Category: Seoul

It looks like the Korean government in addition to using libel laws, will now sue the organizers of anti-government rallies:

The Seoul city government said Friday it plans to file a 4.6 billion-won (US$3.9 million) compensation suit against a pastor blamed for worsening the new coronavirus outbreak here by holding mass rallies in central Seoul.

Despite warnings against holding mass rallies, Jun Kwang-hoon, who pastors Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul, is suspected of leading anti-government protests in central Seoul in mid-August that thousands of people attended. Jun, himself, later tested positive.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is an interesting idea for an affordable single family home in Seoul:

Thirty three square meters of land doesn’t seem big enough to build a house on. But architect and educator Choi Min-wook designed a five-story residential building for himself, his wife and their cat on a tiny plot of land in the heart of Seoul.

The couple settled there in March last year. 

This year, their house won the best architecture award conferred by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. (…….)

Each of the house’s five floors were conceptualized to have a unique purpose: The first floor for parking, the second floor for reading, the third floor for cooking and dining, the fourth floor for sleeping and the fifth for bathing.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the house cost 300 million won to construct.

This is probably going to be a new normal for schools this year in Korea, opening and closing depending on coronavirus levels:

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday said all schools in Seoul and its adjacent cities will resume in-person classes next week as the spread of the new coronavirus has slowed down recently.

The move, which will be enforced until Oct. 11, was made to keep with the relaxed social distancing guidelines announced Sunday amid a recent drop in new coronavirus cases and deepening economic difficulties.

High school seniors will also switch to a hybrid approach of remote and in-person learning from Monday, as they are wrapping up the normal academic schedule and seriously gearing up for the national university entrance exam slated for December. Schools are allowed to decide what form of instruction they will offer for high school seniors, the ministry said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like small business owners are about to get some relief from the coronavirus restrictions:

South Korea will relax business restrictions on eateries, franchise coffee chains and other facilities in the wider Seoul area, as the country decided Sunday to ease tougher anti-virus curbs in the region for the next two weeks.

The country decided not to extend the so-called Level 2.5 social distancing scheme, set to end at midnight, in the densely populated capital area, as the stricter curbs have been effective in slowing new virus cases, according to health authorities.

Starting Monday, the Seoul metropolitan area will be placed back under the Level 2 rules in the three-tier system, on a par with the nationwide alert level, until Sept. 27.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Well someone in the Seoul region is going to have to be host to a huge landfill since Incheon no longer wants to supply the land:

A waste disposal crisis is looming large in the Seoul metropolitan area for 2025 as Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province struggle to find alternative landfill sites that can replace the current one, according to environmental engineering experts.

In 2015, Seoul and Incheon cities, Gyeonggi Province and the Ministry of Environment set out to find a site to replace the current Sudokwon Landfill Site (SLS) which many claim is the world’s largest.

Opened in 1992, it receives an average of 12,000 tons of garbage daily, mostly home- and construction-related waste from Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province where half the country’s population lives. Years of meetings have been fruitless and a look into these reveals the complexity of waste management issues in Korea and conflicts of interest.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but authorities are considering holding a contest to see who wants the landfill in their city.

I wonder if this will be the new normal for Seoul? Not too long ago Seoul reported only 3 local virus cases:

 South Korea’s new virus cases stayed below 200 for the seventh consecutive day Wednesday, but health authorities are still on guard against sporadic cluster infections across the nation.

The country added 156 more COVID-19 cases, including 144 local infections, raising the total caseload to 21,588, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It marked an increase from 136 new cases Thursday, which also slightly rose from 119 cases added the previous day, the fewest in 24 days.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if this is the new normal of community virus spread in the Seoul area, it will be interesting to see how long the government can keep people locked down.

Here is the latest restrictions on people in Seoul:

The Seoul metropolitan government on Tuesday restricted access to crowded areas of Han River parks starting at 2 p.m. to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

The affected areas are two squares at Yeouido Han River Park, parts of Ttukseom Park and two picnic zones at Banpo Han River Park.

Across the Han River parks, 28 stores and seven cafes will end at 9 p.m. every day. Forty-three parking lots at 11 Han River parks will also deny entry from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Virtual learning for most students in the Seoul metro area will continue until at September 20th:

The Ministry of Education said on Friday that schools in Seoul and its surrounding cities will remain online-only until Sept. 20, in accordance with the government’s decision to extend stricter social distancing rules in the area.

The measure will apply to all kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in the metropolitan area — Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. But high school seniors are not subject to the policy in order to prepare for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), the yearly national university entrance exam slated for Dec. 3. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

No relief for Seoul’s small business owners who have at least another week of being shutdown ahead of them:

South Korea on Friday decided to extend tougher anti-virus curbs on restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops in the greater Seoul area for another week, as sporadic cluster infections and untraceable cases are still popping up in the densely populated area.

Since Sunday, the country began limiting operations of restaurants, bakeries and franchise coffee chains in the Seoul metropolitan area under the so-called Level 2.5 social distancing guidelines, while implementing the Level 2 measures across the country since mid-August.

The toughened distancing in daily lives for the capital area, originally set to end Sunday, will be maintained until Sept. 13. The Level 2 measures in place across the country will also be extended by two weeks until Sept. 20, according to health authorities.

“In order to regain our control over the spread of the virus and to secure a stable medical system, we need to extend the social distancing measures until the number of new patients clearly drops,” Health Minister Park Neunghoo said during a briefing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the coronavirus front in Seoul:

The number of additional new coronavirus cases fell to below 200 for the first time in more than two weeks Thursday, but cluster infections continued to pop up across the country and critically ill patients are on the rise.

The country reported 195 new COVID-19 cases, including 188 local infections, raising the total caseload to 20,644, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Thursday’s daily tally marks the smallest since 197 on Aug. 17. 

Health authorities said this week will be critical in determining whether the virus curve sharply flattens or not.

The country plans to decide whether to extend the quasi-Level 3 scheme in greater Seoul beyond Sunday over the weekend.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Yonhap is still blaming churches and the anti-government protest for the virus spread. Buried at the end of the article is that only 329 people out of a nation of 51 million have died from the coronavirus.