By Kim Ji-myung
"There are 3,919 underground shelters in this city including the underground floors of public buildings, local administration offices, large buildings and metro stations. The shelters can accommodate more than twice Seoul's current population of about 10 million." So said a Seoul city spokesman, not recently, but back in 2010 after the North Korean bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island that killed two civilians and two soldiers.
I don't know exactly how anti-raid or anti-missile attack facilities across the nation have been improved by the central and local governments since then.
Kim Jong-un has succeeded in incessantly threatening southerners with his successful nuclear arms program. However, for no reason, many Koreans seem to have no serious concerns about a possible nuclear-weapons attack by the North.
It is clear that if there is an attack using nuclear weapons by the North, shelters may mean nothing because of radioactive fallout and other deadly substances.
I forgot to mention that the official also revealed that there are 23 nuclear-proof shelters nationwide with independent power-plants, automatic pollution detectors, alarm systems and survival kits including food for two weeks, but none exist in Seoul!
And they are only located at military facilities and within the "Blue House,' because nuclear-proof shelters require a lot of money to build, according to his explanation.
Compared to 2010, the risk of nuclear attack seems unprecedentedly high. And it is obvious no president and no government is ready or strong enough to protect the people from it if Kim Jong-un decides to show his muscle with fireworks on the South.
I would take it as a destiny already written in the history books, rather than something caused by anyone's fault. Because, young Kim and his father and his grandfather have all avowed the same ― North Korea is the center of the world, and they don't care if the rest of mankind perishes or not.
Then what? Everyone must take care of themselves. We, the Koreans, lack two things according to my observations.
As a nation, Korea still needs to learn to maneuver its diplomacy and national security. There are historical reasons: There was always China, which allowed some degree of internal self-governance in Korea while representing and controlling Korea on diplomatic matters. Now, it's more complicated. The Korean people need to learn about "individual responsibility" for their own safety and survival. There are also other reasons: For Koreans, the family and the clan took priority, effacing the individual identity and responsibility. There was always someone above ― an ancestor or father or a family member. But now almost half of the population lives alone with no one to depend on.
In a war situation, what is most horrible?
It is loss of contact with loved ones, not to mention the instinctive and philosophical fear of death. What would you do if there is no one who knows where your family members are, and how to contact them?
This brings back memories of the designated "gathering spot" signs I found many years ago in Tokyo and in Dublin, Ireland. As they already know where to gather in an emergency, maybe a rescue helicopter would pick them there or they could find their family members.
Korea has had a relatively low rate of natural disasters such as earthquakes or typhoons. During the Korean Ear, refugees who settled in Busan used to roam the "Forty Steps" area, as if they had a prior appointment with their families. Many could reunite with their separated families there.
If we are unfortunate enough to see a Second Korean War break out on the peninsula, it would be totally different from the 1950 war. Maybe there would be no evacuation, no refugees and no survivors in the attacked area. Having communication cut-off may be the most difficult pain people may suffer, as well as a most effective war-making tool.
I will inform my family tomorrow of my plan: let's meet, when the situation allows us, in the lobby of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo or at the main gate of the United Nations Headquarters on 42nd Street New York at 11 a.m. on every first Monday of the month. This is a sad plan, but a needed one.
Kim Ji-myung (heritagekorea21@gmail. com) is the chairwoman of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).
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I don't know exactly how anti-raid or anti-missile attack facilities across the nation have been improved by the central and local governments since then.
Kim Jong-un has succeeded in incessantly threatening southerners with his successful nuclear arms program. However, for no reason, many Koreans seem to have no serious concerns about a possible nuclear-weapons attack by the North.
It is clear that if there is an attack using nuclear weapons by the North, shelters may mean nothing because of radioactive fallout and other deadly substances.
I forgot to mention that the official also revealed that there are 23 nuclear-proof shelters nationwide with independent power-plants, automatic pollution detectors, alarm systems and survival kits including food for two weeks, but none exist in Seoul!
And they are only located at military facilities and within the "Blue House,' because nuclear-proof shelters require a lot of money to build, according to his explanation.
Compared to 2010, the risk of nuclear attack seems unprecedentedly high. And it is obvious no president and no government is ready or strong enough to protect the people from it if Kim Jong-un decides to show his muscle with fireworks on the South.
I would take it as a destiny already written in the history books, rather than something caused by anyone's fault. Because, young Kim and his father and his grandfather have all avowed the same ― North Korea is the center of the world, and they don't care if the rest of mankind perishes or not.
Then what? Everyone must take care of themselves. We, the Koreans, lack two things according to my observations.
As a nation, Korea still needs to learn to maneuver its diplomacy and national security. There are historical reasons: There was always China, which allowed some degree of internal self-governance in Korea while representing and controlling Korea on diplomatic matters. Now, it's more complicated. The Korean people need to learn about "individual responsibility" for their own safety and survival. There are also other reasons: For Koreans, the family and the clan took priority, effacing the individual identity and responsibility. There was always someone above ― an ancestor or father or a family member. But now almost half of the population lives alone with no one to depend on.
In a war situation, what is most horrible?
It is loss of contact with loved ones, not to mention the instinctive and philosophical fear of death. What would you do if there is no one who knows where your family members are, and how to contact them?
This brings back memories of the designated "gathering spot" signs I found many years ago in Tokyo and in Dublin, Ireland. As they already know where to gather in an emergency, maybe a rescue helicopter would pick them there or they could find their family members.
Korea has had a relatively low rate of natural disasters such as earthquakes or typhoons. During the Korean Ear, refugees who settled in Busan used to roam the "Forty Steps" area, as if they had a prior appointment with their families. Many could reunite with their separated families there.
If we are unfortunate enough to see a Second Korean War break out on the peninsula, it would be totally different from the 1950 war. Maybe there would be no evacuation, no refugees and no survivors in the attacked area. Having communication cut-off may be the most difficult pain people may suffer, as well as a most effective war-making tool.
I will inform my family tomorrow of my plan: let's meet, when the situation allows us, in the lobby of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo or at the main gate of the United Nations Headquarters on 42nd Street New York at 11 a.m. on every first Monday of the month. This is a sad plan, but a needed one.
Kim Ji-myung (heritagekorea21@gmail. com) is the chairwoman of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).
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