South Korea unperturbed by threats of nuclear war
Despite dramatic warnings in US media, life goes on as usual in Seoul
IN RECENT weeks the eyes of the world have been fixed on the Korean peninsula in horrified fascination. Donald Trump’s aggressive rhetoric regarding the “North Korea problem” has been matched by the usual bellicose statements from the North Korean side.
With the doomsday clock at two and a half minutes to midnight, alarmist media push a narrative in which the clock will strike 12 very soon.
These reports of imminent doom have been accompanied by impressive images of North Korean military might, as 200 foreign journalists were invited to the North Korean capital to witness the Day of the Sun celebrations, in honour of the birth of the nation’s founding father.
In typical North Korean fashion, these celebrations took the form of a military parade displaying their newest weapons technology, and a new Special Forces unit. The day after the celebrations, reports surfaced of an attempted and failed North Korean missile test.
In response to these mounting tensions, US vice-president Mike Pence visited Seoul the next day, and re-iterated the Trump administration’s position that “all options are on the table” and that the Obama-era strategy of “strategic patience” is at an end.
It is therefore understandable that those reading these statements, and seeing images of North Korea’s military strength, might expect those in South Korea to be planning their evacuation route. However, most in Seoul have not batted an eyelid.
The megacity of Seoul, with a population of over 10 million, lies just 50km from the heavily guarded North Korea border, a fact that is easily forgotten when wandering the city’s neon-lit streets.
Actually, it often seems that the further one is from Seoul, the greater the concern over the North Korean threat. According to the number of internet search queries logged in Korea recently, locals are more concerned with a Coldplay concert, the wallpaper of the impeached president’s jail cell, and celebrity gossip.
The only flutter of panic came in the wake of rumours of a North Korean plan to attack on the 27th of April spread through the wired South Korean society.
However, this brief spike in concern quickly flatlined when the origin of the story was traced back to a Japanese blogger.
South Koreans have learned to live with their unusual neighbour to the North, and while the US media routinely plays up the possibility of the outbreak of war whenever tensions flare, life goes on unperturbed in Seoul.
South Koreans understand that the peninsula has been stuck in a stalemate for over 60 years, and that words rarely match actions in this diplomatic pantomime that the North plays with the international community. A basic understanding of the history of the two Koreas makes it clear that none of the relevant parties’ interests are served by the outbreak of conflict.
The apathy from South Koreans naturally rubs off on long-term foreign residents, who also become accustomed to the pattern of provocation and cool down.
Historically homogeneous, South Korea has a relatively small foreign population but is home to over a thousand South Africans, mostly working in the field of English education. These South Africans have been fielding concerned e-mails, Facebook posts and calls from those back home who imagine South Korea to be in a state of emergency.
While the South African embassy in Seoul did advise South Africans in the country to register with the embassy, no travel warning was issued, leaving it to personal discretion.
Although it is possible that South Koreans’ indifference could prove to be the calm before the nuclear storm, it has a better track record than the drama-hungry 24-hour US news channels.
While a US president as impulsive and unpredictable as his North Korean counterpart has certainly shaken up the Korean peninsula status quo, it is highly unlikely that Trump’s review of the options available will lead him to the conclusion that mutually assured destruction involving an allied nation is the way forward.
Meanwhile, Seoulites continue to imbibe copious amounts of (Korean alcoholic beverage) at their favourite barbecue restaurant before heading out for (karaoke) as if North Korea was a world away.