COVID-19 Diaries: Daegu, South Korea, 167 Days In

Ariel Soon from the United States was living alone in Daegu when it became the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea. Now that 78 days have passed since then, we asked her what’s changed. 

Q: Hi Ariel, welcome back! What’s happened since the last time we spoke? How’s Daegu and how are you? 

A: Daegu is doing a lot better now. Korea is slowly easing its social distancing rules, although even at the beginning, I always went out to get food, so it really hasn’t affected my daily living. I live alone and don’t know anybody here, so it’s been easy for me to practice social distancing. 

What are the numbers of COVID-19 infected, recovered and demised in Daegu right now? I know in mid-April there were zero new cases reported there for the first time. Have there been more new cases since then?  

I would read online the daily count every day, but they haven’t been reporting the cases in Daegu on a daily basis anymore. I guess because it’s not as newsworthy. Yes, there have been only 2 or 3 cases, if any, per day lately.

What’s open and what’s closed in Daegu these days? Have you gone out to work yet?

I have been working remotely. There were always some convenience stores, shops and restaurants open during the outbreak, but now, almost all of the businesses have reopened.  The schools here are still closed, but they are slowly going to allow students to return to school in phases. Banks and government offices are open, but I tried to go to the local library the other day, and since I don’t know any Korean, I don’t know if it was open or not. There was someone standing in front of one of the many entrances (it’s a huge building) and she told me something in Korean. I didn’t think it was enough to make a fuss about, so I just left.

Is mask-wearing mandatory? And are people still encouraged to stay home? 

Yes. They won’t let you inside the store if you are not wearing a mask. There are signs everywhere. I thought it was so funny that even when the daily cases went down to zero in Daegu, everyone here was still wearing masks.  If this was America, everyone would just fling their masks aside by now, but Koreans are extra cautious. They are afraid of the second wave and are really vigilant about it.  That’s why some people still stay at home.

How do you think South Korea managed to get the outbreak in Daegu under control? What helped most? 

From my observations—I hope I don’t offend anyone by saying this—South Korea is a relatively small, homogeneous country. This makes managing a pandemic easier, I guess, when everybody carries similar views and will comply with the rules for the greater good. It’s also easier to trace and track down those that infected people have come into contact with. The privacy issues that exist in America don’t really exist here, so it’s easy to send texts and call them because that information is readily available. There was a small outbreak reported this past week all the way in Seoul. It seems to have started at a nightclub neighbourhood and everybody freaked out about it, but they were able to use credit card transaction details and cell phone data from the cell towers in the area at that specific time to track down the people who could have been potentially infected. Luckily, as of now, it doesn’t seem that the outbreak is as big as they feared.  I’m hoping that is the case.  

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Now that there’s been a new outbreak in Seoul in recent days, how do you think things will change again in South Korea? Do you think they will be able to get the second wave of outbreaks under control again?  

I hope so! That’s the thing about Korea. They have never let their guard down this whole time. They have been continuing to wear masks and provide hand sanitizers everywhere. This is all from my limited observation, of course, and I am sure there have been a lot of group gatherings here, but this is just from what I’ve seen by walking down the street. 

You’re from U.S. so what are your thoughts on the situation there in comparison to the situation in South Korea?  

Obviously, S. Korea’s handling it much better than the U.S.. A note for back home: Now is not the time to be fighting about individual rights. We are all in this together.

What advice do you have for those in the U.S. after what you’ve seen and been through in Daegu?  

Wear a mask.

Is there anything South Korea can learn from the U.S. response to COVID-19, you think?

What not to do.

Lastly, what do you miss most about life before this pandemic? 

I know how fortunate I am, given all those who are suffering out there during this time, but the reason why I moved over here was to explore and travel. I wish I had more opportunity to do that, but I know that there are more important things to be concerned about right now.

Ariel intends to continue living in South Korea. You can read more of her thoughts on living through a pandemic at her blog, woundedcat.wordpress.com, or ask her about the situation in South Korea using the comment box below. 

Follow the latest in our COVID-19 Diaries series here.

If you’re in a country that has been affected by the novel coronavirus and would like to share information about the situation where you’re at, do get in touch with us here.

Other interviews with Ariel:
COVID-19 Diaries: The Situation In Daegu, South Korea, 89 Days In

Photographs courtesy and copyright of Ariel Soon. Interviewer: Sy
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