[Politics That Day] 'Seoul's Warning Siren'... The Actual Situation 40 Years Ago When North Korean Fighter Jets Flew South

1983 Lee Ung-pyung Defects Piloting North Korean MiG-19
Air Raid Sirens Sound in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Amid War Fears
Southward Movement Toward Yeonpyeongdo, No Shots Fired

Editor's Note‘On That Day in Politics’ is a series that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, and figures that deserve attention.

“This is the Civil Defense Headquarters. We are now issuing an alert siren for the Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do areas. Citizens, this is an actual situation.”

At 10:58 a.m. on February 25, 1983, alert sirens sounded in Seoul, Incheon, and other areas. Considering the era, the sounding of alert sirens itself was not unusual, but the problem was that this was an ‘actual situation.’

During the 1980s, when tensions on the Korean Peninsula were escalating, civil defense drills were a part of everyday life for the public. Along with the loud sirens, the voice of the Civil Defense Headquarters broadcasted through speakers. However, these broadcasts were always under the premise of a “drill situation.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

TV and radio also reminded people that it was a drill. This was a measure to prevent possible confusion among citizens. Still, even if it was a drill, the siren itself was a source of fear.

This was because the siren was often perceived as a warning of war. Despite the reassurance that it was a drill, people felt relief only after the civil defense drill ended and daily life resumed in the 1980s.

However, February 25, 1983, was different.

On the 31st, citizens are watching related news in the Seoul Station waiting room, Jung-gu, Seoul, as North Korea launched a space launch vehicle southward. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The siren and the Civil Defense Headquarters’ announcement were the same, but the mention of an ‘actual situation’ was special. Moreover, it was an incident involving a North Korean fighter jet descending southward. Residents of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do could only imagine the bombing by a North Korean fighter jet.

The cause of the air defense alert siren was the defection of North Korean Korean People's Army Air Force pilot Senior Lieutenant Lee Ung-pyong. Around 10:45 a.m. that day, he descended from the airspace over Haeju, North Korea, toward Yeonpyeong Island. When the North Korean fighter crossed the armistice line, the Army Air Defense Artillery immediately prepared to respond, but since it was identified as a defector’s aircraft, no shots were fired.

At the time, the Ministry of National Defense stated, “The air defense alert siren sounded in the Seoul area to warn citizens in advance in preparation for any emergency.”

Lee Ung-pyong’s MiG was safely guided by the South Korean Air Force to land at a base in the South. The MiG-19, nicknamed “Farmer,” is an all-weather interceptor and the Soviet Union’s first supersonic fighter jet. It is known to have made its first flight in September 1953 and was deployed in combat in 1955.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A North Korean pilot defecting with a fighter jet was a scene hard to imagine. The public breathed a sigh of relief. At the time, the Blue House regarded Lee Ung-pyong’s MiG defection as a ‘good omen.’

Former President Chun Doo-hwan evaluated, “The defection of the North Korean MiG is clear evidence to the international community that North Korea is not a place for people to live, and it is a good sign for resolving unification issues.”

The Lee Ung-pyong incident remains vividly etched in people’s memories even 40 years later. It is because it involved a North Korean fighter jet descending southward, the shocking voice from the Civil Defense Headquarters saying “This is an actual situation,” and the trauma associated with the siren.

In that sense, the national evacuation warning siren that sounded across Seoul on the 31st of last month is not something that can be dismissed as a mere incident. For those who remember February 1983, it is a stimulus that revives the fear of that day, and for the younger generation, it could lead to a different kind of trauma.