Posted on 12/09/2010 5:02:24 PM PST by Pan_Yan
Like most Seoulites, Hong Jin-ah, a 27-year-old graduate student, had never given a second thought to a North Korean invasion. Despite the rogue country’s close proximity to Seoul, most people here have grown deaf to the threat it poses.
But after Pyongyang leveled Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23 with dozens of artillery blasts, many here are now making contingency plans.
Hong was stumped when she considered where she would go if a war broke out. She turned to her smartphone for an answer. Her search for bomb shelters in Hapjeong-dong, western Seoul, turned up nothing. Next she checked a blog called “Find a Bomb Shelter in Your Town,” which also yielded little help.
Hong then took her search to the Dasan 120 Seoul Call Center, a citywide information hotline. “I live in Hapjeong-dong. Where should I evacuate to if there is a war?” Hong asked the receptionist. The answer she received was what most people already know: Head to the nearest subway station or basement.
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There are 25,000 emergency evacuation facilities in South Korea and 3,919 in Seoul. There are no public air-raid shelters in the capital.
“Unlike on Yeonpyeong Island, there is no need to build extra air-raid shelters in Seoul, since subway stations and basements under large buildings can act as evacuation shelters,” said Kim Hye-kyung, the Seoul civil defense attache. “In the case of air raids by North Koreans, those shelters [in Seoul] are good for two to 10 hours.”
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, there is enough space in Seoul’s underground facilities (subway stations, basements, etc.) for 2.7 times the city’s population. The agency came to the conclusion by calculating that each person would need 0.825 square meters (8.9 square feet).
“To prepare for war, the Park Chung Hee regime encouraged construction companies to build basements when putting up new buildings,” said Yoon Myung-o, professor in the University of Seoul’s Department of Architectural Engineering. “Since then, most buildings were made with basements. Now, Seoul has more underground space than any other city [in Korea].”
Seoul’s 4,000 shelters are scored on a 1-4 grading system (with 1 being the most protective shelters), which is determined by landlords and local government offices. In Seoul, there are 1,481 “grade 2” evacuation shelters - which are largely tunnels, subway stations and basements of buildings. There are 2,246 “grade 3” shelters, which are basements of commercial buildings and underground roads. There are 192 “grade 4” shelters under smaller buildings. There are no public “grade 1” shelters that can withstand a chemical, biological or nuclear attack in the capital.
According to guidelines from the National Emergency Management Agency, shelters considered “grade 1” must be equipped with enough food and water for at least two weeks, generators, and communications equipment.
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A go-bag is an easy-to-carry kit that’s been prepared in advance consisting of essential living items. It is common to have a go-bag for those who live in areas prone to natural disasters such as tsunamis.
It is also not a bad idea to pack a go-bag if your neighboring country is run by a tyrannical dictator who routinely threatens to turn the streets of your capital into “rivers of blood.”
So, what to pack?
Start with the essentials: Food, shelter, communication.
Pack a mylar blanket. It’s light-weight, inexpensive and can fold to fit into your pocket. Also consider a radio, whistle, pocket knife, U.S. dollars, maps, a compass, water, food, personal hygiene products, prescription medication, extra keys to your vehicle or apartment, and your ID and passport.
This thread is useless without pics...
If she can cook bulgogi and KalBi ribs she’s welcome at my house for the duration of the conflict.
If she’s cute then X2...
If you compared Washington, DC to Seoul with its government buildings, the North Korean border would be at Dulles airport.
I’ve been in some of the underground shelters. Immense underground shopping malls during normal times.
NK is almost certainly going to use chem and bio weapons. Plus the burning buildings will cause significant problems.
I’ve met her. She is about 5’4”, is slim, has brown slanted eyes, sort of small brested, nice hips and legs, has black hair on top of her head (that is about all the hair) and her breath sort of smells like Kimchi.
Surely this is a fluff piece, right? Nobody in SK can be that oblivious to a NK attack? Sure, there’s moonbats everywhere, but there? Twenty-seven and doesn’t know to head for the nearest subway? No, honey, just stand out in the middle of the street and stare straight up.
If it is this young lady, she is a screen writer. I can’t read Korean so who knows?
You had me interested ‘til you got to the kimchi breath (such a turn-off).
I know that girl!
Excellent point. Americans forget far too easily.
It reminds me of the war weary European countries after WWI, not having the stomach to stop facism after the years of brutal trench warfare.
She sounds like one of the Ko sisters,
Suziko,Tomiko,Hatchiko...
You might be surprised just how stupid some people are.
During hurricane Ike, my neighbor at the time, almost had a 40’ diameter oak tree fall on him because he was standing out in his yard under the trees.
It's kind of like smoking, it you both do it you don't care.
(and I like kimchi)
Yah. A 40 foot diameter oak is nothing to mess with!
Great Googly Moogly!
That's 98% of the women in South Korean. The other 2% are 5'5".
Complacency is international. Their neighbor has been threatening for 50 years to turn Seoul into a 'sea of fire'. At some point I think most people have tuned it out.
If it’s not shrimp kimchi I’m in.
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