The novel coronavirus outbreak has heightened anxiety in South Korea and around the globe in a period unlike any the modern society has experienced before. Despite continued uncertainty and bad apples with xenophobic behavior, good Samaritans in Korea are going an extra mile to look out for those most vulnerable to contracting the disease with medical staff combating the virus on the front lines. Lee Jun-ah, 22, a senior at Seoul Women’s College of Nursing, is volunteering from home, ma

Social Affairs March 22, 2020

South Korea’s national fencing team reported that a third athlete on the team had been confirmed to have the novel coronavirus, health officials said Thursday. The 36-year-old athlete tested positive Wednesday. She had returned home from an international competition in Budapest, Hungary, over the weekend, according to South Chungcheong Province health authorities. She was tested for the virus at a test center in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, earlier this week after a teammate was

Foreign Affairs March 19, 2020

The US Embassy in South Korea suspended routine visa services as part of efforts to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, the embassy said Thursday. According to the embassy, the measure is in line with the US State Department’s decision to halt nonimmigrant and immigrant services in countries with level 2, 3 or 4 travel advisories. The State Department has issued a level 4 travel advisory for virus-hit Daegu, with the rest of South Korea at level 3.  The suspension, however, does not af

Diplomatic Circuit March 19, 2020

Minster of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok is working remotely in self-quarantine after coming into contact with a COVID-19 patient, the ministry said Tuesday. Moon started working from home Monday and will do so for 14 days. He is the first Cabinet member to go into self-quarantine. “Minister Moon was notified of the self-isolation from health authorities. He plans to work remotely from his residence until March 24,” said a ministry official. Though Moon tested negative f

Social Affairs March 17, 2020

UNICEF said a fund of $840,000 is required to help North Korea respond to the coronavirus pandemic, the UN agency said in a report. North Korea has not yet reported a confirmed case of the virus nor a death associated with the disease, which many watchers outside have cast doubt on. The reclusive communist state has banned entry of travelers, tightened borders against imported goods and ramped up disinfection measure. According to the report out of $840,312 North Korea needs to navigate the

North Korea March 17, 2020

A nursing home in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province has been put into cohort isolation after a nurse’s aide tested positive for the new coronavirus, city officials said Friday. The 142 residents of the staff at Bucheon Hanna Nursing Home and 22 of its staff were put on lockdown as of Friday over concerns of the facility becoming a cluster of infection. The remainder of the nursing home’s roughly 90 staff were put into self-isolation or directed not to come to work. “The city wil

Social Affairs March 13, 2020

A 23-year-old South Korean student was punched in the face for not wearing a face mask in New York, in what appears to be a hate crime against Asians amid virus fears, reports said Friday. According to the reports, the student was entering a building in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning when she was grabbed by the hair and punched in the face. The alleged attacker reportedly attends an institution located in the same building as the victim’s language school. The attacker assaulted th

Social Affairs March 13, 2020

Robots are helping doctors treat coronavirus patients at the Seoul Medical Center, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday. There are three types of robots at the hospital: One conducts temperature checks on visitors, one sterilizes negative pressure rooms and the other transports clothes and other goods to a disposal site after use by medical staff and patients. Two robots of each model are deployed at the state-run facility, which has been designated as a COVID-19 treatment center, sa

Social Affairs March 13, 2020

North London Collegiate School Jeju said Thursday that it is offering online classes to ensure students can continue their studies amid the spread of COVID-19. NLCS Jeju, located in the Global Education City, is a British institution attended by over 1,300 students. In keeping with the Ministry of Education’s advice, the school has been closed to day students since late last month. “As soon as COVID-19 began to affect South Korea we started thinking about how best to safeguard t

Social Affairs March 12, 2020

Seoul’s election body acknowledged adult wards’ right to vote, paving the way for voters under full guardianship to cast their ballot for the first time in the April 15 parliamentary elections, the Seoul city government said Wednesday. Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center, a city-affiliated institution, said it received the Seoul City Election Commission’s authoritative interpretation of the relevant law, recognizing voting rights of some 15,000 people under legal

Politics March 11, 2020

Foreign missions here, while keeping a close watch on the coronavirus situation, are joining the South Korean government’s “social distancing” drive to contain the outbreak. Many have put public events on hold, including national day celebrations, and have authorized flexible work hours and remote work for employees. The British Embassy told The Korea Herald that it is encouraging its staff to work from home to reduce direct human contact and the potential for virus transm

Diplomatic Circuit March 10, 2020

The tentatively named People’s Party led by Ahn Cheol-soo is rising in the polls on the back of support from young and centrist voters, a survey showed Monday. The party’s approval rating came in at 4.7 percent between March 2 and March 6, up 3 percentage points from a week earlier, when it lagged behind in the 1 percent range, according to a survey by local pollster Realmeter. The hike comes amid much-publicized volunteer work by former physician Ahn and his spouse at a hospital

Politics March 10, 2020

Algerian women joined the country’s fight for independence, taking on an equal role with men on the frontlines during the 1954-1962 Algerian Revolution. Due to their significant role in this historic event, women are given relatively equal legal rights to men in Algerian society, according to the country’s Ambassador to South Korea Mohammed El Amine Derragui. “During our Liberation War everybody participated for the freedom from foreign occupation. Ladies too took part in

Diplomatic Circuit March 10, 2020

The Bulgarian Embassy in Seoul said Monday it celebrated its Liberation Day last week in a quiet manner, amid the COVID-19 outbreak. In celebration of its March 3rd National Day, the Bulgarian Embassy had initially planned a reception, which was canceled due to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus here and health experts’ advice to avoid large gatherings. Bulgaria, one of the oldest nations in Europe and the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet in the ninth century, was founded in

Diplomatic Circuit March 10, 2020

Amid government-led efforts to ramp up the production and supply of face masks, some 4.7 million have been supplied to authorized distributors nationwide, health officials said Saturday. South Korea’s Korea Food & Drug Administration said 4.5 million face masks were allocated to pharmacies and 190,000 to Nonghyup Hanaro Mart. “Masks can be purchased at drugstores nationwide, and with the exception of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province they can also be found at Hanaro Mart stores,&rdq

Social Affairs March 7, 2020