Media reports suggest many citizens ignored calls to seek shelter, saying they were not concerned about the exercise
Air-raid sirens blared across downtown Seoul on Wednesday as South Korea conducted a nationwide air defense drill, in response to the perceived threat of a North Korean missile strike.
As reported by Reuters, the test in the South Korean capital took place at 2pm local time, with community leaders in yellow jackets and hats reading “civil defense” asking people to get off the streets for about 15 minutes, before the alert was eased.
In addition, motorists in some 200 areas of the country were told to pull to the side of the road, while people in about 500 supermarkets, movie theaters and other public areas were advised to evacuate, the South Korean interior ministry said.
However, multiple media outlets have reported that many pedestrians appeared to ignore requests to seek shelter and didn’t seem concerned about the emergency simulation, simply disregarding the sirens.
One person told Reuters that he didn’t even know about the exercise. “People don’t seem to care about it much. I don’t believe there will be an actual war either,” Na Eun, a 52-year-old architectural designer, told the outlet.
Meanwhile, those who did take part described shelters that were ill-equipped to handle large numbers of people, and poor preparation on the part of the authorities.
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