Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Eerie

The other day I was in a cab on my way to work when I discovered that the traffic on Dong-bu Ichon-dong was being stopped by police officers. Beyond the officers I could see that there were no vehicles on the road at all. I paid my cabbie and started to walk, which is when I finally figured out what was going on.

It was a test of the "North Korea is attacking!" sirens. I've heard them only once before and have never been outside to see it in action. All the cars pull over and stop. The street looks a bit frozen, with only the odd pedestrian walking around. I've never seen a Korean street so empty during the day - except when I was in Kaesong, North Korea.

Wish I had had my camera.

3 comments:

J.G. said...

That must have been weird! Is it to clear the roads for troops? Or does everyone take cover, too?

Can you imagine Americans doing that??? In my town, we can't even make way for an ambulance!

sarah said...

it always freaks me out to see a usually bustling place empty

japan is threatening all sorts of things to NK... i love a good bit of political drama :p

Amanda said...

I think it is to clear the road for troops, but I'm not too clear on what exactly it is for.