Seven Japanese were killed, one seriously injured and two injured by the bursting fire at a live shooting range in Pusan, South Korea on Nov. 14th. Was this disaster reported in the world? Different from South Korea that has the conscription system, most people in Japan have not only never touched the real gun but have also never seen it. Therefore, the firing ranges are attractive to some of them. The victims were good friends and classmates of a junior high school in Kyushu. They seemed to visit Pusan for a two-day and one-night trip from Kyushu, which was three-hours' distance from Pusan by the high-speed boat. I was very sorry to see their families on TV. They were just enjoying the Korean trip.
I wondered how the security was against fires in Korea. Are there some official rules against fires? I've been to Soeul once and I felt something uneasy at that time. One of the famous tourists' attractions, Namdaemun market also gave me a sense of unease. In the market, I'd never seen any fire hydrants in the streets. The paths in the market were too narrow for the fireengines to get into the market. I didn't notice any emergency exits in the long subterranean shopping mall that connected my hotel and the nearest subway station though my hotel was the biggest or second-biggest modern hotel in Seoul. The number of the tourists from Japan will get lower for a certain period of time.
(Vocabulary)
live firing range 実弾射撃場
Pusan (釜山) 南朝鮮の第２の都市
conscription / conscription system / military-draft system 徴兵制
conscript 〈人〉 を徴兵する = draft(米) 〈人〉を説得して参加させる= recruit
overnight domestic trip 一泊二日の国内旅行
unease 不安, 心配
a sense/feeling of unease 不安な気持ち
She felt a growing sense of unease. 彼女は不安な気持ちがつのってくるのを感じた．
Namdaemun market 南大門市場
fire hydrant (FH) / fire plug 消火栓
subterranean shopping mall / underground shopping district 地下商店街
That sounds so awful! I remember feeling uneasy in Seoul as well. I was very happy to return to Japan after that trip. Even the taxi drivers made me nervous!
Posted by: Sarah | Nov 24, 2009 at 10:49 AM