The way I look at this, is that this could have just as easily happened in any nightclub in Seoul with how contagious this disease is:

The LGBTQ community in South Korea fears a rise in discrimination after a reported new spike in coronavirus cases was linked to a man who attended night clubs in Seoul’s gay district and later tested positive for the disease.

As of Saturday, May 9, South Korea confirmed 18 new coronavirus cases — the first time in five days that the number jumped above 10. Most of the cases originated in the popular Itaewon district in Seoul, where a 29-year-old man visited three nightclubs before testing positive for the virus.

The man tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, May 7, while an additional 14 people with who he had contact were also infected on Friday.

The 29-year-old could have also infected an estimated 2,000 people after he also walked around Seoul and other neighboring provinces, including Gyeonggi and Gangwon, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, according to Reuters.

Business Insider

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty amazing how many people that one person infected with the coronavirus was able to spread through clubs in Itaewon:

 Coronavirus cases linked to clubs and bars in Seoul’s multicultural district of Itaewon have jumped to 54, an official said Sunday, as South Korea struggles to stop the cluster infection from spreading further.

The hike deepened fears that Itaewon-related infections could get out of control and lead to a nationwide transmission after the country had successfully brought the virus outbreak under control with zero local infections reported on many days in recent weeks.

The Itaewon infections began when a 29-year-old man tested positive on May 6 after visiting five clubs, including King Club, Trunk Club and Club Queen, between the night of May 1 and wee hours of May 2. More than 1,500 people were believed to have visited those clubs and bars on that night.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see what the demand for travel is going to be in June:

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s biggest carrier by sales, said Thursday it will reopen dozens of its international routes next month amid signs the coronavirus epidemic may have passed its peak.

Korean Air plans to resume flights on 19 international routes on June 1 as the country’s top flag carrier strives to offset a sharp decline in passenger travel demand with an increased demand for cargo deliveries, the company said in a statement.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Any place with people packed into it is a risk to spread this virus, so the nightclubs and bars will likely be closed for a quite a while:

The Seoul city government on Saturday effectively suspended business at clubs and bars in the city after recent infections in the city’s popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon put health authorities on alert over a possibly bigger outbreak.

Under an administrative order that has gone into effect immediately, all clubs, bars, “room salons” and other nightlife establishments across the capital will be banned from hosting crowds of people, virtually suspending businesses at such venues.

“Such facilities have to suspend business immediately and will face strict punishment if they breach (the order),” Mayor Park Won-soon said in a press briefing, adding the order will remain in effect under further notice.

“Carelessness can lead to an explosion in infections — we clearly realized this through the group infections seen in the Itaewon club case,” Park said, urging businesses and the public to closely abide by quarantine measures.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

Here is the latest on the USFK cost sharing issue:

US President Donald Trump told a press briefing Thursday that South Korea had agreed to pay “substantial money” to the US for the upkeep of the 28,500 American troops stationed here, repeating what he had told Reuters a week earlier. 

“It costs us a lot of money. And if we’re going to defend countries, they should also respect us by making a contribution,” Trump said.

The Trump administration is reportedly pushing Korea to pay about $1.3 billion, a whopping 49 percent more than Korea paid last year and roughly four times the amount that Seoul and Washington shook hands on for an interim deal last March.

Trump openly rejected the deal and has since pressed Korea to shoulder a greater share of the defense costs.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I am surprised that the ROK military only has a total of 40 coronavirus cases considering the tight barracks conditions

A noncommissioned officer working at the Cyber Operations Command in Seoul has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases reported in the military to 40, the defense ministry said Friday.

The staff sergeant working at the command’s service support unit contracted the virus after visiting a club in Seoul’s popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon where a COVID-19 patient visited last week, according to the ministry.

Following the test result early Friday, the military restricted the movement of all service members of the unit, and health authorities were tracing the patient’s possible contacts.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.