Fear of 'Oballyeong' Evacuation Alert... Remembering the 2010 Yeonpyeong Shelling

False Alarm for Seoul-Incheon Boundary Alert on the Morning of the 31st
Evokes Memories of the Yeonpyeongdo Shelling Incident

At 6:41 a.m. on the 31st, the alert message sent to citizens in the Seoul area was revealed to be a false alarm, but many citizens experienced confusion as the alert evoked memories of the nightmare of the Yeonpyeong Island shelling 13 years ago.

After the news of North Korea's projectile launch was announced that morning, the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an alert to citizens, which was transmitted via mobile phones and other means. In some areas, alert sirens also sounded.

However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety subsequently sent a message stating, "06:41 Alert issued by Seoul Special City is a false alarm."

Although the alert was found to be a false alarm, the confusion among citizens who received the alert was significant, given their experience with the Yeonpyeong Island shelling 13 years ago.

A village in the Gaemori Coast area of North Korea as seen from Daeyeonpyeongdo, Ongjin-gun, Incheon City, on the morning of September 29, 2020. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Yeonpyeong Island shelling occurred on November 23, 2010, when North Korean forces suddenly fired about 170 rounds of multiple rocket launchers toward Daeyeonpyeong Island in Ongjin County, Incheon. At that time, the Marine Corps unit on Yeonpyeong Island responded immediately with K-9 self-propelled howitzers against North Korea's surprise attack, but during the process, two marines from the Yeonpyeong unit and two civilians were killed, and 60 were injured.

In fact, fishermen in the West Sea of Incheon have experienced anxiety that the Yeonpyeong Island shelling could be repeated whenever North Korea carries out missile provocations. When North Korea fired into the West Sea buffer zone on the afternoon of October 19 last year, Yeonpyeong fishermen evacuated urgently. On that day as well, Yeonpyeong residents received emergency disaster messages.

On the same year, March 26, residents of Baengnyeongdo in Incheon, who experienced the Cheonan ship sinking incident, hurriedly took shelter in evacuation centers after receiving the alert that morning. Sirens sounded for more than 20 minutes around Baengnyeongdo, and the Baengnyeong-myeon office announced via village broadcast, "Regarding the alert, residents are requested to evacuate."

Experts have also analyzed that there is a high risk of localized conflicts like the Cheonan ship sinking and Yeonpyeong Island shelling recurring this year. Yoshihiro Makino, a Korea expert and visiting professor at Hiroshima University in Japan, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) last January, "North Korea seems likely to continue military provocations in 2023," adding, "This year, North Korea will likely respond sensitively to South Korea, and it will be a year to be on guard against North Korea's military provocations against South Korea, such as the Cheonan incident and the Yeonpyeong Island shelling."