안보불감증이 아니라 북한면역증이다

이 글은 '왜 한국인들은 북한의 연이은 핵도발에도 불구하고 그토록 침착한가?'라는 허핑턴포스트 국제 에디션 친구들에게 보내는 대답으로 쓰여진 블로그입니다.

2013년 북한 핵실험 당시 서울에서 기자로 일한 경험이 있는 허핑턴포스트 오스트레일리아의 라라 피어스는 멋진 블로그에서 이렇게 썼다. "뉴스룸은 폭탄 위협에 대한 1면 기사를 준비하고 얼른 기사를 웹사이트에 올리는 작업을 하며 평소처럼 일했다. 점심 시간이 다가오자 동료들은 초밥과 불고기의 장단점에 대해 의논하기 시작했다. 나는 무척 당황했다. 서울은 북한 국경에서 겨우 56km 거리다. 핵 미사일이나 전투기는 순식간에 올 수 있다." 나는 이 대목을 읽고 그녀가 북한의 핵실험에 대한 남한 사람들의 정신 상태를 기가 막히게 묘사했다며 감탄했다.

'이상한 나라의 앨리스'에 나오는 쌍둥이 트위들디 트위들담 같은 느낌이 있다. 몸이 비슷하고 머리도 동글동글 비슷해서 함께 서 있으면 어쩐지 조금 웃음이 난다.

'훌륭한 직원을 그만두게 만드는 원인 9가지'였다(나도 이게 매우 중요한 뉴스라고 생각한다. 우리 직원들을 그만두게 하는 원인을 애초에 제거해야 하는 임무가 나에게는 있으니까).

이런 상황에서 한국인들이 북한의 수폭실험에 동요하지 않고 일상을 이어나가는 건 당연하다. 한국인은 핵무기로 서울을 불바다로 만들겠다고 소리 질러 온 심사 뒤틀린 (그러나 도무지 실체를 알 수가 없는) 이웃과 지난 반 세기 이상을 함께 살아왔다. 선거철이 오면 '당연히 북풍이 불어오지 않겠느냐'고 다들 마음의 준비를 하고 살아간다. 한국인에게는 이 모든 윽박에 섬세하게 귀를 기울일 만큼의 북한을 향한 호기심이 거의 남아있지 않다. 이걸 극복하고 진정한 안보의식 비슷한 걸 한국의 새로운 세대에게 부여하고 싶다면, 오히려 더 활발한 민간교류를 통해 북한의 삶에 대한 정확한 그림을 그릴 수 있도록 만드는 게 낫다. 더 현실적이고 더 효과적이다. 물론 그런 일은 좀처럼 쉽게 일어나지 않을 것이고, 그 전까지 한국의 새로운 세대에게 북한의 수폭실험보다 더 직접적이고 물리적이고 현실적인 공포는 차라리 '스타워즈 : 깨어난 포스'의 스포일러일 것이다.

Why South Koreans are immune to North Korea's hydrogen bomb test?

But I was no less surprised seeing the HuffPost U.S.'s splash in the aftermath of North Korea's hydrogen bomb announcement. The picture depicted a huge cloud from a hydrogen bomb explosion. I never even thought to use such an image here in Korea. Had I, we would've been lambasted for scaremongering. If you, as a foreigner living in Korea for less than a few months, had seen such a front page headline and image, you probably would've taken a tranquilizer and began searching for a plane ticket home. Or, You might've stumbled out onto the streets of Seoul looking for a grocery shop to store up on emergency supplies, only to be flabbergasted to find its citizens blithely going about their businesses as if nothing had happened. Well, there are others who think South Koreans' reactions very odd.

I'm sitting at my desk now, trying to divine what's hot and newsworthy among all the items that other medias are covering. Except for the news that South Korea is restarting the loudspeaker broadcast aimed at North Korea this afternoon in retaliation, the hydrogen bomb issue is fading quickly from the headlines. I look at other headlines. Kara, Korea's top female K-pop girl group during the last decade, is about to break up. Hadn't they been disbanded already? Who benefitted most from last year's almost two-fold cigarette price increase? Certainly not me, a smoker. Metropolitan Seoul's rent is through the roof, which is worrisome for me as well because my landlord has raised the rent too.

So just exactly why are Koreans seemingly less concerned about North Korea-related news than foreigners? In Korea right now, there are far more people who have not experienced war than those who have. To South Koreans, North is neither an immediate nor a physical threat. It's just beyond the border but hardly anyone has actually experienced it in person; it remains a political mirage, but thanks to more than 50-years of anti-communist rhetoric, something slightly menacing. In 80's, I was educated by the anti-communist rhetoric which even described North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung as a red pig at schools.

That everyone here is exhausted about the neighbor up north should also be pointed out. South Korean don't even flinch anymore when North Korea spills vitriol about turning Seoul into an ocean of blaze. Instead we think: "Our northern neighbors must be low on rice again and they want us to donate" Imagine a cranky, obstinate relative from long, long ago who shows up periodically banging on your gate with a hammer, insisting that you extend him a loan.

As explained, it should not come as a surprise why South Koreans react so nonchalantly to North Korea's supposed hydrogen bomb threat. South Korea has lived the past 60 years with a ornery neighbor/brother/sister/whatever threatening periodically to torch all of Seoul. South Koreans no longer have the interest to bend their ears with worry and care at their blackmail. So then what is the most real, physical threat that South Koreans cringe from right now? Spoilers of "Star Wars : Force Awakens?"

I remember when North Korea bombed Yeon-pyeong Island on Nov. 23, 2010 that I was at a gigantic outlet mall on the outskirts of Seoul contemplating whether I should purchase the scarf or not. The mall's huge LCD screen lit up with neon-red subtitles and images of missiles being rained down on Yeon-pyeong Island. For a while people watched the screen with concerned faces, but then as time neared for the mall to close, they began to walk away in droves. No, they were not heading for shelters but to individual stores to make their last purchases. I, too, lurched back to the shop. Purchasing the scarf, I said to the colleague who'd gone there with me, "If there's a war, we probably won't have electricity, and it being winter soon, a nice cashmere scarf would be nice, huh?" I still have that cashmere scarf, a perfect answer to a nuclear winter.