Korean students used to conflict

While the nuclear crisis in North Korea is currently flooding American media and scaring the government into deeming the country an "axis of evil," the threat does not seem so great for international Korean students at IU. \n"Americans seem to be more sensitive because the media has the ability to exaggerate and impact people in a great way," said Eunjung Oh, a South Korean graduate student. "People only know North Korea through the media's portrayal." \nGraduate student Hyounsoo Lathrop, also from South Korea, said because Korean students have felt the presence of North Korea their whole lives, they do not feel threatened. \n"We are immune to North Korea because (South) Korea has been like that all the time," she said. \nOh hasn't felt the pressure of North Korea while living in the South, she said.\n"You cannot possibly live in (South) Korea and see North Korea as a threat," Oh said. \nFollowing World War II, Korea was split -- the North was under Communist control and the South formed a Western-oriented republic. After the Korean War (1950-1953), U.S. forces intervened to defend South Korea. \nSouth Koreans have lived their whole lives with American troops in South Korea, a reminder of the continuous conflict with North Korea. \n"It's like seeing the color red now," Lathrop said. "The first time you see it you are shocked but after a while you become accustomed to it."\nEast Asian Languages and Cultures Professor Michael Robinson, said there were bomb drills in Seoul every month during the 1980s. \n"Fourteen-million people had to get out of their cars and perform the drill," Robinson said. \nHe also said there was a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew for security purposes. \n"Koreans are now used to the tension," he said.\nIt has been almost half a century since tension began.\n"Koreans in general have adapted because the tension was always there," said Gonzalo Isidro-Bruno, International Center coordinator. "The conflict is in the news because the media is focusing on the conflict. It is not something new to Koreans." \nRobinson said Koreans are used to the inflammatory language that has been coming from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, for years.\n"Korean students are probably a bit amused about how hysterical the media portrays the issue because they are used to the language and hyperbole of North Korea," he said. \nAfter seeing the news or reading the newspaper, Lathrop said she wonders if the situation is getting worse in Korea. But after she talks to her family, she said she is reassured that the situation is the same. \n"The media is mobilizing people to fear a threat which is a manipulation of patriotism and national identity," Robinson said.\nOh said she has more to worry about than a nuclear attack from North Korea. \n"I am concerned about their hunger," Oh said. "That is more of a threat to me than nuclear weapons."\nOh said she is afraid there will be a whole generation of underdeveloped North Koreans because of the horrible malnutrition in North Korea. \nLathrop has similar worries. \n"I am very concerned about the poverty and the poor nutrition," Lathrop said. "People are starving in North Korea"