While the rest of the world is having a collective heart attack about North Korea’s third successful underground nuclear detonation, there’s barely a shift in the wind in day-to-day Seoul. Despite having detonated an atomic that could represent up to 10 kilotons of explosive (frame of reference: the Hiroshima “Little Boy” and and Nagasaki “Fat Man” bombs yielded 16kt and 21kt, respectively), most South Koreans were outwardly untroubled by the nuclear growing pains of their northern cousins.
This probably runs counter intuitive to what someone unfamiliar with the tensions on the Korean peninsula might think. The traditional logic runs that if a hostile nation, whose borders are hardly more than 30km from your capital city, detonated a weapon sufficient to reduce said capital city and its ten million inhabitants to their subatomic parts, you might be a tad worried. Although the South Korean news media, politicians, and the government ARE quite worried, everyone else seems unimpressed.
They should be. For your consideration, here’s Gangnam, of Gangnam Style-fame, nuked with a bomb roughly the size of the one North Korea just tested:
No amount of horse dancing gets you out of that one.
From Where Cometh the Indifference?
Although the world only periodically checks in with the nuclear situation on the Korean peninsula (Iran is so much more trendy anyway), South Koreans have been dealing with provocations from the North for the better part of 60 years, and a potentially nuclear North since their first successful test in 2006. This leaves psyche two possible courses of action. Live everyday in continual fear that your psychotic neighbor will do something…misguided, or opt for the “hear no evil/see no evil” approach. South Koreans have gone with the latter.
On the eve of the test, the Chosun Ilbo ran an article describing the indifference South Koreans toward the potential nuclearization of North Korea. The article further went on to note that the more salient issue for South Korean liberals is the shutting down of existing nuclear power plants inside the country. Where does this indifference come from?
South Koreans, and expats who have been out here long enough to see the pattern, have grown accustomed to annual saber-ratting from the North. It’s practically possible to set your clock to it. Here’s a brief sketch of recent provocations in this decade:
- March 2010: North Korea allegedly sinks the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan, killing 46
- November 2010: North Korea fires 140 shells at Yeonpyeong-do, an island in South Korean territory, killing two civilians and two members of the military
- April 2012: North Korea launches a three-stage rocket in defiance of UN sanctions, fails
- December 2012: North Korea launches a three-stage rocket in defiance of UN sanctions, succeeds
- February 2013: North Korea conducts their third, and largest underground nuclear test to date
And in between all of this comes periodic threats and end-times rhetoric from Pyongyang.
Given the frequent occurrences of North Korea’s aggression, it isn’t surprising to see why the average citizen not serving in the military would prefer to turn a blind eye. Although these incidents are all quite serious, most people would prefer to pretend that they aren’t happening, or that if they are happening they don’t have real consequences for the future.
Nobody is freaking out. Nobody is stocking up on essentials. Nobody is preparing to flee the country. In the words of the Chosun Ilbo’s Kang In-sun:
…South Korea has grown accustomed to living next door to an unpredictable suicide bomber who threatens to blow himself up unless his livelihood is guaranteed. South Koreans have learned to shut out circumstances beyond their control.
This time though, South Koreans really need to wake up. Nobody, except terrorist groups and the North Koreans themselves, want a nuclear North Korea. They shouldn’t be allowed to do so. Their threats up until now have been silly at best, and just mildly concerning at their worst – like the complaints of a cranky 8-year old. With this new test, North Korea comes closer to mounting a nuclear warhead on a three-stage rocket. If and when that happens, the whole world will get a little more unsafe. Unlike Iran, North Korea is actually testing atomic weapons. Unlike Iran, North Korea is actually steadily marching forward towards full nuclear capability with visible results. While there is plenty of talk about preemptively striking Iran, the world placates North Korea while they systematically gain more and more technology until they emerge as a fully-fledged nuclear power.
This is, actually, concerning. And it should concern you, South Korea.