From the Eye of the Storm

Last Saturday afternoon was a gloomy, rainy one and, as one would do on such afternoons, I was sitting on my friends couch watching some brainless comedy. Suddenly, we heard a siren coming from outside. I looked at her, she looked at me, and we shared a confirming glance:  this siren did not sound normal. In an adrenaline filled Google search (yes, a Google search. What would you have done?), a peak out the window, and a mass text, we realized that there was no cause for concern and we had simply overreacted to a police siren. Funny? yes. Eye opening? Definitely. This was the first time I realized that this was a situation that I was taking seriously.

Though, false alarms aside, the only reason I am feeling anxious about the rising tensions in my newly claimed home is from the sensationalized news. Walking through the streets of Seoul, South Korea, an easy 6 hour drive to North Korea, and of course the North's main target, you would have no idea that a war, let alone a nuclear war, was feasible to arise at any moment. South Koreans are going about their daily lives, making plans for tomorrow, next week, next month and next year as if nothing was happening. We haven't spoken about it to our students nor even brought up the idea of practising an evacuation plan should anything happen. People are happy, parties are still being planned and a unconcerned attitude remains throughout the flow of daily life. This, to me all seem pretty shocking. If Canada was being threatened with an imminent nuclear war, you'd think at least, our schools would plan a 'what if' scenario. A threat this huge and hardly anybody has even blinked. Why? Well frankly, nobody here takes North Korea seriously. These threats have been happening every spring, each year for the past 60 years, while basically nothing comes of them. Some think the threats are fuelled by Kim Jong un wanting to establish power within his own country. Some say he wants more money and resources for the North. We've heard it all before, and so far, these theories have been correct. I, personally, don't quite know what to think of it all, but for now, I still feel safe. North Korea's threats have become an undeniable case of the boy who cried wolf. Lets just hope this one has a happier ending.