An Emergency Alert Orders Everyone In Seoul To Evacuate — K-Celebrities Respond To The Terrifying "False Alarm"

On the morning of May 31, cellphones in Seoul blared with emergency alerts saying immediate evacuation is in order—twenty minutes later, another alert went out saying it was a false alarm.

At 6:41 a.m., the emergency alert warned everyone in Seoul to evacuate.

A warning was issued in Seoul at 6:32 a.m. today. Citizens should prepare to evacuate and give priority to children and the elderly to evacuate first.

— Presidential alert

At 7:03 a.m., another presidential alert said the previous message was sent in error. Then another twenty minutes later, a public safety alert informed citizens that the emergency alerts were sent because of North Korea’s missile launch.

An emergency message was sent due to the North Korean missile launch. This is to inform you that the alert for all areas of Seoul has been lifted. Citizens, please return to your daily lives.

— Public safety alert

In less than thirty minutes, citizens in Seoul were flustered and confused about what had happened. The most important contents of the emergency message were missing, such as what caused the alert to be issued and where to evacuate, causing extreme anxiety to citizens.

Some Korean celebrities addressed this incident on their social media.

GOT7‘s BamBam tweeted at 7:26 a.m., responding to the emergency alerts.

무슨일 없어서 다행입니다 ㅜㅜ

— BamBam (@BamBam1A) May 30, 2023

There’s nothing wrong, thankfully.

— BamBam

When a fan asked him if he was okay, BamBam responded that this incident made him think about the future.

그냥…이런일이 갑자기 생길수있으니까
하루하루 어떤식으로 살아야할지 좀 고민이 되네요 ㅜ

— BamBam (@BamBam1A) May 30, 2023

It’s just that… things like this can happen out of the blue, so I’m a bit worried about how to live each day.

— BamBam

Lastly, BamBam gave a message to his fans—in case anything happened.

in case if something really happened
just want to say i love you guys
and always thank you💚

— BamBam (@BamBam1A) May 30, 2023

Comedian Park Myung Soo addressed this “false alarm” incident on his radio show Park Myung Soo’s Radio Show on KBS Cool FM. He made a comment about how he, the radio production team, and the listeners probably “didn’t get much sleep this morning.”

He also asked the listeners if they thought, “I’m not going to school today,” upon seeing the emergency alert—his daughter apparently did. He also realized it was important for people to learn where to evacuate in times of emergency.

When you got the emergency alert, did you think, ‘I’m not going to school today’? My kid said that so I told her off. She asked me, ‘Where’s the bomb shelter?’ This shouldn’t happen but just in case, we need to find out if there are bomb shelters or somewhere to evacuate.

— Park Myung Soo

He continued by stating that he wishes the government to pay extra attention to this because this incident has been difficult for citizens.

I don’t know if the emergency alert rang properly or not, but I hope you pay extra attention. It’s hard for the people.

— Park Myung Soo

Brown Eyed Girls member JeA was shaken by the morning alerts as well.

JeA posted a screenshot of the emergency alert with a message that she was evacuating and was terrified.

I was evacuating… I was alone and terrified…

— JeA

Another second-generation girl group member, Jun Hyoseong of Secret, reacted to the emergency.

In her story, Jun Hyoseong posted a picture of her two cats with a simple caption: “Surprised...”

Actress Lee Yoon Ji also expressed her surprise at the emergency alert—from a mother’s point of view.

On her Instagram, following the morning “wake-up call,” she posted a picture of her two daughters hugging tightly with a caption stating that the false alarm reminded her of what’s most important in her life.

If you are Korean, your heart probably dropped this morning.
I was afraid but thankful that I am still alive.
I immediately looked down at my children. At that moment, I was reminded once again of what is the most important to me. #RaniSoul

— Lee Yoon Ji

Lee Yoon Ji got married in 2014 to a dentist and gave birth to her first daughter Jung Rani in 2015 and her second daughter Jung Soul in 2020.

Another surprised celebrity citizen with a concerned mother’s heart was broadcaster and TV personality Choi Hee.

She posted a photo of her holding her second child, who is less than 50 days old, with a caption emphasizing the importance of knowing emergency precautions beforehand.

You were very surprised this morning, right?
My mind went blank when I saw the warning message..
I thought about how to get out of this situation with my kids, but there was no database in my mind, so there was nothing I could do.

Since this happened, I kept thinking about how I should learn about the various ways to handle emergencies in advance..

After a wave of worrying… I am realizing the importance of being together…
Meanwhile, why are my eyes always like that..? I don’t know if my husband is taking picture of me when I’m like that or if my eyes are really half-opened… lol my eyes are always so blank lol

Let’s all get rid of our shock and hwaiting!🤍

— Choi Hee

Another celebrity who responded was Lee Sol Yi, the wife of comedian Park Sung Kwang.

Lee Sol Yi (left) and Park Sung Kwang (right) | *@s5llala/Instagram*

Lee Sol Yi stated how nervous she was getting the emergency alert—three times. In an Instagram story at 6:46 a.m., she expressed relief that it was a false alarm.