As surreal as the current talks of war between the two angry leaders are, many outsiders often wonder about the calmness of South Koreans, even while facing a belligerent northern neighbor that fires missiles, tests nuclear bombs, and repeatedly threatens a war of annihilation. It is true that Koreans have grown inured to perennial threats from North Korea for decades, and are not easily shaken by yet another provocation. As the world-renowned Korean novelist, Han Gang, recently wrote in The New York Times opinion section, this mysterious calmness is not really a reflection of indifference, but "the tension and terror that have accumulated for decades (that) have burrowed deep inside us and show themselves in brief flashes even in humdrum conversation."

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