Active participation in nationwide civil defense training
is the shortcut to protecting my safety.

- August 23 (Wed), nationwide civil defense training conducted in preparation for air raids

- Conducted for 20 minutes starting at 2:00 PM, including resident evacuation and traffic control in select sections (15 minutes)

□ The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it will conduct nationwide civil defense training in preparation for air raids for 20 minutes starting at 2:00 PM on August 23 (Wed).

○ The civil defense training for air raids is conducted to ensure that citizens can learn rapid evacuation and response procedures in the event of an air raid situation, such as a North Korean missile provocation.

○ 57 regions* declared as special disaster zones due to the heavy rains in July and Typhoon Khanun are excluded from this training.

* (July 19, 13 regions) 12 cities/counties and 1 township in Sejong, North Chungcheong Province, South Chungcheong Province, North Jeolla Province, and North Gyeongsang Province
(August 14, 44 regions) 10 cities/counties and 34 towns/townships/districts in Gangwon Province, North Chungcheong Province, South Chungcheong Province, South Jeolla Province, and North Gyeongsang Province

○ Prior to this training, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety improved the civil defense alert system so that citizens can understand the civil defense situation and evacuate quickly.
 

□ The training will proceed in the order of air raid alert, warning alert, and alert cancellation.

8.23 14:00: Promptly evacuate to the nearest civil defense shelter / 15-minute resident movement control / Training "warning" alert

8.23 14:15: Exit shelter and resume movement / Maintain alert posture / Alert cancellation

8.23 14:20: Return to daily life

□ First, the resident evacuation training is as follows.

○ When the training air raid alert is issued at 2:00 PM sharp, citizens must immediately evacuate to the nearest civil defense shelter. If there is no shelter nearby, they must take refuge in a safe underground space.

- As of December 2022, over 17,000 civil defense shelters have been designated, including apartment basements, subway stations, and underground shopping centers. The location of shelters can be searched and found via "Naver," "Kakao," "T-Map," the "National Disaster Safety Portal," and the "Safety e-Report" app.

○ When the training warning alert is issued at 2:15 PM, citizens may exit the shelter and move while maintaining an alert posture. When the alert is canceled at 2:20 PM, they may return to their daily routines.

□ Next, the emergency lane vehicle movement control training is as follows.

○ When the training air raid alert is issued, traffic lights in the training sections will operate with flashing red signals to control traffic. Vehicles operating in the controlled sections must stop on the right side of the road and follow the guidance broadcast while listening to the radio inside the vehicle.

- In Seoul, the vehicle movement control training sections include three sections: from Sejong-daero Intersection to Seoul Station Intersection, from Yeoui 2nd Bridge Intersection along Gukhoe-daero to Gwangheungchang Station Intersection, and from Hagye Station Intersection along Dongil-ro to Junghwa Station Intersection.

- In other metropolitan cities, training will be conducted on at least 3 road sections, and in cities/counties, on at least 1 road section. These sections can be checked on the websites of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and local governments.

○ In addition, parallel to the emergency lane vehicle movement control training, actual emergency vehicle operation training will be conducted on major roads nationwide.

- On the day of the civil defense training, fire and police departments will jointly operate emergency vehicles and promote the importance of yielding to emergency vehicles through emergency sirens and loudspeaker broadcasts.

□ To minimize inconvenience and burden to the public, hospitals, clinics, subways, railways, aircraft, and ships will operate normally.

 ○ However, during the 15 minutes when the training air raid alert is issued (14:00~14:15), movement outside of stations will be restricted even if passengers disembark from subways.

□ Also, in this training, special training considering regional characteristics will be conducted for residents in border areas, the West Sea Five Islands, and Yeongjongdo.

 ○ In the border areas of Incheon, Gangwon, and Gyeonggi, realistic training such as chemical, biological, and radiological protection training, gas mask wearing education, and emergency food experience will be conducted.

 ○ In Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo of the West Sea Five Islands, resident evacuation training involving boarding air-cushion vehicles will be conducted, and in Incheon Yeongjongdo, training for transporting the injured will be conducted in conjunction.

□ Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has established a special cooperation system with multi-use facilities that previously had low participation rates, ensuring that staff and customers of these facilities can practically participate in the training.

 ○ Pre-coordinated multi-use facilities such as movie theaters, department stores, and large supermarkets are currently promoting the training in advance and will actively cooperate during the training by guiding customer evacuation and broadcasting radio alerts.

□ For orderly training, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to station public officials and civil defense leaders at civil defense shelters nationwide on the day of the training to provide guidance.

 ○ In addition, leaflets containing relevant information will be distributed in advance to public institutions, airports, railway stations, and multi-use facilities so that citizens can familiarize themselves with the action procedures.

 ○ During the 20 minutes of the training, emergency action procedures for citizens will be broadcast live via KBS 1TV and KBS 1Radio.

□ The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to provide training guidance via disaster text messages on August 18 (Fri) and 22 (Tue) before the training, and on the day of the training, August 23 (Wed). In particular, on the day of the training, it will provide guidance three times (air raid, warning, cancellation) by alert stage to minimize public confusion.

 ○ Additionally, each local government plans to send disaster text messages informing citizens of the vehicle movement control training sections separately from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety so that they can be aware of them in advance.

□ Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has strengthened promotion and guidance so that foreigners residing in the country and multicultural families can also participate in the civil defense training.

 ○ Leaflets containing guidance on the training and action procedures in emergencies have been translated into 8 languages* and provided to airports, immigration offices, immigration and foreign offices, and hotels. Training guidance videos with English subtitles are being broadcast via Arirang TV.

    * English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish

□ Kim Sung-ho, Head of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters, emphasized, "Civil defense training is the most basic training necessary for citizens to protect themselves and their precious families in preparation for unforeseen circumstances," and

 ○ stated, "We ask that all citizens take an interest in the training and participate actively."


These are English translations of articles from our GTTOUR Japanese website.