Full coverage: THAAD Deployment in South Korea

The THAAD system has not yet been deployed in Seongju, but media coverage and protests are already driving away businesses in the county.

Seongju is a small county of a population of around 50,000.

And 70% of South Korea’s melons come from this area.

But now Seongju has become synonymous with the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, otherwise known as THAAD.

Lee Soo-gook is a Seongju local who has been dealing property in the county for six years. And he says this year’s business has been the worst he’s seen.

"Summer is not really peak season for the real estate businesses, so usually we see a drop of 20% compared to other months. But now, deals have dropped more than 90%, that’s almost down to nothing… we think this will continue for about a year. Even if the THAAD issue gets resolved somehow, people will still remember the radiation debate so it’ll take at least six months for the market to show signs of recovery," Lee said.

And around 11 km west of the county centre is Po-cheon Valley, a popular summer vacation spot.

But despite the holiday season in full swing, the resorts are rather empty.

"A lot of people have cancelled their reservations. Parents with young children don’t want to bring their children here. Sales have dropped dramatically...This is how I make a living, but now I’m having to survive on bank loans," said Do Hyun-Soo, pension owner.

Every business owner we talked to in this valley say, just last summer, this road was packed with cars on both sides, and people came in busloads.

For the tourism and real estate industries that rely heavily on outsiders coming in to relax and enjoy, all they hope for is for Seongju to go back to the peaceful county it was once known for.