If one raises the subject of “Yeonpyeong Island,” with people, both Korean and non-Korean, it usually revives the images of the rising palls of smoke, burning homes, shattered glass-“is that the island that got bombed by North Korea?” and a mass exodus of its residents. “It’s our home, but 80 percent of us don’t want to come back,” [1]. It was with curiosity therefore, that I boarded the ferry at Incheon for the two and a half hour crossing.

Nine months after the 23rd November 2010 attack, the strongest impression to take away from the visit is normality. Soldiers and