I guess it’s time to address the North Korean elephant in the room. I’ve received a pretty substantial amount of communication from people back home, obviously worried about the situation they’ve been hearing so much about on the news. I wouldn’t dare say that this is being blown out of proportion by the American media, no never, but i’m going to go ahead and say that there is not a “state of crisis” and no one feels like they’re “under attack”. Without outright saying that a lot of this is overreaction, because it is something that should be taken seriously, i’m gonna go head and say that things are going alright over here, and hopefully it stays that way.
My co-teacher, Lena, and I were in a GS 25. I was perusing the cookies and crackers when I heard gasps coming from the counter. I didn’t break stride because sounds of shock and disbelief coming from Koreans don’t phase me anymore, but as I walked up I saw stress and concern on Lena’s face - wide eyed, hands over her mouth, listening to the cashier. I put my crackers on the counter and asked what was wrong. It took her a few moments to answer, but she simply said “North Korea attacked.” My stomach dropped, thought about it for a moment, grew skeptical, paid for my snack and headed back up to Reggio. As we walked, we discussed the probability of this being true, all the while assuring one another that it was most likely nothing. It was then that we decided we’d get the real story before panicking. With the Reggio gate maybe 4 yards away, we see an ajuma running down the street and yelling. I asked Lena what she said and she replied, “she say we at war.”
I’m happy to report that this was the most dramatic this situation’s gotten so far - on my end at least. Initially learning about the attack, and the walk up to Reggio, was the most public display of worry i’ve seen from any Korean in the past week. Clearly i’m only speaking for myself, but it’s as if nothing has changed here. I walk to work and the biggest concern for a lot of the Koreans still seems to be finding a wind free zone so they can light their glamor cigarette. I’m not the Korean news stations primary audience, thus my news comes second hand, but from what i’ve heard from the locals, they seem to feel relatively ok. And by ‘ok’ I mean they’re not petrified with fear, ordering portable bomb shelters, stocking up on bottled water and snack packs. Maybe it’s because they’ve lived their entire lives with the threat of North Korea. Maybe it’s because they’ve got complete confidence in the Korean military. Maybe they’re delusional. Honestly, I don’t know. All I can say is i’m happy that things have maintained a sense of normalcy amongst “brink of war” comments and the amount of media attention being hurled at this thing.
This is not to say that there haven’t been a couple moments, since the incident on Yeonpyeong Island, where my mind hasn’t wondered to mushroom clouds, shrapnel, and wide spread meyham - because there surely have been. For the past week Seoul’s been getting some very strange weather. Weather that’s caused some late night thunder and lightening storms. Nothing jolts you out of bed at night quite like a bright flash, followed by a loud thunderous sound, when there’s a psychopath in control of nuclear and chemical weapons, less than 100 kilometers to the north. That has most definitely messed with my sleep, but in no way are all the foreigners tracing out the best routes to the embassy, with regards to distance from the military bases.
Maybe i’m being ignorant to the severity of this. I do not have any sort of stock pile if something were to go down. My cupboard is filled with chocolates and my fridge has a block of cheese, that might last me 2 days. I don’t have a bag packed, ready to go on a moments notice, but I like to think that we’ve seen the worst and until I see a herd of ajumas running down the street screaming, i’m going to continue to live the day to day, where my biggest concern is lesson planning and figuring out how to keep Cat Class from turning into a WWE tournament.
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