Construction of the base at a projected cost, as of 2011, of ₩977 billion or about US$907 million proved highly controversial.

[1][2] A poll revealed that majority a residents of Jeju island wanted to have a referendum about the construction of the base.

[3] By 2011, construction had been halted seven times by protesters concerned about the base's environmental impact and who saw it as a US-driven project aimed at China, rather than enhancing South Korean defense.

[4] In July 2012, the South Korean Supreme Court upheld the base's construction.

There is a cruise ship terminal, a dive-school, restaurants, a coffee shop, three houses of worship, a walking path, a football pitch, and the Sunrise-Sunset Road.