SPEAKING FREELY Normality trumps rhetoric in Yeonpyeong
By Matthew Clayton
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When one raises the subject of Yeonpyeong Island with people, both Korean and
non-Korean, it usually revives the images of the rising palls of smoke, burning
homes, shattered glass - "is that the island that got bombed by North Korea?"
and a mass exodus of its residents. "It's our home, but 80% of us don't want to
come back," [1].
Nine months after the November 23, 2010 attack, the strongest impression to
take away from the visit is normality. Soldiers and
policemen confirmed that almost every one of the 1,300 residents who lived here
in November still live on the island. All but 60 or 70 had returned in February
this year [2].
There is no atmosphere of a mass migration to the mainland. Children run and
play with the same happiness as they do in any South Korean mainland town or
city. There is stoicism in some of the residents but what really distinguishes
them from South Koreans on the mainland is not what happened in November but
the fact that they live in a small island community. The spirit on this island
is warmer and more welcoming than in the metropolitan cities on the mainland.
For the majority of their years here, residents have lived fairly uneventful
lives considering the proximity to North Korea. Tensions have been higher since
North Korea decried the Northern Limit Line (NLL) naval border and claimed a
more southerly naval demarcation line on July 21, 1999 [3], six days after the
First Battle of Yeonpyeong, in which six South Koreans and between 17 and 30
North Koreans died. It's important to remember that the NLL was not in the 1953
Armistice Agreement and has never been officially accepted by North Korea.
Thus they recognize the NLL as and when they choose. Although it is has been
expected of them by the South Korean government to recognize the border, North
Korea is under no realistic obligation to do so. The NLL has been a subject of
detailed academic debate concerning both its validity and as an issue for
inter-Korean negotiation [4].
At night, bathing in the neon glow of one of the two restaurants on the south
side of the island by the pier, there is no visual reminder that the island
sits in disputed territory. Indeed, sitting in the sea breeze with fried
chicken and a beer, this island is no longer just a reminder of the tensions
between the two Koreas in the manner of just a few months ago.
The majority of visitors on my trip were relatives of those on the island or
returning residents but the island is attracting internal Korean tourism again.
New arrivals to the island are presented with a tourist map detailing 10 places
to visit. Although bomb shelters are dotted across the island and walking past
the military bases provides views of the training areas, howitzers, bunkers,
tanks and long trails of barbed wire fences that are a reminder of the
proximity to North Korean shores, life is returning to normal. But despite this
proximity - a mere 11 kilometers of sea separates the island from North Korean
shores - as is the case in the mainland, the two countries are generations
apart when comparing standards of living.
The standard on Yeonpyeong Island, while not as high as on the South Korean
mainland, is still far superior to that the country suffered before the market
reforms of the Park Chung Hee government. Today, residents own cars or
motorcycles and some enjoy satellite television. They do not have to worry
about having enough to eat. An egg is no longer a precious luxury as it was for
rural and islander South Koreans as late as the 1970s. The island has not
escaped the impressive development that the mainland has experienced.
But the island's geography, in disputed waters, makes it far more strategically
viable for a North Korean attack than the South Korean mainland. In the
residential area the clues to the events of last November are diminishing. Most
of the buildings that were shattered by bombs or fire have been cleared,
although a couple of burned out structures remain standing.
Approximately 35 homes or public buildings were lost on the November 23, 2010
and about twice as many were damaged. Most of these buildings have been
cleared, leaving flat concrete bases. A careful eye notices how new the windows
are on several dozen homes and public buildings. It was necessary to replace
the windows on several hundred homes and buildings after the attack. A few of
the buildings on the island, although structurally intact and habitable, still
bear the scorch marks of fire or damage from shrapnel on the outside walls.
Displaced residents moved back to the island but are currently in temporary
housing, nicknamed locally as "birdhouses," owing to their small size and in
most cases basic nature although a few of them do have satellite television by
now. Despite their ordeal their spirits are positive. The government has set a
target of October to complete most of the rebuilding [5]. Based on viewing the
construction of the new homes so far, this seems to be proceeding well although
the work may run into November.
Although the overwhelming impression after the visit is normality, there will
be permanent changes to the island in addition to the repairs. A row of three
burned out homes will be preserved as part of a memorial, currently under
construction of the November attack. Behind these three homes live a couple of
88 and 89-years-old respectively.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, having experienced the Korean War in their late 20s and
the poverty that followed, they seemed unperturbed by the sight of the charred
house of their former neighbor and the resultant debris in their front garden.
Cheery smiles embodied the resolve of these residents to continue their lives
positively and routinely less than a year after the attack, although the lack
of an evacuation broadcast on the island after North Korea fired three shells
into the surrounding waters last month angered some of the residents [6].
For the military, the situation has changed and continues to change. The
military has become accustomed to the threat from North Korea. In 1999 and
2002, in the waters surrounding Yeonpyeong, two separate naval battles killed
between 30 and 43 North Koreans and six South Koreans.
The sinking of South Korean corvette the Cheonan in March last year
followed by the bombing of the island in November has convinced the South
Korean government to make significant changes and bolster the defense of the
island. The South Korean military has deployed new artillery detecting radar
and air to ground missiles to the island.
There is clear evidence of new fortifications being constructed in preparation
for the deployment of Israeli-made Spike Non Line of Sight (NLOS) GPS guided
missiles, which have a range of 25 kilometers [7]. It has also been reported
that the deployment of helicopters is being considered, as a further deterrence
to the threat of an attack by North Korean forces.
As the one year anniversary of the attack approaches, the chess game of
inter-Korean relations continues. Yeonpyeong Island is not one of the bigger
pieces in terms of a bargaining chip but is situated in the most vulnerable
area of the peninsula. As jockeying for position for the 2012 South Korean
presidential election intensifies on one side of the border and extensive
preparations for a succession continue on the other, the residents of
Yeonpyeong although beginning to live their lives as before, will be watching
developments with a bigger stake in the results.
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