North Korean military parade. Photograph courtesy of babeltravel
North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats against South Korea and its allies. The North’s latest aggression, however, has been as intense as ever and tensions in East Asia region have escalated dangerously fast over the past few weeks.
After the North nullified the armistice with the South Korea in early March 2013, the U.S.-South Korea executed joint military drills as a show of force. On March 28, the U.S.’s B-2 stealth bombers flew over the Korean peninsula and North’s leader Kim Jong-un, taking this as the last straw and ordered missiles on standby on March 29. The next day, Kim also announced that the North is in a “state of war” with South Korea and vowed to shut down the Kaesong industrial complex, a joint venture between the two Koreas. On March 31, the United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea for another military drill.
Even to South Koreans who have been overexposed to all kinds of hostile signals coming from the North, current developments were frightening indeed. And some net users tried to calm themselves by bringing up the old saying of ‘Barking Dog Never Bites’–which has become one of the most used metaphors in the Twitterverse and Blogsphere. However, how net users employed this clause, varied.
@idk209: Some said the North, that usually responds to the US-South Korea joint military drills by having its own drills afterwards, is now in a situation that it lacks the stamina and tries instead to bark loud. Dogs, when frightened, bark murderously loud, but rarely bite.
@tobeto01: Regarding North Korea’s war rhetoric, people say “Barking dog never bites”. But what if that dog is a crazy one? Victims will get rabies (referring to the following aftermath) when bitten by crazy one.
@nezerac: Of course seldom-barking dogs are more scary. And surely North Korea- the more they bark, the more they make fun of themselves by doing so. But still, we do need to prepare for the worst case scenario. But there is no need to respond every time to each of their barking.
But of course, there were some usual uninterested net users who have had so much disturbing news about North Korea that they grew numb to it. A tweet below shows how South Koreans take this news, comparing it to how Japanese citizens who are living in a country so prone to earthquakes, respond to news about earthquakes.
@kor_heinrich: [Japan] When an earthquake of magnitude five points hits Japan, international Media says: Gasp! What a crisis!! Japanese citizen says: No biggie. That happens a lot more than you think. [South Korea] When North Korea claims it will turn Seoul into ‘sea of fire’, international Media says: Gasp! What a crisis!! Korean Citizen says: No biggie. That happens a lot more than you think.
When Gaesung Industrial complex, which provides the North access to $2 billion in trade a year, is closed, local reports predict it will affect livelihood of 300 thousand North Koreans [ko]. Some people discuss how different the crisis’ implications would be for North Korean power elite and ordinary North Korean citizens.
hssi84: North Korean leadership, who had too much of the sweet taste of power, will never let the power slip away. Those people are unlikely to risk a war which they will lose. Power is not just a random game they can merely try-out for fun nor something they can afford losing.
@ourholykorea: (for North Korean people) Peace situation is not better than war. It is cruel reality that more North Korean people died back in 90s when food distribution halted than those killed during the Korean War.
The tensions and conflicts have increased so far with no sign of alleviation, and some predictions claim Kim Jong-un may actually pull the trigger just not to lose face [ko]. More than a few net users voiced concern that responding to hostility with more hostility may not be a wise move, considering what South Korea could lose in case of a real war.
@toplkw: In the case of North Korea actually making (some military) provocations, the number of victims could amount to those of the World War 1: link to local article [ko]Listen, you conservatives: It is unlikely that responding to their hostility with another hostility (will ever solve the problem) and having cold-war mentality will not magically strengthen our national security.
@welovehani: It would have been good if the U.S.’s stealth flights which flew over the Korean peninsula worked in a way of protecting our security. However (after that) the North Korea decided to announce the end of the truce. I am not defending the North, actually I blame them for having started all these provocations in the first place. But even some people in the United States, have started voicing worries on how the U.S. handles this situation– responding to provocation with equal provocation.
Written by Lee Yoo Eun
