By Kang Hyun-kyung
Dozens of homes were destroyed, some of them burned completely down, displacing hundreds of people. The devastating scenes from Yeonpyeong Island near the maritime border in the West Sea came in the wake of North Korea’s brutal attack there.
Watching vividly the ruined lives of those being evacuated from the island on TV, South Koreans became ablaze with anger.
They are increasingly hardening their hearts toward North Korea.
South Koreans’ post-attack shift toward conservatism is likely to be a factor the government should consider when mapping out a new North Korea policy, analysts said.
Last Wednesday, a day after the worst attack since the Korean War (1950-53), a 35-year old woman, who asked to be identified only by her surname Yoon, had a big disagreement with a taxi driver on her way to her office in Seoul.
The 30-something male taxi driver was quoted as saying that North Korea remained restrained over the 10 years when two liberal governments were in power because of their relentless efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula by seeking engagement with North Korea.
He blamed President Lee Myung-bak for his government’s hard-line North Korea policy, saying this caused the North’s latest attack.
“His remarks made me angry. What I saw on TV was a public outcry over the sudden attack that caused civilian victims. The panic on the island showed what North Korea is all about,” Yoon told The Korea Times.
An artillery barrage from the North killed two marines and two construction workers on the island. Several marines and civilians were wounded.
Before the deadly attack, Yoon said she used to be among those who backed engagement with the North because of her family background.
Her parents, who originally came from the North, fled to South Korea after the outbreak of the Korean War and have since settled down here.
“I no longer support the engagement-oriented North Korea policy. I completely changed my mind after the attack that killed civilians and displaced people from the island,” Yoon said.
She is one of the South Koreans whose hearts have become bitter after watching the devastating scenes on Yeonpyeong Island in the wake of the Nov. 23 deadly bombardment.
Three days before the attack, South Korean fans gave their heart-felt congratulations to North Korea when its women footballers advanced to the final after defeating the South Korean team 3-1 in extra time in the semifinals in the Guangzhou Asian Games.
But that kind of sympathy toward the North is less likely to appear here again.
Approximately 1,500 retired marines staged a protest against North Korea in downtown Seoul Saturday. They slammed the North Korean regime for the latest attack, calling on the government to retaliate.
“When North Korea committed belligerent acts, including the first and second West Sea battles and the sinking of the warship Cheonan that killed 46 sailors, pro-North Koreans here justified the communist regime’s provocation. They even denounced the South Korean government (for its reciprocity-based North Korea policy),” they said in a statement.
They accused the past liberal governments of weakening the military under the name of arms reduction.
During the protest, the retired marines set fire to two placards displaying the photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong—il and Jong-un, his third son and heir. The two Kims reportedly approved the latest provocation.
A group of 100 retired special forces soldiers also launched an anti-North Korea demonstration near the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul. They urged the government not to sit back in response to the North’s attack.