Happy New – nope. Nine days into the exciting start of the new year, I received my first message in a group chat about the coronavirus. It wasn’t a big concern then. But little did I and the rest of the world know how much havoc it would wreak globally.

Fast forward by early February Korea had already one confirmed case as well as a few other countries. I was leaving for winter vacation to visit a few cities in Australia and New Zealand soon, with a layover in Taiwan. Naturally I became really concerned. When it came time to leave Korea, I was ready with a few essentials: masks and sanitizing wipes. Many passengers on my flights were just as prepared as me.

Things changed quite a bit after I returned from vacation in late February. EPIK teachers who recently traveled to China, Japan or other Asian countries were being asked to quarantine in their homes for 14 days. The number of COVID-19 infected people were rising in Korea. My family and friends were worried about me.

I live in a rural town in the Gangwon-do province of Korea, which has a population of a little over 40,000 people. My experience may vary from someone living in the capital, Seoul, with a population of over 9 million. By late February, many people living in cities both big and small began wearing mask. Once March rolled around, I knew things wouldn’t be the same.

Personal Life

It’s been awful not being able to go to church in over a month. Primarily, I stopped attending when I returned from traveling to Australia and New Zealand. We have many elderly members, beautifully in their 90s. I didn’t want to unknowingly put anyone at risk.

A week later it was mandated to avoid large gatherings. We have our Skype bible study, but it’s not the same as sitting across from each other. I miss the smiles of the elderly 90-year-old women. I miss our communal lunches after service.

We always went somewhere interesting or did fun activities after lunch. During this pandemic, the Pastor, his wife and a missionary have been making handmade masks for church members and the community. They’ve made over 400 of them already.

Seeing them again last week on my birthday reminded me of what COVID-19 has taken away – fellowship. It felt like old times: communing together over potluck and helping each other to make masks.

A month ago if you had traveled overseas within the last two weeks, many hospital staff would of been afraid to let you see a doctor. I don’t know if that reaction was only towards foreigners.

At one hospital, it got to a point where I had to, excuse my french, respectfully bring out the Brooklyn in me to get the services I needed. I also said a prayer in my heart and eventually I was able to get the help I needed. The language barrier may have also contributed to their reluctance to welcome a foreigner seeking medical attention. The fear factor seemed much more prevalent then.

To prevent myself from getting sick I started doing the following:

• Ate more vitamin rich foods (eg. broccoli, cucumbers, spinach) and used at least two items from my ‘Rona’ Survival Kit everyday (At first just Vitamin C and Hemohim – an immune system booster. Now in addition to that, I drink soups and teas daily.
• Took walks everyday (without a mask) after work, to get fresh air and clear my mind because at some point all the constant updates and rising numbers stressed me out.
• Went to bed early. Rest in essential to staying healthy.
• Drank an extra cup of room temperature water each morning.

Daily Life

The Korean government has provided many services to inform, educate and empower civilians on what to do during this pandemic. I think they’ve helped to subside fears and call people to take action. There are many testing sites, especially in big cities where large outbreaks have occurred. 

If a person is feeling coronavirus symptoms, there’s a hotline number to call. Apps created to track infected persons enable civilians to take thoughtful care of where they travel. They are tracked by their credit card usage and mobile phones. Because lockdowns haven’t been implemented in Korea, people are still able to travel via buses and trains.

In my town, bus terminals/ schedules, supermarkets and convenient stores function as usually. Supermarkets are typically fully stocked with all the essentials, including toilet paper. Some places may close or require customers to step out for a few minutes to disinfect that location. There are restaurants that are still open for dine-in and delivery services but with schedule changes.

Some of the daily life changes include:

Almost everyone has a mask on, children alike. If you’re not wearing a mask, someone might ask you about it, look at you funny or talk about you when you leave their presence.

Hand sanitizers are everywhere for public use in hospitals, banks, near indoor ATM machines, the post office, schools, convenient stores and other public places.

The mask shortage is real but the government has a system where on certain days you can purchase two masks at a time. You can also purchase them online.

Frequent emergency alerts on your phone at least once a day. They’ll notify you of possible infected person(s) in your city or town, their whereabouts, public service announcements, and weather advisories.

COVID-19 signs are everywhere, even against the mountains along the highway.

Your temperature will be taken when you enter official government offices, especially hospitals. Hospitals also have thermal cameras to check the guests walking in for possible fevers.

Work Life

I miss my students and my classroom. It’s now a month after from the original start date of the new school year, March 2nd. In-person classes won’t start any time soon. After postponing the nation-wide public school start date three times, the Ministry of Education finally decided to start online classes on April 9th for middle and high school then a week later for elementary school.

Since March 9th EPIK teachers were asked to work from home a few day a week, to limit the number of employees in school. I’m grateful to still have a job. When we do come to school we have to wear masks. Each morning, all teachers and staff have to take their body temperature and log it in the main office. It’s reassuring to know that schools are taking careful preventative measures. Despite all the constant talk of coronavirus at work, people are happy to see each other.

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These days it seems like people in Korea believe life will get back to normal pretty soon. I think so too, but time will tell. I hope life quickly gets back to normal for everyone around the world. We are all hoping for the best. Let’s remain hopeful.