iwebslinger

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7100i/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/103)

I am going to be traveling to South Korea next week. With the current events do you think it is wise to travel to South Korea?

jib71

Which recent events? The nuclear test in North Korea?

I don't think it will make a significant difference to your safety in South Korea. When you think about it, North Korea has had masses of ugly weapons pointed at Seoul for the past 50 years - including chemical weapons etc.. The nuke test doesn't make it any worse than it always was - and Seoul gets on with life.

747LWW

Interesting "take" on current events. This makes me nervous and I have no trips planned to SK this year.

bcmatt

On the other hand I would have no worries travelling to South Korea next week.
I guess the OP is going to get a range of opinions!

If you are really concerned, keep an eye on the travel advice provided by Western governments and others, e.g. the UK, Australia, the USA and Canada. If there are genuine problems with travel to the region, they will tell you.

civicmon

Should be OK.. I wouldn't hesitate to go.

GUWonder

When two countries on the Indian Subcontinent tested nukes, I had no hesitation in going to either one of the countries. With this explosion on the Korean Peninsula, I have no hesitation in going to South Korea. It would take a lot of other developments before I revised my plans.

AlwaysTired

Ill be there Sunday-Tues and cant say im worried too much. Very long way from an underground test to a deployable weapon anyway.

When are you going to be there? Ill be at the Westin Sunday and Monday night.

Mat

RogueViator

The threat of "invasion" from the North has been present since 1953 so their testing of nuclear bombs shouldn't really affect your travel plans....Having said that, it may be a good idea to avoid touring the DMZ as there have been incursions in there last week. I'd strongly suggest paying attention to any government travel advisories (if you're an American Citizen check with the State Department or the DFAIT website if you're Canadian; other nationalities should check with their Foreign/External Affairs Departments). You may also want to register with your Embassy when you get into the country. The recent crisis in Lebanon highlighted the nightmare of foreign nationals when they tried to register with their respective embassies once the war started.

altaskier

When you see residents of Seoul bailing out, then I would bail out too. I think they will have a better sense of what is or is not likely to happen.

Travellin' Fool

The whole nuclear thing is more of a stupid pet trick by Kim Jong Il. Last I heard we had confirmed seismic activity but that could have been generated by a truckload of TNT...

Anyway I wouldn't worry about it. If you do feel the need, check in at the consulate (via phone) so that way if something happens or is going to happen they can notify you and have a record of where you are. You should be perfecly fine.

schwarm

There is no rational reason to worry (too much).

Although you may not wish to travel from Seoul to the DMZ, if you did, you would see that the country has been "at risk" of imminent attack continuously for many years. This border is very militarized. The highway you drive on can only have been built to get South Korean troops to the border quickly. I'm sure its totally rigged to self-destruct in the event the North Korean army attempts to use it in the reverse direction.

Having said that, if you're going transpac in coach, pulmonary embolism should be more of a concern than the marginal additional risk of being in South Korea.

planemechanic

Artillery

North Korea has an estimated 13,000 artillery sites stationed in secure bunkers, many of which are aimed at targets in and around the South Korean capital, Seoul. Such a large collection of artillery could potentially drop 300,000 shells per hour on the city."

http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/...military_2.htm



I live in South Korea. Not near Seoul but about as far away from there as you can get without falling into the Korean Straight/Sea of Japan down in a nice town called Busan. I am here with my family and we have no worries due to the nuke test. What most westerners fail to understand is that Koreans believe they are one country, temporarily divided. Every map of Korea shows both halves as if they were one country, not two. South Korea is working to provide economic aid through South Korean factories located in North Korea as well as food and power aid. They have a 30-40 year timeline for reunification since they want to avoid the problems that Germany had with the East.

jpatokal

According a news report I read even the DMZ tours are operating as usual. The "border incursions" happen a few times every year and this one only made the news because of the timing; it was just a couple of hungry North Koreans trying to go fishing in a stream in the DMZ, and the only shots fired were warning shots from the South side.

FYI, here's my trip report for the DMZ last year. I highly recommend it, but do book early because they need some advance notice to make sure you're not Osama bin Laden.

srk123

The trip will be 98.6% safe !!!

mosburger

I'm going myself later this month. Morituri the salutant...