With all of the recent drama between North Korea and the world, tourism at the DMZ is flourishing. The tradeoff is that the slander and constant threats from the North are tarnishing South Korea’s image. And that’s exactly what the North wants.
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Excellent New York Times article that rationalizes North Korea’s strong rhetoric, explains the calm South Korean attitudes, and discusses why the international community shouldn’t be overly concerned.
North Korea suspended operations of the joint venture Gaeseong Industrial Complex this week. The site makes low-tech goods such as appliances in additional to clothing. According to the Korea Times, 123 manufacturing companies employee 479 South Koreans and 53,000 North Korean factory workers.
Update Things are still okay here, even with North Korea warning foreigners in South Korea to evacuate. No warnings have been issued by the US State Department or the local embassy. If you’re living in Seoul as a foreigner, it’s a good idea to register with your embassy in case of an emergency. The US Embassy in Seoul offers phone and emails alerts to citizens.
http://seoul.usembassy.gov/acs_emergency_preparedness.html
Anyeong-haseyo! Just returning to Korea from a long business trip to Shanghai, one of my favorite places to visit outside of Korea. We’ve been receiving a lot of concerned emails from family and friends regarding the escalating tension on the North Korea peninsula.
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