I really need to get better about doing this more often. There are so many opportunities for me to reflect about my time here and life in general that I pass up constantly. I have so much to say that I find myself often saying nothing at all.
Soooo, here we go. Everyone has been asking me about the North Korea situation since the sh** hit the fan after the Yeonpyeong Island bombing a few weeks ago. The island is about an hour outside of Seoul, and about an hour and a half or so away from me. Here’s some background information on the whole ordeal for those of you who may not know.
Yeonpyeon Island is an area of South Korea territory that has been “disputed” by the North as belonging to them since the land was legally drawn up as belonging to the South by the UN at the conclusion of the Korean War. Prior to the bombing, the South’s army was engaging in military drills in that area. Not that any of this justifies the North’s actions in any way, shape, nor form, it does supply a bit of reasoning to such a seemingly random, unprovoked attack. The biggest method to the North’s madness though, is likely that the attack was a power play to beef up the transition in the transfer of power that will take place in the future, from Kim Jong Il to his son Kim Jong Un.
Although it was a bit unnerving at first and I think it is terrible that it happened, I am not particularly alarmed or feel unsafe. I know a lot of people were concerned about this and that the American media generated a lot of hype about the incident, but the Koreans I meet seem generally unperturbed. It’s still a pretty interesting and unfortunate situation. I always like hearing South Korean perspectives about the North and I think someday I will be grateful to have been present in this region during this period (as long as no war breaks out, then I will be on the next airplane home.) We shall see.
As a side note, I was Googling images of Kim Jong Il when I proceeded to spill water all over my computer and it immediately shut off. My students found this particularly amusing.
More to come soon!
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