Global Events v. Wedding

As the whole world has most likely heard, the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, has died.

 Too soon? I won’t apologize. I find that one needs a little humor in these situations to keep a good balance.

 The news, for the most part, is good. We can now add Kim Jong Il’s name to the lengthy list of dictators/evil people that have died in 2011. Certainly not a good year for tyrants. But for me, and my life in Korea, things could get interesting. What does this mean for the North Korean people? What does this mean for South Korea? While I am in no imminent danger, there is a rather large chance that the death of Kim Jong Il will spark something. Whether that something comes peacefully or not, there is no doubt in my mind that change is “closer than it appears”. 

While I could go into an entire political rant about the numerous possibilities, this is a wedding blog about my wedding, so I will keep it personal. In no way am I dismissing the dire situation of the North Korean people, I just don’t feel like this is the appropriate soapbox on which to express those feelings.

So, in terms of ME, what is the worst case scenario? 

That North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, will want to show the world that he is as serious and demented as his father was, and will use guns to prove it. This happened TWICE last year, as you may recall. A torpedo from the North hit and sank a South Korean battleship in March. Again in November, North Koreans fired at a small South Korean island, killing a few people. Now if little (chubby) son wants to show force, he will do something worse. If that happens, it could potentially spark a full out war. China will back NOKO, the United States will back SOKO, and all will go to shit.

My wedding is in 8 months. 

Here are the (somewhat obvious) reasons why this will seriously blow for me:

1. If both Koreas go to war, I will have to be evacuated.

2. If I am evacuated before March, I will most likely lose my bonus money.

3. If I lose my bonus money, I can’t afford the wedding.

4. If I am evacuated, I go home, jobless, with little savings.

5. And, to just throw this in here: I will be insanely worried about all of the friends and people I’ve met here. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep knowing they weren’t safe.

While I was, like many other people, worrying about vendors cancelling at the last minute or things going awry with reservations, now I am worried about the possibility of losing my job due to war. But for now I will do exactly what all of the other South Koreans are doing, keeping calm and carrying on :)