April 28, 2024
News

‘Business as usual’: South Koreans greet North Korea air raid drill with a shrug

Many in Seoul ignored sirens to evacuate, while others bemoaned ‘confounding’ lack of preparation at shelters

Kim Yu-jin, a 31-year-old service worker, was spending Wednesday afternoon at a cafe in central Seoul when the air raid sirens went off for South Korea’s first nationwide civil defense drill in six years.

But when Kim went to seek shelter against the hypothetical North Korean air raid in accordance with government recommendations, she observed that she was the only one at the cafe to do so.

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