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Lazy eyes listen
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NewsRescue
On Wednesday, air-raid sirens wailed across downtown Seoul as South Korea staged a statewide air defense rehearsal in response to the perceived threat of a North Korean missile assault.
According to Reuters, the test in South Korea’s capital occurred at 2 p.m. local time, with community leaders wearing yellow jackets and hats with the words “civil defense” advising people to leave the streets for roughly 15 minutes until the alarm was lifted.
Furthermore, motorists in approximately 200 locations of the country were instructed to pull over to the side of the road, while people in approximately 500 supermarkets, movie theaters, and other public places were warned to evacuate, according to the South Korean interior ministry.
However, according to several media outlets, many passersby appeared to ignore offers for cover and were unconcerned with the emergency simulation, simply disregarding the sirens.
One guy told Reuters that he was unaware of the practice. “No one seems to be concerned about it.” “I don’t think there will be an actual war,” Na Eun, a 52-year-old architect, told the site.
Meanwhile, those who did participate recounted shelters that were ill-equipped to manage big crowds and poor planning on the part of officials.
Kim Yu-jin, a 31-year-old service worker, told NK News that the whole thing was “confounding” because security guards barred her from accessing an insurance company building that was clearly marked on a government map as a public shelter.
“Even government personnel I spoke with were unsure if a shelter was designated or not. If there had been a true emergency, there would have been a major panic and calamity,” she explained.
The 20-minute drill was part of a four-day ‘Ulchi civil defense training,’ which coincided with the 11-day ‘Ulchi Freedom Shield’ exercise between the United States and South Korea. North Korea has repeatedly condemned Seoul and Washington’s drills as a prelude to a “actual war to invade the North,” and has warned of a “outbreak.”
