Medical workers take nose and mouth swabs, each collected in less than a minute, at a walk-in clinic at H Plus Yangji Hospital in Seoul, 14 Apr 2020. The walk-in clinic is set up like phone booths to prevent contact between patients and medical staff. Since opening this type of testing site on March 10th, the hospital has screened 2,700 patients and identified 4 confirmed cases, as of April 22nd. Test results can be returned within 4 to 6 hours.
Nurses communicate with each other via intercom at the ICU of the Seoul Medical Center, South Korea, 3 Apr 2020. They are treating Covid-19 patients in severe conditions.
Jo An-na, 35, and Seong Geum-ran, 33, put on Level-C protection at the ICU nurses' station at the National Medical Center, Seoul, 14 Apr 2020.
At the peak of South Korea's Covid-19 outbreak, the government advised against all religious gatherings. As the country's daily number of new infections stayed below a dozen, social distancing restrictions were gradually lessened. On April 23rd, just a week before Buddha's birthday, a large number of Buddhist devotees gathered at Jogyesa Temple in downtown Seoul to pray.
In order to follow social distancing rules, a megachurch in southern Seoul decided to rent a parking lot and hold "drive-in" services on Easter Sunday, 12 Apr 2020.
A teacher conducts an online class with students at Younghoon International Middle School, a private school in Seoul, 24 Apr 2020. Normally the school year in South Korea starts in March, but it was postponed multiple times due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Wary of a potential surge in infections, South Korean authorities decided to experiment with online teaching, keeping schools and classrooms empty.
Although the economy and small businesses in South Korea have taken a hit like elsewhere, there was never a complete lockdown. Songjoong Taekwondo, a studio in northern Seoul, has lost income from 100 pupils since the end of February. Still, the studio's proprietor and Taekwondo master Lee Eui-ri trains with youngsters determined to get into physical education universities. 13 Apr 2020.
An elderly woman gets tested for Covid-19 at a "walk-thru" clinic at a private hospital in Seoul, 14 Apr 2020.
A lab technician divides reagents at TCM Biosciences, a company developing COVID-19 testing kits in Pagyo, 22 Apr 2020. Aggressive testing, contact tracing, and strict quarantine measures have been key to South Korea's success in the battle against the coronavirus. Samples are analyzed using real-time PCR, and test results arrive within 4 to 6 hours.
Lab technicians package Covid-19 testing reagents into boxes at TCM Biosciences, a testing kit company in Pagyo, 22 Apr 2020.
On Wednesday, April 15th, South Korea went to the polls while the rest of the world was engulfed in the Covid-19 crisis. Voters exercised social distancing while waiting to enter a polling station. Upon entering, their body temperatures were measured, and they were required to sanitize their hands and wear disposable gloves. Including early voting on the previous weekend, almost 30 million Koreans cast their ballot, with a 66.2 percent turnout. Thanks to its fast and decisive response to the pandemic, the ruling Democratic Party earned a landslide victory. Seoul, 15 Apr 2020.
Voters sanitize their hands and pick up disposable gloves provided at a polling station in Pangyo, South Korea, 15 Apr 2020.
South Korean couple Seong Won-seok, 40, and Kim Yu-jin, 36, came to vote with their daughter, Pangyo, South Korea, 15 Apr 2020.
Following the advice from the South Korean government, public and private institutions introduced exams that adhere to social distancing. On Saturday, April 25th, the Korea Life Insurance Association and the General Insurance Association of Korea conducted a qualification exam for insurance sales agents outdoors. It was a windy day, but more than 18,000 people sat for the exam across Korea. Test takers were happy that the exams resumed after a hiatus of more than two months.
Individuals hoping to become insurance sales agents take a qualification exam outdoors, Yongin, 25 Apr 2020.
A game on the opening day of the South Korean pro baseball league between Hanhwa Eagles and SK Wyverns took place without spectators, Incheon, 5 May 2020. In South Korean baseball culture, fan-favorite players dedicate theme songs and dances that are performed by cheerleaders throughout games. To engage with fans, who were not allowed into the stadium, the Wyverns live-streamed their cheerleaders' performance.
A worker dressed as the Genie from Disney's Aladdin searches for a foul ball in an empty Munhak Baseball Stadium in Incheon, South Korea. The foul balls are collected for the fans who joined the cheerleading session that was live-streamed online.
Doctors counsel patients, including some milder cases isolating in their own homes, over the phone at the Covid-19 response work station at the Seoul Medical Center, South Korea, 28 Apr 2020. The SMC has been one of many designated "Covid-19-only" hospitals across Korea since March.
A senior nurse draws a heart on the back of Level-D suit to cheer up another nurse beginning her two-hour shift at an isolation ward at the Seoul Medical Center, South Korea, 16 Apr 2020.
A nurse puts on Level-D protection before entering an isolation ward for her two-hour shift at the Seoul Medical Center, South Korea, 16 Apr 2020.
Locals line up to get their photos taken in front of a tulip field at Seoul Forest Park on Sunday, 26 Apr 2020.
A couple walks by a busy cafe in Seongsu, one of Seoul's hipster districts, Sunday, 26 Apr 2020. Social distancing restrictions have been loosened, and life seems to be getting back to normal. Mask wearing and frequent hand washing have become the new norms.
A Korean BBQ street in central Seoul is teeming with visitors on Sunday, 10 May 2020. The South Korean government ended social distancing restrictions on May 6th.
Even while eating, nurses at the Seoul Medical Center rarely take their eyes off the isolation ward's monitors, South Korea, 3 Apr 2020. They treat symptomatic, but mild cases.
Nurse Jang Ga-young communicates with a patient inside the ICU at the National Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea, 14 Apr 2020.
Individuals arriving from overseas get mandatory testing for Covid-19 at Enpyeong District Health Center in northern Seoul, South Korea, 2 May 2020. These community health centers have been the very frontline of Covid-19 testing and detection in South Korea’s battle against the coronavirus.
South Korea’s Covid-19 Response
On January 20, 2020, both South Korea and the U.S. had their first confirmed COVID-19 patient. South Korea then became one of the first countries after China to be hit by a surge of cases. Nearly one year on, COVID-19 has exploded around the world. In South Korea, a country with a population of 51.6 million, however, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases remains just below 95,000 and the death toll stands at 1,645 (as of March 9, 2021).
Since the start of the pandemic, South Korea has faced at least three significant surges of COVID cases but each time succeeded in flattening the curve without going into a lockdown. Its borders have generally also remained open. Compared to many other places, life has continued with a semblance of normality, albeit precariously.
South Korea’s relative success can be explained by its aggressive strategy, implemented swiftly due to lessons learned during and laws enacted after the 2015 MERS outbreak: early and extensive testing, track & tracing, mask wearing, social distancing and a rigidly monitored 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the country from abroad.
South Korea’s COVID numbers are the result of a collective effort by an accountable leadership and citizens, who sacrificed their freedom and livelihoods for the common good and wellbeing of everyone. These efforts show that, if individuals work together and follow proper measures, it is possible to adjust to the reality of living with COVID.
