The North Korean Situation

Here is an e-mail I wrote recently regarding the situation with North Korea. It's unfortunate that it is scaring a few people away from taking advantage of a great opportunity. I hope this, along with Tracey Starks post found below, will help.

Hello,

Thank you for letting us know what is happening on your end. It has certainly been a challenge for us with the news about North Korea. I most definitely understand your concerns.

I would however like to take the opportunity to ease your mind a bit. Although it may or may not have an effect on your decision.

I will include an e-mail that I wrote to another client who had the same concern. But, to summarize, I can say the following:

1. My wife is currently in South Korea. If I perceived any danger with her being there, she would be on a plane and in Canada in a day.

2. The people in South Korea are going about their daily lives, basically unworried about the situation with the North.

3. I will be heading to Korea again in the next short while. I would not be putting myself at risk. I enjoy my life and do not plan to put myself in any compromising situation.

I would also like to suggest reading this articly by Tracey Stark, a journalist with lots of experience in South Korea. It's great to help people understand the real situation in South Korea.

http://traceystark.blogspot.com/2005/11/danger-in-korea-western-myth-no-1.html

Here is what I wrote to one of our other clients. I hope it helps. Let me know your thoughts.

Jason

Thank you for letting me know your situation.

While I don't want to discount your concerns as they are quite valid, I would like to stress that this type of behavior is not uncommon for North Korea, and it has happened before. It is generally viewed as a way of garnering attention and hopefully, aid for the country.

The people who are in South Korea go on with their daily life and are not worried about any attack from their Northern neighbors.

To be honest, if there were to be any attack, it would be directed towards the U.S. and not South Korea. Beyond that, if you were to truly analyze the issue of personal safety, you would come to the conclusion that South Korea is a safer place to be than the United States, or Canada for that matter.

Crime rates are lower. There have not been any massive terrorist attacks, and South Korea is not the target for such attacks.

If you were to look at factors such as violent crimes, terrorism, and large scale attacks, South Korea is a much better place to be than the United States, or many other countries.

I suppose it's the lack of knowledge of the area as well as the media attention that conjures up a feeling of fear in regards to the area, but looking at the situation objectively would be better for anyone considering a decision.

I suppose that it's similar to the idea of having a fear of flying. In reality, one is much more likely to be killed in a car accident than in a plane crash. So, why avoid planes while driving around in a car?

Cities such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, and San Francisco are all much more likely targets, yet it doesn't seem to stop most people from going there.

Again, I don't want to imply that you don't have a valid concern; I just want to bring forward the big picture.

Please consider this as objectively as you can, and, if in your own best judgment, you believe that going to South Korea would be a bad decision, I will respect that.

If you are basing your decision on some news reports about an event, and you haven't had a chance to really consider it, I would urge you not to risk missing out on a great experience without a strong reason.

Please let me know what you think either way, and we'll go from there.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Jason