Category: Korea-General Topics

It took a while to get going, but once the infrastructure was in place South Korea has made quick gains getting their population the COVID vaccine:

Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, the health authority said Tuesday.

A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 77.4 percent of the country’s 51.3 million population or 90 percent of those aged over 18, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The number of fully vaccinated people stood at 27.2 million, or 53 percent of the total or 61.6 percent of the adult population, the KDCA said. 

Health authorities expressed optimism that the country will be able to fully inoculate over 70 percent of the population by the end of October thanks to people’s willingness to get vaccinations and smooth vaccine supplies

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Korean left is going to be triggered by this news:

A history museum in memory of former President Park Chung-hee will be formally opened in the southeastern city of Gumi this week, the municipal government said Monday.

The President Park Chung Hee History Museum featuring nearly 5,700 pieces of relics left behind by the former leader will be opened to the public on Tuesday, according to the municipality of Gumi, 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The museum built near the late Park’s birthplace in the city will display or store 5,649 pieces of relics commissioned by the Park Chung-hee Memorial Association in 2004, it said. The opening ceremony is slated for 11 a.m. and there will be no other celebratory events in consideration of COVID-19, it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This makes sense that there would be a rise in breakthrough infections considering how many more people in South Korea continue to get vaccinated. Plus most of the breakthroughs are from the Johnson & Johnson one shot vaccine that has a lower efficacy rate than its mRNA counterparts:

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Thursday that more than 5,000 COVID-19 breakthrough infections, mostly among young men who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, have been detected as of Sept. 12. 

According to the KDCA, 5,880 people tested positive for COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated with the one-shot vaccine.

This means 40.2 people per 100,000 fully vaccinated patients have been subject to breakthrough infections. By age group, people in their 30s made up the largest ratio, of up to 110.1 per 100,000. (……)

From Aug. 29 to Sept. 11, 10.2 percent of new cases, or 20,895, were believed to be breakthrough infections.

By vaccine type, people getting Janssen shots made up the largest portion, with 161.2 out of 100,000 testing positive, followed by 33.5 people receiving Pfizer jabs, 27.6 receiving AstraZeneca and 24.2 receiving Moderna.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

South Korea has a waste crisis, but NIMBYism is causing new landfills and incinerators from being constructed:

The ministry is planning to announce statistics for 2020 in December, and the figure is expected to have surged further, as people stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic have come to depend more on online shopping for food and daily necessities, resulting in their production of more waste from packaging and other disposable materials. 

Once waste is produced, there are only two ways to dispose of it ― in a landfill or by incineration. This has inevitably raised the need to create additional landfills or build more incineration plants.

But it has been difficult for the authorities to find eligible sites, because local residents fiercely oppose the siting of such facilities in their regions. 

Suwon City in Gyeonggi Province has been facing protests from residents in Yeongtong District due to its plan to renovate an incineration facility there. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is a needed public service that no ones wants in their backyard.

Here is the latest on Korea’s vaccination efforts:

Debate is arising over the government’s plan to allow COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 12 to 17 starting next month. 

Some parents say the inoculations will ensure their children’s safety and allow them to be more active, while others say they are concerned about potential side effects

The health authorities said, Monday, they plan to start offering vaccinations for children in that age group in the fourth quarter and will announce details within this month after consulting with the education ministry.

They are considering providing the Pfizer vaccine as recommended by the Korea Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, adding the vaccine has been proven safe for use for the age group in various countries including Japan and the United States.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is another example NIMBYism is South Korea:

A conflict is deepening over the construction of a two-story mosque in a residential district of Daegu, the nation’s third-largest city located in the southeastern region of the country. 

Some residents, worried that the mosque would lead to stronger Islamic influence in the area, have been strongly opposing the construction, whereas the Islamic community and civic groups supporting it believe the mosque should be built to guarantee the freedom of religion.

The construction of the place of worship in Daehyeon-dong, Buk District, was launched in December 2020 by the local Islamic community, mainly consisting of international students studying at Kyungpook National University in Daegu. They received a construction permit from the local district office in September of that year. 

But it was met with heavy backlash among some residents and members of conservative Protestant groups in the area. They staged rallies in front of the construction site and filed multiple petitions with the district office calling for a halt to the construction, citing loud noise and infringement of property rights. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is a bit surprising how slow the roll out for the vaccine has been in South Korea:

South Korea’s daily coronavirus cases dropped under 1,800 on Sunday as health authorities try to stem virus infections ahead of a major holiday amid persistent infections in the greater Seoul area. 

The number of fully vaccinated people surpassed the 20 million mark, representing 39 percent of the population, with a nationwide effort to boost vaccination rates.

Yonhap

Meanwhile in Japan despite their initial slow start, they have reached a 50% vaccination rate:

Japan’s government says more than 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Japan’s vaccine rollouts began in mid-February, months behind many wealthy countries due to its lengthy clinical testing requirement and approval process. Inoculations for elderly patients, which started in April, were also slowed by supply shortages of imported vaccines, but the pace picked up in late May and has since achieved 1 million doses per day.

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of COVID-19 measures, told NHK public television’s weekly talk show Sunday that about 60% of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated by the end of September, on par with current levels in Europe.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the links.

These fake news laws are slippery slope because who defines what is fake news?:

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, executives and journalists dedicated to the protection and promotion of media freedom, has called for the withdrawal of a bill being pushed by the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to punish media outlets producing alleged “fake news,” noting that many such laws are promulgated in “authoritarian countries.” 

“In recent years, there has been a rapid growth of so-called fake news laws around the world. Many of these laws have been passed in authoritarian countries,” Scott Griffen, deputy director of the IPI, said in a recent email interview with The Korea Times.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is kind of basic medicine to make sure doses of vaccines are not expired which these people screwed up:

Over 100 people were given Pfizer vaccines that had passed their recommended usage dates at a general hospital in Gyeonggi Province last week, health officials said Sunday.

Pyeongtaek St. Mary’s Hospital in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, gave Pfizer vaccines to a total of 104 people on Thursday and Friday that exceeded their expiration date of Wednesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 

The latest incident comes after one hospital in Seoul and another in the southeastern city of Ulsan gave Pfizer vaccine doses nearing their expiration dates or exceeding them to over 230 people last week.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but hopefully these people are not physically harmed by this.