On August 17th, I received an e-mail from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul entitled: Civil Defense Drill on August 18, 2011. Here is part of the e-mail:
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is transmitting the following information as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea.
Seoul Metropolitan Police authorities advised the Embassy that on Thursday, August 18, at approximately 2:00 p.m. an air-raid siren will sound for one minute to signal the start of a nationwide civil defense drill. Pedestrians in open and public areas should seek shelter in nearby buildings or subway stations. All drivers/vehicles on the road must pull over and come to a complete stop. At approximately 2:15 p.m. a second siren will sound, signaling the conclusion of the drill. Local authorities will give further instructions if necessary.
This has happened several times since we've been here, but this is the first time I have gotten an e-mail about it. The first time we experienced it was our very first full day in Korea. We were a little worried, to say the least. Now, it's not so concerning.
I uploaded a 30-second video on YouTube.com which has the siren. Sorry for the poor quality -- I was walking to work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGwsUF7FNmw
This happened here to and I had no idea what the heck was going on until I asked my Korean co-teacher. I wish I would have gotten an e-mail!!
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