Early Warning System
April 14, 2006

I went to see the movie "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" today with a friend.  It was pretty good.  I really like Dakota Fanning.  She wasn't given too much to work with in the film though.  I think she's a pretty amazing actress for being so young.  It was definitely designed to be a family movie and it works as one.

As we began driving toward the theater, I noticed that the streets were empty.  We were the only car on the whole road.  I figured it must be a Korean holiday that I didn't know about.  Then we noticed all the cars had either stopped or pulled to the side of the road.  My friend then explained South Korea's early warning system.  I had actually heard the loud air raid alarms a few minutes before we left the house, but I ignored them.

It turns out, that once a month they test the alarms.  Sometimes people (via the radio) are instructed to stop their cars or pull over to the side of the road.  Then you're supposed to listen to the radio in case of some type of attack or emergency.  The radio would then instruct you where to go or what you should do.  I guess with the tensions still prevalent with North Korea and today's world with terrorists, things like this are necessary.

What I learned today about Korea:  1)  I don't think there's an alarm that would make every driver in America pull over!