South Koreans are used to living in the shadow of war, and life has continued as
normal across the country in the wake of the October 9 test. But statistics on
the number of condoms sold in recent weeks suggest despite their blase reaction
to the North's nuclear bluster, many South Koreans may be seeking solace in
sex.
A leading chain of convenience stores reported on Thursday that their condom
sales rose to an average of 1,930 a day in the week after October 9, compared
to 1,508 a day for the year to Septermber 30.
It was impossible to know whether the increase in sales was directly linked to
a heightened sense of vulnerability or stress among South Koreans. However, the
head of the Korea Institute for Sex Education, Seong Gyeong-won, said "People
tend to have urges to procreate in times of extreme situations."
A popular online reservation site for South Korea's "love motels"-the popular term for lodgings built for clandestine rendezvous-also reported a rise in bookings immediately after the heightened security threat, according to a report in the mass-circulation newspaper Chobun Ilbo.
