But, I see paperwork, not panic.
I came home from work one evening this week
and opened a Korean YouTube video with 1.3 million views and a title about
Sweden preparing for war with Russia while Europe turns tense. The link is in
the source section below. After close to 20 years here, I want to go through
the video's main points one by one and set each against the facts and against
what I see in daily life. This is not an attempt to tear the video apart. Much
of it is accurate. My aim is simply to give readers a factual picture of Sweden.
The cash story.
The 1,000 kronor.
In March the Riksbank recommended that
households keep about SEK 1,000 in cash per person, and from July card payments
for food, medicine and fuel should work offline for up to seven days. Both
points are correct. Both are also a recommendation and an industry agreement,
not a law. The video suggests the cash advice may become mandatory, but I found
no source for that. I also cannot name one colleague or neighbor who keeps cash
at home by the guide. Card and Swish are simply how people pay.
The booklet.
The civil contingencies agency MSB has
mailed its "If Crisis or War Comes" booklet to every household twice.
The 2018 edition was the real news, because it was the first of its kind since
the Cold War, and people talked about it. The 2024 update came after Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, yet nobody around me read it as a sign of a new crisis.
People in the countryside and small towns do keep food, water and emergency
supplies, but that comes from long distances and winter power cuts. They do not
call it war preparation.
The sirens and shelters.
Sweden has about 64,000 shelters for
roughly seven million people, according to Krisinformation, and many are now
being inspected and repaired. The outdoor siren, Hesa Fredrik, is tested at 3
pm on the first Monday of March, June, September and December. I notice the
shelter work and I hear the siren. I do not know anyone who feels the country
is getting ready for an emergency.
The military draft.
Sweden decided in 2017 to bring back the
military draft, and every young person including women called must attend a day of tests and
interviews. But very few are actually picked. The Wall Street Journal reported
that only about 6% of those called up were selected for service, with
motivation weighed alongside health and test results. Military service lasts 9
to 15 months, recruits get a tax-free daily allowance of SEK 200 plus a bonus
when they finish, and families I know say their children were often home at
weekends. Several colleagues' and neighbors' children have served or are
serving now, and the ones who go are mostly the ones who want to. Figures from
the agency that runs the draft, reported by Altinget, show foreign-born young
people are still underrepresented. My own sons are reaching the age where this
applies to them. That is where it feels real in my house.
The real numbers.
This is where the video stands on solid
ground. Defense spending reaches 2.8% of GDP in 2026, and the government aims
for 3.5% by 2030, not 2035 as the video says. Civil defense funding grows from
SEK 2.7 billion in 2022 to about SEK 19.4 billion by 2028. Sweden joined NATO
in 2024, and NATO exercises appear in the news a few times a year.
The crime lens in reader's comments.
Crime is the other favorite frame for
Sweden on Korean YouTube. According to the crime prevention council Brå, 84
people were killed in 2025, the lowest level since 2012 and down from 124 in
2020. Shootings have more than halved since 2022.
Where I land.
Nothing in my daily life has changed. What
the video reads as tension, I see as a familiar Swedish habit: prepare quietly,
in the background, one step at a time, without making noise about it. The
government and ordinary Swedes share that temperament, and the reasons are
clear. Sweden and Russia have a long, tangled history, and it was in a war with
Russia in 1809 that Sweden lost Finland, which today is NATO's front line with
Russia and a neighbor Sweden backs closely. Sweden has also moved from neutrality
to NATO membership and gives Ukraine economic and military support. In my view,
the preparation is a sober answer to the risk of Russian retaliation in hybrid
forms, such as cyberattacks or sabotage, rather than a sign that war is coming.
Koreans, who never treat civil defense day as a sign of war tomorrow, should
recognize this better than anyone.
FAQs:
1. Did Sweden ever plan to ban cash by
2030?
A: No law or official target banned cash by
2030; shops were simply allowed to refuse it, according to the Riksbank. The
new rule from 1 July 2026 makes grocery stores and pharmacies with staffed
checkouts accept cash, with exceptions.
2. Do I need to bring cash when I visit
Sweden?
A: Not really, since cards and mobile
payments work almost everywhere. Grocery stores and pharmacies now have to
accept cash at staffed checkouts if you prefer it.
3. Isn't Sweden really preparing for war,
then?
A: The state is preparing seriously, with
defense spending at 2.8% of GDP in 2026 and civil defense funding rising about
sevenfold by 2028. Daily life, however, has not changed in any visible way for
most people.
4. Is the 1,000 kronor cash advice mandatory?
A: No, it is a Riksbank recommendation from March 2026. I found no source suggesting it will become a legal requirement.
5. Does every young Swede have to do
military service?
A: Everyone called must attend the draft
tests, but only a small share is selected, and motivation is weighed alongside
health and test results. Service lasts 9 to 15 months with a daily allowance of
SEK 200.
SOURCE:
- Primary video: 최준영 박사의 지구본 연구소, "러시아와의 전쟁을 준비하는 스웨덴, 살벌해진 유럽 분위기" (YouTube, 14 October 2026), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REzpwVkZlSc.
- Fact checks: Riksdagen (FiU39), https://www.riksdagen.se/en/news/articles/2026/may/27/the-possibility-to-use-cash-to-be-improved-fiu39_cms285b4cfc-0c3c-461a-9a6c-dcaaf6aeed6aen/ ; Riksbank, https://fragor.riksbank.se/org/riksbank/d/can-shops-refuse-to-accept-cash/ ; The Local, https://www.thelocal.se/20260304/swedes-told-to-keep-1000-kronor-in-cash-at-home-in-case-of-crisis-or-war ; Government.se, https://government.se/press-releases/2025/09/new-package-for-stronger-civil-defence/ ; Breaking Defense, https://breakingdefense.com/2025/09/russian-threat-pushes-sweden-to-additional-2-9-billion-defense-spending-pledge-for-2026/ ; Krisinformation, https://www.krisinformation.se/en/hazards-and-risks/shelters-evacuation-and-warning-systems/shelters/ ; WSJ via To Vima (military draft), https://www.tovima.com/wsj/many-armies-struggle-for-recruits-in-sweden-they-turn-them-away/amp/ ; Nordic Defence Sector (allowance), https://nordicdefencesector.com/en/article/conscripts-and-cadets-in-sweden-receive-increased-compensation-from-the-turn-of-the-year ; Altinget (foreign-born draftees), https://www.altinget.se/artikel/faa-utrikes-fodda-gor-varnplikt-finns-en-forsiktighet-kring-fraagan ; The Barents Observer (2018 booklet), https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2018/05/sweden-issues-first-brochure-war-and-crisis-preparedness-cold-war ; Reuters via Internazionale (Brå), https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/03/31/homicides-in-sweden-hit-lowest-level-in-over-a-decade-in-2025
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