A storm is brewing in Korea

Or is it? With all that has been happening over the past year here, you'd think the Korean people would be suffering from anxiety, fear and anger, among others. Oddly enough though, in my time here, I have come across no such feelings.

Earlier in the year, there was the sinking of the South Korean ship, which I was not here for but which caused quite a stir. Since I've been here, North Korea has fired on South Korea twice, all in the past month. These confrontations have all been near the border of North and South Korea, far north of where I now reside (Jinju is a small city about as far south as you can get in South Korea). It may be for this reason that the people I am surrounded by seem un-phased by the attacks.

At the beginning of the month, around the time when the G20 Summit occurred in Seoul, the North Koreans fired a few shots into South Korean territory. When this happened, I asked my Korean hostess if she had heard about it and she said no and that she doesn't watch the TV, with no noticeable concern. Then, yesterday, the South Koreans were doing some military drills near disputed waters. North Korea warned the south to halt, and when they refused, the North Koreans started firing rounds on one of South Korea's islands, Yeonpyeong. South Korea retaliated by firing off rounds of their own. You may have seen the news: around 60 houses on the island were set on fire, several soldiers and some civilians were injured, and two ROK marines were killed (this bit of news has probably been updated by now but that is what I've heard, so far). They are saying there could be considerable North Korean casualties. I've heard from a couple people in Seoul and they have expressed some fear concerning the attack, but when Dave and I asked our boss about it, he merely laughed and asked if we were worried. I asked why he was laughing and he replied that worse things have happened, and these things happen every year. This seems to be the general feeling down here in little Jinju, though I can't speak for the rest of South Korea. Life goes on, and when these events occur, the people joke about them and shrug them off as though it will never touch them.

The South Koreans that I have come into contact with during my time here all seem to see North Korea as a joke. During my tour of the DMZ, the American soldier that gave us the tour had some bad jokes to tell about the North Koreans and had us laughing at their childish behavior. That basically sums up everything I've heard about North Korea from the South Koreans- jokes and laughter but no serious fear or anxiety about the current situation. Life goes on and no seems to worry that anything more may come of this. I hope they are right.

Here is a link to a news article that talks a bit about the feelings South Koreans living in Seoul have toward what is going on. It sounds like they (those living in Seoul), being much closer to the border, are a bit more concerned, but for the most part still don't see this as a serious threat and will continue about their daily lives as usual.