Saber rattling only or a real thing?

The shelling of Yeonpyeong island by North Korean artillery battery has dominated the news all last week.  As all the YAVs have written, the situation is calmer than what was reported in the press, especially in the Western press.  Of course all is not well either.  How can shelling and killing people ever be normal? Over 90% of the island's civilian population evacuated to the mainland and  stories on the attack never yielded the top of first page on newspapers for two weeks and will probably continue for several weeks.

Politicians all claim that they deplore violence but blame each other, more than North Korea, for making situation worse.  Except for the news hour, television programs are back to usual soap operas and reality shows.  We see nothing that affects everyday life, but keep an watchful eye on the situation as we know North Korea will stir up trouble again.  Stock markets seem to take the situation in stride, and we do not see any panic among ordinary citizens.  Travels to North-South joint industrial zone was closed to the South Koreans for a while but it reopened in a limited way, another sign that a measure of normalcy is returning.

As site coordinators for the YAV program in Korea, we need to inform the YAVs and their family and friends.  We do not have any private information and no wisdom beyond anyone living in Korea.  Having lived in many countries with security concerns (DR Congo and Nepal) we are confident that the current situation in Korea is not a threat to personal safety for those in Daejeon.  Crazy drivers and exposed construction sites are clear and present danger, not to mention the high calorie and fat contents of the holiday feasts.  We will watch the situation and delay the field trip to the demilitarized zone and the Panmunjom until the tense situation passes.

We keep our eyes and ears open for signs that we should take caution and the YAVs will be the first to hear.  In the meanwhile we are preparing for the end of the first term and looking forward to holiday visits and travels.