Korean Job Discussion Forums

[trogdor]

I'm home sick today, and air raid sirens wet off around 2. I got dressed and grabbed my emergency bag (my passport and other documents, a change of clothes, cereal bars, metal water bottle that I fill up right before leaving, jar of peanut butter, and towel*) and was about to head down when they stopped. Nobody seems to be fazed, so I'm back in bed, drinking tea. Interesting experience. My friend just told me that they tend to go off around 2 fairly regularly, if not every day. I've never been home on a weekday at that time, so it was a surprise. It's so nice to be warned about these things.

*Always know where your towel is.

[redaxe]

Yeah, I always wondered how Koreans know the difference between a real siren and a drill.

I guess they know ahead of time from watching the news when the drills are going to be?

But what if the North Koreans also watch the news and know when the drills are, so they decide to actually attack the South for real on a day when a drill is scheduled?! They will be totally caught off guard

[Gnawbert]

I did nearly the same thing my first month here. Scared the hell out of me. I suddenly thought all the worry my more conservative relatives had about the Norks dropping Nukes without warning had come true.

I think it goes off every 2 months at 2pm. I'm sure someone else knows better than me. In Bundang they had people directing traffic and wearing vests. That was what really freaked me out the first time: how organized it looked. Like something really was going to happen and they'd mobilized the volunteers.

[nomad-ish]

people sometimes say the drills go off the 15th of every month, but it's less frequent than that. this is pretty routine, though if you happen to be on the street at this time sometimes they stop traffic and passersby.

[The Lemon]

They do warn everyone, in the form of white flags with three triangles hanging off the lamp posts along the main streets. They're up for several days before the actual event.



I too wonder whether 2pm on the 15th wouldn't be the perfect moment for the North to start something.

[decolyon]

I kid you not when I tell this story. I very nearly pissed myself.

About 4 years ago, I was fresh off the boat here. Never hear of the siren tests and the thought that war could break out at any time was still possible in my naive mind.

It was early afternoon and I was headed to work (I was at a hogwon in those days and we started later in the day.) Just before I'm getting ready to walk out my house, the sirens go off. There must be one located close to that apartment building, because it was almost defining. I'm from the Southern US where they test the tornado sirens once a month, and I thought this was the case. However, when I stepped outside, by mere coincidence, two people were running up the street and at the same time two camo painted military trucks drove by. "Shit!" I said to myself. I knew all the color must have been drained from my face. I could see there were still calm people standing around and going about their business, I decided to journey on to work. Besides, if anything was going on, being around Koreans that could translate was a better situation than hanging out in my apartment having no idea what was happening.

I get to the intersection I cross everyday and there were women out int he middle of the road with yellow vests, waiving flags frantically. Nobody warned me about this, I thought poop was about to hit the fan. I waited and waited... nothing was happening. The sirens kept blaring, the ladies stayed put, nobody was moving. Then, over the hill I saw it. A huge truck, pulling what looked like a missile without the warhead attached to it. This long, cylindrical thing with red flags hanging off of it, strapped to a military truck and trailer. "Dear God" I thought, "they're about to nuke the north right here from this intersection." Of course, in hindsight it all seemed ridiculous. But man oh man, there in the moment of everything, it felt like it was all about to go down right there in front of me. Once the truck and trailer towing god-knows-what cleared the intersection and went on it's way. The ladies left the road, the sirens stopped. Everybody that had been frozen standing next to me went back on their day as if nothing had happened.

By the time I got to work, I was still trembling. I recounted the entire story to my coworkers. Some shrugged it off. Others were a bit intrigued as to what the long trailer sized tube might have been, but after 10 mins, it was all but forgotten.

[Jake_Kim]

It's monthly Civil Defense Drill on every 15th. It used to be dead serious back in the 80s and 90s, road traffic all over the country came to a halt, pedestrians were ordered to 'take shelter' in the nearest building, and of course, kids in school were told to duck under their desks.
It has gotten somewhat... slack since the 2000s, as the substantial threat NK Air Force can pose has significantly diminished.
Real alert does go off, however, whenever a NK defector on a MiG comes over.

[northway]

I'm impressed that you have an emergency bag.

[Vimfuego]

[trogdor]

[blackjack]

[trogdor]

http://seoul.usembassy.gov/acs_wwwh3597.html
http://seoul.usembassy.gov/acs_emergency_evacuation.html

[Jake_Kim]

[trogdor]

And their spouses.

[Chet Wautlands]