The city, 120 miles south of Seoul, is down a country road from a golf course that's slated to become home to the US military's newest defense against North Korea's missiles.

The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system is designed to shoot down rockets — using rockets — in midair. Reports suggest a mixed track record on THAAD's accuracy, but for residents living near the deployment site, their biggest concerns about the defense system are potential health risks.

Lim Sang-hwan, who has an anti-THAAD banner across the front of his cellphone shop, says he thinks up to 90 percent of his neighbors are worried that the system's high-powered radar will pose a hazard.

"It's being deployed too close to where families live," he says. "I have a 4-year-old son and I don't want him harmed."

Since the South Korean government chose the site in neighboring Seongju County in September, it's created tension in the adjacent communities, says Shin Sang-won, a taxi driver here.