MY LIFE IN KOREA WITH COVID-19

My friend Pauline, who is blogging on Étoile Verte blog and the podcast channel Ma Vie en Corée, suggested a testimony about our life experience as an expatriate in South Korea since the start of the pandemic crisis of Covid-19. This event taking place at the end of my one-year stay as part of my WHV, I was able to experience the situation both in Korea and in France. Good reading !

I remember very well when it all started, on 24th January ! For a good reason, it was my 30th birthday ! Happy Birthday ! At first, I did not felt to much concern about it since the virus was only in China. Everyone was talking about it, at work, the friends, in the news …

The first weekend, I freaked out before going to work. At that time, I worked in an American bar in Itaewon. As the days passed and the number of infected people was not growing so much in Korea, I kept going out as before. I only put on a mask when I was taking public transportation. Some Korean friends advised me not to go out unnecessarily. Everyone was careful. After a while, we thought we were safe.

Around 20th of February, after coming back from a trip to Jeonju, everything get worse. With the famous patient 31 (the big spreader) who infected a lot of people, the fear came back and everything became “chaotic”.

Me who wanted to enjoy nicely my last month of WHV in Korea by exploring the country, by seeing my friends or going to new restaurants, cafes and museums, I had to stay at my house, stuck, with the fear of going out, with friends meetings canceled or done at home. It wasn’t the last ideal month I imagined myself spending. My biggest fear was that my return flight would be canceled or I would fall ill before taking it with no possibility to board. In the end, everything went well !

Souvenir of a birthday surprise celebration in February 2020 at the Korean Folk Village of Yongin

What I remember is the shortage of masks at the end of February and their prices increasing. In my few outings in town, I could see deserted streets. The most striking example being the tourist district of Insa-dong! No tourists, just a few Koreans. However, I felt safe in Korea and found the government to be quite responsive. I was sad for the small shops and guesthouses victims of lack of customers. My French roommate had to resign from her cleaning position in a guesthouse because no customers were coming. My last culinary month was under the sign of home deliveries !

When time came for me to reach Incheon airport, I was surprised by the lack of security, nobody checked my temperature. The airport was almost empty. On the plane, the stewardess and almost 100% of the travelers was wearing a mask. The plane being half full, I had three seats for myself.

Arrived in France, nothing ! Nobody is checking you, we don’t ask you anything, we don’t tell you if you should be on quarantined. The only thing you have to do is to fill a paper, handed over during the flight, where you have to write your contact details and if you have traveled before.

Since my return I am shocked by the lack of reactivity of the French government and the way this crisis is deal. Just like the French in general who, sick, keep going on taking public transport and are spitting on you without even wearing a mask or coughing in their elbow. Government advised people returning from risk areas (China, South Korea, Italy, etc.) to quarantine themselves. Some of my relatives who found it out started canceling appointments and no longer wanted to see me. I must admit that I was shocked and disappointed about this attitude as if I was infectious.

Right now, I’m not sick and I’m doing everything to stay healthy. When I go out, I wear a mask. Because of the tv news, some believe Korea is a virus nest and have negative comments against the country. I am very upset about this lack of information when we know that South Korea is the first country in the world to do large-scale detection for the virus. Their mortality rate is low compared to France and Italy which for their part have decided to detect only the most serious cases. Let’s add the quality of hospital service in Korea compared to France who has decrepit equipment and lack of staff. If I had fallen ill, I would have preferred to be ill in Korea.

I can tell anyone who wants to travel to Korea not to be afraid and just go. You will feel safer there. The only downside is that the museums are closed and all gatherings (festivals, concerts, shows, etc.) are prohibited.

I would like France being able to follow Korea’s example.

Since this writing, France has been quarantined for more than a month now. My travel plans are currently on hold (I had to go see my pregnant friend in La Reunion Island at the end of March).

I do not complain about my quarantine since I decided to spend it with my family at my sister’s place in Brittany countryside. I still can see some French people hesitating about wearing a mask and respecting the health prevention measures (in my opinion not sufficient) that the government has put in place.

With this global pandemic, I see the differences with countries with fair and preventive democracy. South Korea, Germany and Sweden have managed to keep their health system at a good level with a non necessary strict quarantine, compared to France, Italy or the USA where the health system has been downgraded due to budgetary restrictions and where the mortality rate is very high.

Today, I would like to get out of this crisis as quickly as possible and hope it will bring a breathe of positive impact on humanity by redirecting future motivations towards a more human and more ecological responsibility.