Several of you have checked in to see how I'm holding up given the recent news regarding relations with our northern neighbor. Thank you for your care and concern! I am doing fine overall -moving forward with daily life and future plans, although feeling cautious and extra-alert, too.
The escalating tension seems increasingly real. Although no one is really talking about it -and I feel like a jerk for bringing it up to anyone around here- there are some unmistakable signs: more military helicopters and jets overhead, the headlines of various online papers... it's strange to me that no one wants to discuss it, but then again, there is a definite cultural tendency to keep thoughts and emotions bottled up. Of course, that practice can feel very stifling and frustrating to someone like me.
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Serious as this incident may seem, South Koreans are immune to all this drama by North Koreans. It is very sad that something like this has happened at least once a year for the past 60 years, ever since the division after the Korean war. Then the whole cycle begins; negotiations, NK apologize, SK sends some resources (usually food, although there's rumor that they sell that food and buy weapons), peace for a while and then NK does something awful again when they need something. It probably does not make any sense to others outside Korea. It is just a big waste of time, money and lives. My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones.
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