Seoul Under Attack An Ever Present Danger On The Korean Peninsula

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I WAS lying in bed in my hotel room in Seoul when I received a flash on my mobile phone: public security alert! My instant reaction was: “Invasion! North Korea has invaded South Korea! Evacuate immediately!”
I quickly had the brief message in Korean translated into English and I let out a sigh of relief. It was just a message to inform the public that the trains won’t be stopping at a certain station in Seoul because of a public demonstration.
I suppose the country is always kept on its toes through such alerts—warning of the outbreak of war or a street protest.
In South Korea, street demonstrations are common and have become part of the political culture of the country. Every time the people are dissatisfied with the government, they vent their spontaneous anger in the streets. They don’t need police permission to hold massive protests.
In 2017, the demonstrations against the government lasted for months and eventually culminated in the impeachment of President Park Geun Hye over a massive corruption scandal.
But what if the public security alert was to tell me that Seoul is under attack? It would trigger overwhelming panic and a frantic rush to any safe shelter.
My wife and I, along with 12 other Malaysians in our tour group would have to flee the hotel and join the terror-stricken crowd to wherever they are heading.
Presumably all would be rushing to the bomb shelters scattered throughout the city. It is estimated that there are 19,000 such shelters spread throughout South Korea, with some 3,200 of them in the capital.
However, these shelters were not built to protect the civilian population from nuclear, chemical or biological attacks. Realising this danger, the South Korean government plans to build the first civilian bunker that can withstand such attacks.

According to a news report, the bunker is to be built under a public housing complex. Slated to be completed by 2028, it can house about 1,020 people at a time.
This move is in response to the persistent nuclear threat from North Korea. Rolly-polly dictator Kim Jong-Un has repeatedly threatened to unleash “holy hell” on his neighbour with nuclear weapons, grimly warning that the “permanent existence of Seoul and the Republic of Korea would be impossible”.
This threat hangs like the Sword of Damocles over the daily life of Seoul, which is only about 195km (about 120 miles) from Pyongyang. Beneath the surface calm, the 9.6 million citizens must be harbouring the gnawing fear that their city and the soul of Seoul—its majestic Lotte World Tower—might lie in ruins at the choosing of the mad despot.
North Korea reportedly has an arsenal of about 60 nuclear warheads and has even test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the United States. But Kim need not have to launch nuclear missiles on Seoul. His massive arsenal of conventional weapons would be enough to do the job.
It is estimated that North Korea could fire a barrage of 10,000 rockets on Seoul per minute and this could probably flatten the city in just a few hours or a few days at the start of the conflict.
So, when the rockets start raining down death and destruction on the bustling capital, how on earth can my wife and I and the 12 other Malaysians escape?
We cannot run to the Malaysian Embassy because it would expose us to immediate danger or the embassy would have been hit. We cannot call our loved ones back home or send messages because all communication lines would probably be cut off.
In our bomb shelter, we can only hug each other, comfort each other, plug our ears, and pray fervently that this senseless slaughter would end. But given the ruthlessness of the supreme leader, there might not be any survivors.
This scary scenario might happen any time—today or tomorrow—with many Malaysian tourists finding themselves suddenly trapped  in the second Korean war. 
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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