Citizens Startled by Midnight 'Air Raid' Disaster Alert Texts

Inquiries Continue to Police and Fire Authorities
'Startled' in Foreign Communities as Well

In the middle of the night, an emergency alert was sent to some areas in Gyeonggi Province, reporting the discovery of an object presumed to be a leaflet (pira) dispersed by North Korea, startling citizens. In particular, the message included the English word "Air raid," which deepened misunderstandings among some residents.

Disaster alert sent to some areas in Gyeonggi-do at 11:34 PM on the 28th. The English text includes the word "Air raid."
[Image source=Online community capture]

At around 11:34 PM on the 28th, Gyeonggi Province sent an emergency alert to certain areas stating, "Unidentified object presumed to be North Korean anti-South leaflets identified. Refrain from outdoor activities and report to military units upon identification. Air raid Preliminary warning [Gyeonggi Province]." Following this, police and fire authorities received numerous inquiries such as "Is the content of the emergency alert true?" and "Should we evacuate?" However, it was reported that there were no actual reports of seeing the anti-South leaflets.

On online communities, reactions erupted expressing anxiety because the emergency alert only stated "Air raid Preliminary warning" in English. Netizens commented, "I thought war had broken out," "Foreigners must have been even more shocked," and "Issuing an air raid warning for leaflets only increases anxiety."

As netizens worried, a post titled "Do not panic. This is a warning related to leaflets" was uploaded in a community of foreigners residing in Korea. Other foreign netizens responded in comments, criticizing, "Who translates a warning about propaganda leaflets as 'Air raid Preliminary warning'?" "Seeing the word 'air raid' almost gave me a heart attack," "Why does this message have such a loud alarm when other alerts do not?" and "Misuse and overuse of the alert system actually lead to ignoring real situations."

An object presumed to be debris from a North Korean balloon used for leaflet distribution against South Korea, found in the Paju and Dongducheon areas of Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, on the 26th, North Korea threatened to retaliate against domestic South Korean groups dispersing leaflets by stating it would release toilet paper and filth in border and inland areas. Due to this, just two days later on the 28th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "Unidentified objects presumed to be North Korean anti-South leaflets were identified in the vicinity of the Gyeonggi and Gangwon border areas, and the military is taking action." The military reported identifying about ten balloons in the frontline area. They flew at altitudes visible to the naked eye; some fell while others continued flying. Some of the fallen balloons reportedly had dark-colored and foul-smelling substances presumed to be feces contained in bags hanging from them, although exact identification was difficult. The Joint Chiefs urged, "Do not touch unidentified objects and report to the nearest military unit or police."