Combat ship of the year This photo, provided by the Navy on Dec. 6, 2021, shows crewmembers posing for a photo aboard their 2,500-ton frigate, Jeonbuk, in celebration of the ship’s selection as the Best Gunnery Combat Ship of the Year. (Yonhap)
S. Korea’s fight against pandemic A medical worker, wearing protective gear, moves out boxes filled with infectious medical waste at Bagae Hospital, a medical facility only for patients infected with the new coronavirus, in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Dec. 6, 2021. South Korea’s new coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 for the first time in three days as the country reimposed toughened social distancing rules amid concerns over the spread of the omicron variant. (Yonhap)
S. Korea tightens vaccine pass rulesMoviegoers have snacks in a cinema lobby in Seoul on Dec. 5, 2021, one day before the government implements a strengthened vaccine pass rule that will require visitors to theaters, libraries, private institutes and other venues to provide a vaccination certificate or a negative test result. (Yonhap)
New ferry on sea route suspended since 2014 Sewol disaster The Beyond Trust ferry arrives at the Port of Incheon, west of Seoul, on Dec. 1, 2021. The new ferry will go into operation on Dec. 10 on a sea route linking Incheon to South Korea’s largest island of Jeju, which has been suspended since the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking. (Yonhap)
Self-driving contest Autonomous driving vehicles built by university students run on a road at an annual self-driving competition hosted by Hyundai Motor Group in Seoul on Nov. 29, 2021. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
BTS fans crowd merchandise shopFans of K-pop supergroup BTS crowd an official merchandise shop in front of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Nov. 25, 2021, ahead of its concert there. (Yonhap)
Thanksgiving Day at U.S. baseMaj. Gen. Dave Lesperance, commander of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, encourages soldiers at the mess of Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, on Nov. 25, 2021, on Thanksgiving Day. (Yonhap)
Critical COVID-19 patients on surge Medical workers in full protective gear care for COVID-19 patients at an intensive care unit of a COVID-only hospital in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 23, 2021. The operating ratio of beds for critical patients in the metropolitan areas had reached 83.3 percent as of 5 p.m. the previous day, an all-time high. (Yonhap)
Marathoners run along fortified DMZ Marathoners in Paju, northwest of Seoul, run along the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, on Nov. 21, 2021, after the annual marathon event was allowed to resume in the wake of the country’s “living with COVID-19” scheme. (Yonhap)
