In full confinement,
the series that turns to others.
How did South Korea, the second-largest outbreak of the pandemic after China, manage the coronavirus crisis Without even containment ? « If we thought at first that the method might be a little exaggerated, I think we can say today that it was the most appropriate strategy« . These two new testimonies plunge us behind the scenes of a country that has been One of the most effective in the world against the pandemic.
Yana and Maxime live for 3 years in South Korea. Maxime works there for the French embassy, it's his job that led them to expatriate. Through their testimonies, they share with us a amazing reality which opposes everything we have been able to share with you until then. But beyond that, alert about cases of reinfection and anxiety – see guilt – that Yana and Maxime feel about our situation in France, they tell us about important reflection about the future.
What you will find in this article:
→ The testimony of Yana & Maxime, who take us time for an article in their country, South Korea.
→ The way we met them.
→ Links to other testimonials of the series « *Based on true stories », when almost every day these appear :
> Pavel, Russia | Asanka, Sri Lanka | Tseegii & Zaya, Mongolia | Geoffrey, Japan | Biplav & Dipesh, Nepal
« We would so much like to observe a real post-coronavirus change in ways of living, consuming and even traveling in order to learn a real lesson from the current situation. »
Where
It all started.
We met Yana and Maxime not in Korea but at the Japan. Thanks to social networks, they realized that our trips would take us in the same place, at the same time (and even in the same game of the Rugby World Cup!*). So here we are: a few messages exchanged later we met one night around a table in the heart of Kumamoto, eating sushi, talk about everything and nothing between (ex) unknown. The next day, we were going together to support the French team: we remember Yana's and Maxime's coach, when after our Asahi shared in a parking lot and several songs in the car, they were offered to realize with us a #SLAchallenge Symbolic in front of Kumamoto stadium. Several other French supporters had joined us and so it was that with about fifteen people we did not know, we realized the last #SLAchallenge of this first part of the adventure (we returned for a while to France just after).
We enjoyed these few moments with them. Now that our paths have separated again, we each continue to follow the adventures of the other two through social networks: day after day, we discover a little more life in South Korea through Yana and Maxime.
* France – Tonga, qualifying for the Rugby World Cup quarter finals, October 06, 2019, Kumamoto, Japan.
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→ Maxime, what is the situation in South Korea?
« Due to its geographical and economic proximity to China, Korea quickly became the second source of contaminationin February. Today, the country has about 10,700 cases and 240 deaths, thanks to the winning strategy of the government. There have been fewer than 20 new daily cases in 2 weeks, much less than the number of people leaving the hospital. »
→ What was the Korean government's strategy?
« The Korean government, thanks to its experience of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015, was prepared for such an epidemic.. They set in motion a strategy to massive screening of the population (any person with symptoms can be tested free of charge, and everyone can be tested, even without symptoms, for less than 200 euros). Screening is fast, 6 hours on average. The test can be done from your car, driving through the roads to avoid contamination in the hospital. More than 15,000 people can be tested daily.
The second component of the government's strategy is tracing : if a person is tested positive, the government tracks his/her travels over the last 2 weeks, thanks to his personal data (portable telephone, public transport, credit card, video surveillance cameras, etc.) to inform people about their journeys and places visited, and thus potentially identify new cases. The Government also regularly disinfects all public places and urges private entities to do the same. Yana was urgently forced to leave a shopping mall for disinfection, for example, as the government had informed that a contaminated person had been there.
In other words, no containment, but always a recommendation to keep a social distance. To this end, the resumption of courses was delayed in early April and most public places (libraries, museums) were closed. The government encouraged private entertainment venues (cinemas, gyms) to do the same.
Finally, while most countries had closed their doors to travellers from South Korea when the virus appeared in the country in February, Korea still refused to do the same. Faced with the reversal of the situation (more cases outside the country than within), Anyone entering the territory is now screened, and quarantined at the airport for the result. If positive, the person should remain in isolation for 14 days. »
→ Has the coronavirus pandemic changed much your daily life?
« It doesn't necessarily change our daily lives. You stay at home a little more often, either because you can't go to the gym or the cinema, or to respect the rules of social distancing. Most street festivals are cancelled, which is a shame in times of cherry blossoms, but totally understandable. In the end, it didn't stop us from leaving for a week on a road trip in the south of the country since thatThere's never been any containment in Korea. »
→ How does your country live the situation? Do people follow instructions?
« It was a little panic at first, the streets were deserted. But the fact that we are not confined obviously makes things simpler. Koreans often wear masks and naturally keep a distanceSo it's not very complicated for them to respect the rules. »
→ Does this scare you? How do you envisage the next one?
« The situation is more worrying for our families and friends in France than for ourselves in Korea. The health system is modern and safe. The government has put in place a effective strategy, and we have Full confidence. We are not questioning our expatriation in the country at all. We are luckyNow the situation is not only stable, but improving.
