Tonight the Korean Mission is hosting a farewell reception for Ambassador Kim, who will be retiring at the end of the month. As part of the preparations for this event, the metal detector that usually stands in our lobby has been removed.
So far as I know, the metal detector doesn’t actually serve any security purpose. People walk through (or past) it all day, and it beeps, and nothing happens. But, I thought, maybe that was because the people passing through were either staff members or approved guests. Maybe, I thought, the metal detector would actually be used for security purposes the next time we had a reception.
But no. The removal of the machine — which is, admittedly, an ugly obstacle — proves once and for all that there is no reason for its being there in the first place.