A soldier is checked for a fever at the Army’s Special Warfare Command in Seoul on June 16, 2015, before he participates in a field training exercise, as a precaution against the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). As of that day, South Korea had confirmed four additional cases of the viral respiratory illness with three more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 154 with 19 deaths. (Yonhap)
A South Korean Army chaplain offers a prayer to an injured solider as he takes part in a field training exercise for South Korean and U.S. military chaplains at the Army’s Special Warfare Command in Seoul on June 16, 2015. (Yonhap)
Health officials spray disinfectant solution in a bus in Seoul’s Seongdong Ward on June 15, 2015, as a precaution against the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). South Korea reported one more death from MERS on the day, along with five new cases that brought the total number of people diagnosed with the disease here to 150. The latest fatality raised the number of MERS-related deaths in South Korea to 16. (Yonhap)
New U.S. Pacific Command head Adm. Harry Harris (L, front) and South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Choi Yun-hee (R, front) place a wreath in front of the wreckage of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek on South Korea’s west coast on June 10, 2015, as they pay tribute to the 46 South Korean sailors killed in the sinking of the country’s warship in 2010 by North Korea. (Yonhap)
A South Korean couple’s special day has become an unexpected symbol of the country’s MERS health scare, after a joke wedding photo with their guests wearing surgical face masks went viral.
The picture that flooded South Korean social networking sites showed the young couple formally posing with dozens of family and friends — with nearly everyone’s face obscured by the white masks.
It was taken at their wedding in Seoul on Saturday, as the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) gathered pace.
As of Tuesday, nearly 100 people had been infected by the virus, of whom seven have died.
“This is so scary and sad,” one Facebook user commented on the photo which was apparently taken by a guest.
But the couple’s wedding planner said the picture was not meant to be taken seriously and added that the couple — currently on honeymoon — had been taken aback by the publicity.
The wedding was held “normally” in Seoul, the planner, Hwang Myung-Hwan, told AFP.
“They had already taken normal group photos without masks when they decided to do something fun,” he said. [AFP]
Members of South Korea’s first underwater maritime police unit are shown in the photo provided by the Korea Coast Guard Academy on June 5, 2015. The unit’s mission is to investigate marine incidents, including ship collisions and sinkings, by securing evidence that is underwater. (Yonhap)
Members of South Korea’s two umbrella trade unions rally over minimum wages in front of the government complex in Seoul on June 4, 2015. The unions are demanding that the government raise the per-hour minimum wage from 5,580 won (US$5.01) to 10,000 won. (Yonhap)
A group of South Korean cultural heritage officials and historians take the first shovelfuls of dirt during a ceremony held in the North Korean border town of Kaesong on June 4, 2015, to mark the start of this year’s inter-Korean joint excavation of the site of Manwoldae, a Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) palace, in the city. The project will continue for six months until Nov. 30. (Yonhap)
A camel is kept in quarantine at a zoo in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on June 2, 2015, as the zoo decided to have its camels tested to see whether they are infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). South Korea reported its first two deaths from the virus, with the total number of confirmed local MERS patients increased to 25 as of that day. (Yonhap)
Actor Won Bin and actress Lee Na-young are pictured during their wedding ceremony at a trail in a wheat field in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, on May 30, 2015, in this photo released on May 31 by their agency, Eden9 Entertainment Co. Only select family members and close friends were invited to the wedding. (Yonhap)