Today the parliamentary elections have been held almost normally (with health measures anyway) and Korea is recognised by the majority of countries. as an example in crisis management : they call it the 3T+P strategy: testing, tracing, processing and participation of the population (respect of rules, wearing mask, etc.).
Our greatest concern is for France: We hope it will evolve... You know, I work at the embassy, so we work for France and Korea to cooperate in crisis management. France is being supplied with test kits, medicines, from Korea. »
Maxime wanted to add a few words to her testimony and warns about something we don't hear much about here in France: cases of re-infection with Coronavirus.
« My sister had all the symptoms, but couldn't get tested in France. She's cured (at home)... Before you get the symptoms again! She didn't understand and her doctor either. We need to know that in Korea We're starting to have a lot of reinfection cases.... It was rather strange and quite scary I have to admit, having to pass on information about it to my sister's doctor in France. »
Additional testimony from YANA
« In Korea we didn't have to live rushes on toilet paper or pasta, but rather on protective masks! It was very difficult to find them at the beginning of the spread, so the government regulated purchases, two per person. Everyone had to pick them up at a designated pharmacy, at an agreed niche (which did not help avoid long tails!).
As the local policy was disinfection at all goes, I was evacuated a little in the rush of a mall where a "contaminate" had gone shopping a little earlier before being tested positive. Some ads had probably been made in Korean but I wasn't listening more than that and I was able to react only by seeing people start running everywhere! The exits from the mall had been blocked before I could get out. A little panicked, I was finally able to find a way out and ran into A dozen cameras and journalists with the impression of having escaped a zombie.
What I experienced on that day clearly illustrates how Koreans have taken this virus seriously. In the night the mall was disinfected and it reopened the next day. If we thought at first that the method might be a little exaggerated, I think we can say today that it was the most appropriate strategy.
South Korea was very quickly the second most common infection after China, our cases rose very quickly but the Government was also quick to respond. As a result, we never had any real concern for ourselves... We only obeyed the government's recommendations and avoided going out in the midst of a crisis.. Unfortunately, after a few weeks Europe has been affected and there we discovered another type of anxiety: our families are in France and Bulgaria and some of our relatives are at risk. It's hard for us to continue to live normally by being anxious to see one of our loved ones get seriously ill when we don't have the opportunity to join them or help them in any way, not even by sending masks by post because Korea considers that there is a risk of drifting into traffic and has banned the sending of masks abroad.
When I see how much France seems outdated I am even more afraid for my grandparents in Bulgaria. I asked them to lock up and not take the situation lightly. So we live a little hanging on our phones and we curse the time lag pretty much. (+8h), I think our families can't read the messages where they are told to pay attention. Skype aperos with friends are nice but they don't reassure us at all about managing the crisis in France.
It's very paradoxical to feel both lucky, worried and almost guilty of being in Seoul, while the people we love do not yet see the end of the crisis. Falling into psychosis by watching the numbers every day and trying to psychologically accompany family and friends is quite easy. We are trying today to untie it by keeping in mind that for the moment we are lucky to have no serious cases in our surroundings.
So we chose not to plunge into anguish and instead continue to travel to discover Korea, always respecting the rules of social distance, and to share even more photos of our little getaways to try to change the ideas of the people we love on Instagram*. It is assumed that confinement begins to weigh heavy, but on the other hand, we observe in front line some of the beneficial effects of this whole situation... Seoul is a very polluted city, especially in the spring, but this year we have much more beautiful clear days than previous years ; we've all read articles about the return of animals that take back their rights over nature…
It's easy for us to say that, since finally despite a bad start, we were not severely affected by the virus in Korea, But we would like to see a real post-coronavirus change in ways of living, consuming and even traveling in order to learn a real lesson from the current situation. »
* If you want to travel a bit from South Korea or follow their new adventures in Canada, here are the Instagram accounts for Yana and Maxime.
Listen, learn, share, relativize.
Go away.
These testimonies belong to Yana & Maxime and they alone cannot be judged. For every person in the world and for every country the situation is different. It is not a question of imposing ideas here, but of share opinions, realities and Ways to Think.
In a time when we all face ourselves this series is made to open up to others : listen, learn, share, relativize... and open the mind. Finally, do what the trip offers us the opportunity to escape while enriching one another.
What's next?
The follow-up takes place in China, Nepal, Japan, Sri Lanka, in Mongolia, Vietnam, Russia. Every day or almost, a new testimony will appear here, « *Based on true stories« .
Until tomorrow, you can escape with the other stories we have to tell you.
Don't hesitate to share your feelings, your own situation, your thoughts, your questions in commenting on this article. We always answerAnd we can even ask Yana and Maxime your questions.
