Bagram.

Some 40 Koreans stay at the base, about 20 KOICA employees, medical staff, teaching staff and police, and another 20 employees of the construction company. Six are women. The number will double when the Provincial Reconstruction Team from Charikar, the capital of Parwan Province, come to Bagram. Most Koreans in Bagram are volunteers, who have been living in containers or wooden structures.