2020.02.29

Today we have a first-hand account from a 31-year-old man, living in Busan, who provides an insight into the Korean situation regarding coronavirus:

“This is really a big issue. Everyone’s staying inside, no-one’s going anywhere or doing anything. Seomyeon [city centre] is empty, Dongnae [restaurant/bar area] is empty. Even Megamart [large supermarket chain] is empty. I have family members who run a restaurant and they’re really suffering – hardly any customers and staff don’t want to work. People use the word “dangerous” to describe public areas. Work is very quiet – I work in a gym, and no-one wants to come and train and be around other people. All the schools have taken a week off. Stock levels in shops are quite low, particularly anything which will keep for a long time. We’ve been trying to make sure we have plenty of rice, cup ramyeon noodles and other things which will keep for a long time.”

Analysis: Koreans take this type of public health crisis extremely seriously; there’s a kind of shared cultural awareness about pandemics which can completely dominate the social discourse. I arrived in Korea in 2008 to huge, nation-wide protests against US beef imports due to the possibility of BSE/CJD infection. Given the scale and passion of the protests I assumed that a number of people had passed away; I was surprised to learn that Koreans had reacted so strongly just to the possibility that they had been exposed to BSE/CJD.

KBS News (video at link)

By O Seungmok

Bong Joon-ho has returned home. Having been honoured with four prizes by the Academy Awards, he expressed thanks to fans and said that he was looking forward to creating again. He was [also] pleased pleased to greet reporters and fans when his airport arrival gate opened. Bong – who has rewritten Korean cinema history, calmly showed off his award and talked about his feelings of returning home.Even after a long flight of more than 10 hours, he was worried about the Coronavirus situation in Korea, and he did not skimp on his typically eccentric language.

Parasite is the first non-English-language film in history to win “Best Picture” at the Academy Awards. It was recognised for its popularity and social commentary as it swept the Best Screenplay, Best International Film, Best Director and Best Picture awards. The film principally deals with the universal and serious theme of societal polarisation, and was lauded for its incisive depiction and satirical viewpoint.

On the 20th, Bong will have lunch with President Mun Jaein at the Blue House.

Analysis: Koreans are, quite rightly, immensely proud of Parasite’s achievements at the Oscars. Koreans take a sincere, unifying pride in achievements by other Koreans on the international stage, and Parasite’s four wins will further cement Bong’s place as Korea’s preeminent film figure. Even the phrase used in the article’s title – gwuiguk 귀국, “returning to one’s homeland,” contains a kind of shared assumption of experience, as it doesn’t explicitly refer to “Korea” at all – but readers will know exactly what homeland is being referred to.

• Wash hands for more than 30 seconds with soap. Wash palms, fingers, and fingernails to the bottom – meticulously!
• Cover mouth and nose with sleeve when coughing
• When coughing or suffering with a fever be sure to wear a mask in case of respiratory symptoms
• When visting China contact with animals is forbidden. Display restraint when visiting markets or traditional medicine stalls.
• When you suspect infectious disease, do not go to a hospital straight away. Contact the Disease Control Division (tel: 1339) or a public health centre. The Disease Control Division is available via KakaoTalk 24 hours a day.