Korean citizens are flooding into Gimpo and Incheon International Airports, desperate to flee the continuous aftershocks of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Ryu Jeong-ah, 30, who is a Ph.D. student at Sejong University’s Department of Solid State Physics, was attending a symposium on the sixth floor of the Prince Grand Hotel in Tokyo on Friday afternoon just before the 8.9-magnitude quake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. She arrived at Gimpo Airport yesterday afternoon.

“First I was shocked by the strength of the earthquake and then I was stunned by how calm the Japanese were in such a situation,” Ryu said. “I sheltered myself under a desk but the building kept on shaking and I was terrified. We were so shocked, we couldn’t even move an inch but the Japanese were asking about foreigners’ safety.” 

Ryu wanted to leave on Saturday but had to stay a day more because she couldn’t get a flight back to Korea. 

“After the earthquake there were several smaller aftershocks. I had to sleep curled up in the first floor lobby,” she said, adding that the symposium organizers took her to Haneda Airport the next morning.

In Korea, Incheon and Gimpo International Airports were packed with people waiting to greet family and friends returning from Japan. 

Kim Myeong-in, 53, a sales consultant, arrived at Incheon Airport yesterday from Narita International Airport. “I visit Japan frequently so I’ve experienced several earthquakes there before, but this time was different,” said Kim who was on the 33rd floor of Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo when the earthquake struck. “When I looked out the window the hotel was swaying like a bamboo tree in the wind.” He waited until the movement stopped and walked down the stairs to the exit.

Meanwhile, Japanese citizens were eager to go back to their country. “I’ve only gotten text messages from my family in Japan and I can’t reach them by phone,” said Kita Noburi, a businessman who was waiting for his flight at Incheon Airport. 

Most flights between Seoul and Haneda Airport resumed operation on Saturday after being shut for a day, according to Lim Hyeon-cheol, an official of the international airline section at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. But Sendai and Ibaraki airports, which are located near the quake epicenter, remain closed, he said.


By Chang Chung-hoon [enational@joongang.co.kr]