We Interrupt This Message: South Korea - an Update

Oh, if it were only this simple.

(Yeah, I realize they misspelled 'warmonger' but right now I'll take what I can get.)

I realize  that my next post is supposed to be part III of my Bali trip review, but I really feel that, given the present circumstances on the Korean Peninsula, I should probably interrupt my 'fun in Bali' series with a public service announcement and address a frequently-asked question:  How are you doing there in South Korea with the threat of what seems like an imminent nuclear war hanging over your head? And why, in God's name are you still there?

The real, honest-to-goodness answer is:  we're all doing just fine, but, yeah, I'll admit it - we're a little tense.   (Just a note:  if the 1.2 million expatriates in Seoul all packed up and left, it would cause serious problems in many aspects of the South Korean economy - which is exactly what Kim Jong Un wants to happen.  It would be an excellent way to damage the South Korean economy and force concessions from the international community without firing a single missile.  In some circles, this type of behaviour is known as bullying.)

Contrary to what the media would have you believe, my family and I are not hunkered down in subterranean bunkers, and we're not crushing each other pushing our way through the embassy gates to score that seat on the last transport out of the city.  We aren't crowding the highways with our cars (well, no more than usual) as we head desperately for points south, as far away from Pyeongyang and its missiles as we can get.  The children aren't carrying gas masks strapped to their backpacks, and there are no civil defense drills taking place (well, they always have them on the 15th of each month anyway, so I suppose that will happen as usual, but otherwise, nothing extra.)

Our Korean friends are their predictable polite, calm, implacable, stoic, hardworking selves.  If they're frightened or having panic attacks, or even worried, they're certainly not showing it to anyone.  Most of them shrug off the rhetoric coming out of Pyeongyang as the same old bluster that they've heard before so many times.  If they got themselves worked up every time North Korea rattled its sabers, it's doubtful they would be in the position they are now as one of the economic powerhouses of Asia.  

I admit that this is only the first time that I have ever lived in a nation where threats of nuclear annihilation are made on a near-quarterly basis, so it has taken some getting used to.  However, I pride myself on remaining calm under pressure (I am not very good under everyday circumstances, but give me a compound fracture or a set of keys locked in a car, and I will shine) and have done my best to emulate the cool matter-of-factness of my South Korean hosts.  

The Embassies - who have only heard these North Korean temper tantrums about a gazillion times- are all saying the same thing:  no change in status, no advice to leave the country, no travel advisories for people thinking about coming to Korea.  Situation normal.  Really.  Restaurants are full.  The streets are full of cars.  People are walking their dogs and kids are riding their bikes. School's in session.  No one is boarding up their windows with garbage bags and duct tape.

But for our friends and families who are worried, you should know this:  there are plans in place at every school, every company, and every organization that serves expats.  Plans for communication, plans for evacuation, plans for safety. Frankly, between my school, Son#2's school, MrL's company, and the United States Army, I am up to my ears in safety plans, evacuation routes, telephone chains, and emergency notification procedures.  (At this point, my biggest problem is just keeping all of them straight in my mind. Actually implementing something would probably be a walk in the park by comparison.) MrL's company has a plan, and the US Embassy has a plan, which, in turn, is coordinated with the US Military plan. We are enrolled in the State Department STEP program so that the State Department knows we are here and can contact us with timely information;  we have important papers and some supplies in a 'go bag', ready if we need it.  We have a family meeting place, contact people, and a family emergency plan.  And we have the added benefit of living within a quick walk of the US military base here in Seoul.

We are well-informed and well-prepared, and our companies/schools/organizations are doing their best to walk that fine line of assuring us that all is well  while also encouraging us to plan for every possible contingency.

So we're prepared for all contingencies - I mean, really, really, well-prepared.  Of course,  if the pattern of the last 40-odd years of my life holds true for me - it should turn out to have been all for nothing.

Believe me, I would be delighted.