South Korea and How They Have Handled the Coronavirus Epidemic So Far - Mina Dyrsten

As a second wave of coronavirus hits countries all around the world, it's become very apparent that our worldwide battle with coronavirus isn't over yet. In the beginning, while we were officially quarantining back in the spring, I spent a lot of time watching YouTube and more specifically YouTubers who live over in South Korea. Some of them are native-born and some of them are foreigners who now call it home, but the one thing they had in common was their experiences during the COVID outbreak. One thing that I noticed in the videos was that even in busy cities like Seoul, there was barely anyone walking around. In a big, and bustling city such as Seoul, I would have expected there to still be pretty substantial crowds of people walking around. That was of course not the case though, and it was actually an unusual sight to see. 

In general, South Korea is more prepared than most countries for a pandemic situation. With the previous cases of Swine Flu and Csars in the past, South Korea has opted to have a large and fully stocked stockpile of PPE. In addition to this, Korea has its citizens wearing masks already due to poor air quality and in general respect towards others. Not only does South Korea have strict guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of COVID in the country, but also the spread of it from foreigners across the globe. To ensure the safety of the people living in Korea and people coming into the country, when you land in the airport you have to go through five separate checkpoints before you can actually leave the airport. The first checkpoint contains the initial checking of your body temperature. This includes being screened by a heat-sensor camera and having your temperature taken using a standard thermometer. After your temperature is taken, the staff there will ask you a few questions and then ask you to give them access to your phone number which must be Korean.

The second checkpoint has you download the Korean government's COVID-19 app. The app includes a tracking device and you would need to record your temperature and any symptoms twice daily. At the third checkpoint,  you hand over you passport and travel documents before a clerk confirms the app is downloaded properly. They then call the Korean number you had jotted down earlier to confirm it is an existing number and works. The last checkpoint comes before baggage claim and there, you will verify information as to where you will be staying while in Korea. If you are not staying in an actual Korean residence, you will be ordered to stay in a hotel for 2 weeks and not leave. Before you quarantine, you will be subject to a Covid-19 test which is easily accessible and free. During the two week quarantine, you will be given a small bag of essentials such as disposable masks, hand sanitizers, garbage bags, and a thermometer. Along with this, you will later be assigned a personal case agent who will be in contact with you during the duration of your stay. In terms of contact tracing, everytime there is a case near where you are staying, the app you downloaded back at the airport will ping you and alert you to exercise caution.

As you can see, just landing in Korea at the airport takes hours of questioning and surrendering of information. While it does take long though, it helps the people in Korea and people coming into Korea know that foreigners coming in will not get native-born citizens sick, and vice-versa. I personally feel that South Korea was better prepared for COVID and in the end, I think that all the procedures that need to be completed beforehand help to ensure the safety of everybody staying in Korea.