Tiny South Korean island watches Pyongyang
Posted: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 3:02 PM
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On Assignment
By Arata Yamamoto, NBC News Producer
YEONPYEONG, South Korea – Ever since Pyongyang conducted an underground nuclear test last month, the 1,500 residents of Yeonpyeong, a tiny South Korean island situated about 2 miles from the maritime border with North Korea, have been exposed to much unwanted attention, both from the press and the military.
It’s not that the residents are unaware of the potential tension. They witnessed it firsthand when naval skirmishes broke out in the nearby waters in 1999 and 2002. The first clash left soldiers dead on both sides and offerings of flowers can be found at a statue by the port memorializing the fallen.
Across the island, there are reminders of the possible threat from the North: rows of large spikes made out of logs planted on beaches to keep away the enemy, a bunker overlooking the sea, and barbed-wire fences along deserted coastlines.
However, most of the islanders say these are remnants of the past. "They were originally placed for defense purposes, but that was long ago," our guide and innkeeper Young Ok Song said.
Coming for the prized blue crabs
Today, the island enjoys a moderate flow of tourists, who come to fish for mackerel. There are no hotels, only private homes converted into bed and breakfast inns and a handful of karaoke bars.
Many of the visitors also come for the island's prized blue crabs, which are served sashimi-style or in hot spicy soup.
But following heated rhetoric from both sides of the border, tourism has gone down and local fishermen have been forced out of prime fishing waters where they cast their crab nets. "Restricted, restricted," said the captain of a fishing boat drinking with his colleagues. Other fishermen simply refused to talk, blaming the media for hyping the tension.
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| Kim Jae-hwan / AFP - Getty Images |
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South Korean marines take part in an exercise on Yeonpyeong on June 5. |
Two weeks ago, Pyongyang warned that it would no longer guarantee the safety of ships, both military and civilian, passing through the disputed waters, while the South Korean Navy touted its newly developed high-tech destroyer ship freshly deployed to the area.
Yet despite the war of words, a single passenger ferry service from Incheon port, near Seoul, makes its daily 2-hour journey through the fog-shrouded waters. According to its captain, although the number of passengers has dropped, the route was only suspended once ever due to the political tension.
But as the ferry enters Yeonpyeong's port, you can't help but notice a nearby South Korean naval vessel – a reminder of the volatility just offshore.
