Threat of War

I can only imagine how scary the North American media has made the situation appear over here in Korea.  For those of you who weren't sure of my location, I am not in North Korea, I am in South Korea, almost 10 miles south of Seoul, but I am still considered as part of Seoul, just a district outside of it.  I appreciate all of the concerned emails about my well-being.  I can assure you as of today that I and the rest of the foreigners over here still remain safe.  In fact, up until Saturday, I was not even the least bit concerned that I would be in danger in this country.  I am sure most of you have felt somewhat the same in that this is just another lame North Korean tactic to gain attention and prosperity. 

When news of the nuclear test conducted on October 9th broke out, South Koreans felt threatened little, but there was some cause for concern, as in most other countries.  Considering their close proximity, I was a little surprised; however, for the most part, life here has been business as usual.  At least, that was until I left for work today.

Since I cannot read or understand the news here, I've been tuning into the CNN website for details about this dispute.  Before work today, I read that North Korea outwardly refused to resolve the issue and the DRNK representative defiantly said that North Korea was prepared for talks or for confrontation and should the U.S. continue to "bully" them, that they were prepared for war, before simply walking out of the UN six-party talk.  You can imagine my now uneasiness about living here in South Korea. 

Early this afternoon, I got a real sense of just how sensitive and precarious this situation is and that each next new political move must be thought out carefully and be carried out with precision.  Upon walking my usual one hour walk to school this morning, I was happily listening to my MP3 player, thinking in my own little bubble, when I felt a sense of oddness.  I looked up before crossing the street only to notice that traffic in all four directions had abruptly stopped and the pedestrians were standing on all corners of the street not walking.  Two men were standing in the middle of the street.  At first, I thought that perhaps I walked into a demonstration or some sort of rally, but after almost a minute of standing on the corner and not seeing anything come down the street, I ruled that idea out.  For almost four minutes no one had moved and there was this eerie silence for a time that is usually jam packed with traffic and people on the streets.  The silence was followed by distant sirens, which now began to panic me.  These were not ambulance sirens, they were something else.  My mind began to race at the possibilities and I began assuming the worst. Then, within a minute life just seem to continue on again.

I was told that it was somewhat of a South Korean tradition not long ago, where on the 15th of every month sirens would ring through the streets of cities while they stood in silence to keep them in the mindset of possible war.  I didn't understand if this was also meant as a practice evacuation warning.  As recent events would have it, there is potential for this to be a reality and I am still coming to terms with my new found reality.