Stay Kool Korea?

So there's this short guy in your high school who won't leave you alone. He sits right behind you in the classroom, poking you with a pencil and dousing your ears with wet willies. In the cafeteria line, he rests his neck on your left shoulder (seems to like the left), whispering insults in your ear, begging you to slap him in the face. Sometimes on the bus, you feel warm, spit balls hit your face. Every time you turn around, you catch the 4-eyed midget with a straw in his mouth claiming "I didn't do nothin'!'"

He even breaks bathroom etiquette and pees in the urinal next to you. Too close for comfort. He doesn't even stare at the wall. Just glares at you, daring you to go first.

He's a punk. A rotten kumquat. He pesters you nonstop.

But you don't do anything. Not something "drastic" anyway. If you wanted to stand up to him, you could, and you would probably be about 2 feet taller than the boy. His nose at your belt buckle. You would destroy him in under 10 seconds. He doesn't have many friends/cliques. Nobody likes him. So why don't you go ahead and take on the "challenge?"

It could be that you're scared of his big brother (who seems to be getting bigger everyday). His shadow looms large in the community and at school. Like Yao Ming at Tianjin Nankai High School, he is the big man on campus. He's always close by and supports his next of Kim (sorry kin), no matter how poorly he acts.

Also, there's that gun collection that the kid always brags about. It was once his fathers and now he claims it as his own. He's always threatening people with it. Your school counselor, Mr. Uri Ntrubl, has penalized him a number of times. Hasn't stopped the stubborn ankle biter. It's the one significant piece of equipment the kid has, if he has it at all.

There's also your well-being to think about. You're doing so well in school, sports and making bank at the new writing internship you Won in a state-wide essay contest. You've come a long way since the early years and that renown playground fight. The one where you repeatedly kicked that boy where the Sung don't shine and he ran away, pleading for you to stop. Come to think about it, that kid seems like a pretty similar character to the foe you face today.

But now, you're making new friends. You're really moving up in the world. Your Seoul is in the right place. You don't want to ruin all these positives with some stupid scuffle that could ruin your reputation.

So you sit back and take it, even though you're sick and tired of the little brat. You know one false move could set off a firestorm. Maybe your friends will help you figure out the right decision. Maybe not. You wait...Who will make the next move?

The Korean conflict has made big news during the past couple weeks. For me, the tension has never been higher. I say "for me," because I really don't see any panic amongst Koreans. Nothing has changed. Granted I don't speak or understand much Korean, but my students, school secretaries and neighborhood all seem as cool as Kobe in the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, many foreigners, including myself, are as collected as the Mets in September.

In the morning, I read the news from the NYtimes, CNN, BBC and the two Koreas seem on the brink of war. I then walk outside and see politicians dancing on the streets with frightening mascots, the old lady on the sidewalk still begging me to buy her bananas in front of school, and at night, the old men in suits are still stumbling around, red-faced, trying to figure out where or what a home is. Business as usual in Chuncheon.

How do countries act in these situations? Shouldn't we be scared of an attack? How serious is it? We are 45 minutes from the border. Who knows? Maybe this is what you're supposed to do. Go about daily business. I have no idea. Canada has never threatened the US with any real danger, except maybe Avril Lavigne.