It will be interesting to see how eager the people in Seoul are to rush back to these nightclubs and hostess bars:

Seoul health authorities warned clubs that reopened Monday after a 12-day operation ban to strictly abide by hygiene guidelines or face another shutdown order.All nightclubs, hostess and karaoke bars and other nighttime establishments in Seoul, called the “entertainment industry” in Korean, were forced to close on April 8 after a hostess in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, tested positive for the coronavirus.  

They were allowed to open on Monday, a day after the central government’s so-called high-intensity social distancing campaign wrapped up.  

The high-intensity campaign did formally end on Sunday, but central government officials said that didn’t mean social distancing was entirely over. Authorities outlined a new campaign that will last 16 days from Monday through Children’s Day on May 5, easing several guidelines in the campaign that ran for four weeks but fundamentally leaving hygiene recommendations intact. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

There is an interesting interview in the Korea Times with one of the North Korean restaurant workers that defected to South Korea back in 2016 I recommend everyone read:

The big question that so many have been asking: Did everyone want to escape?

A: It seems like a clear question, but the answer isn’t clear. Not all employees working at the Chinese restaurant wanted to come to South Korea. 

The context is that the work in China was tougher than we had expected. We had good situations in North Korea, so we were often openly wondering why we were working so hard; it was not as golden as it had been presented to us in North Korea. Therefore, most of us agreed to seek better working conditions in a different country.

We were not ignorant about the outside world. When I was in North Korea, I certainly knew about the possibility of escaping to South Korea, and from what I knew about the others, they did too. But we all had good lives in North Korea; why should we go to South Korea?

In discussing seeking better working conditions, about six or seven employees left. That group took taxis to the North Korean embassy to make it clear they were not participating in an escape.

Korea Times

You can read the rest of the interview at the link, but I also found it very interesting that she never met the Minbyun lawyers that were claiming that the North Koreans were kidnapped and wanted to go back.

It looks like Koreans will soon see some money heading their way for voting for the DPK this past week:

Following its win in Wednesday’s general election, the ruling party is reigniting the drive to offer emergency disaster relief money to every household to ease economic strain from the coronavirus pandemic ― in the face of the government’s opposition due to pressure on financial soundness. 

On Sunday, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) held a trilateral meeting with Cheong Wa Dae and the government in Seoul to seek an understanding on expanding the scope of recipients. DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan and floor leader Rep. Lee In-young sat with Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Sang-jo and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. 

The initial government scheme was to deliver between 400,000 won ($328) and 1 million won in accordance with the number of household members in the bottom 70 percent of income-earners. But during the election campaign, the DPK pledged to give the disaster allowance to every citizen in an effort to gain votes.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is an article about a Korean-American adoptee who recently had the opportunity to return to South Korea:

Then, last year, I embarked on a two-week trip to South Korea primarily to attend the International Korean Adoptee Association (IKAA) gathering, held every three years. During this time, more than 550 Korean adoptees from all over the world convened at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul to attend workshops and social events.

For many Korean adoptees (or KADs, as we often refer to ourselves), myself included, it was our first time returning to Korea since we were adopted as infants or children. I was careful not to make the assumption that Korea would immediately feel like home—after all, I had no active memories of the country, and I knew having unrealistic expectations would set myself up for disappointment. I wondered if it was indeed possible to become attached to a place that, for me, held so much history, yet so little familiarity.

What I found, in the end, was the bittersweet grief that comes with being reunited with your birth country. I discovered that it was possible to swell with immeasurable pride at the beautiful, resilient country I was born into, and in the next moment be filled with agony that I was denied the chance to be raised among my culture, my language.

Quartz

You can read more at the link.

The coronavirus news continues to get better in South Korea:

South Korea on Sunday reported eight new cases of COVID-19 to mark the first time in around two months for the total to rise by a single-digit number, making the country confident enough to partially ease its thorough social distancing drive.

The figure for cases detected on Saturday fell from a day earlier when new infections reached 18, bringing the total infections to 10,661, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Camp Casey soldiers have been getting hit hard by UCMJ for violating coronavirus restrictions:

At least six soldiers also have received nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for going to bars off-base or otherwise violating restrictions on nonessential movement off-base, according to the Eighth Army.

Two privates assigned to the 210th Field Artillery Brigade at Camp Casey had to forfeit pay and received extra duty and a written reprimand for traveling to Camp Humphreys without authorization on March 28, violating their unit’s sign-out policy and possessing alcohol while underage.

Two privates first class with the 210 FAB were reduced in rank, forfeited pay and received written reprimands for drinking in a bar on March 14 in Dongducheon, the city that is home to Camp Casey, near the border with North Korea.

A specialist with the same brigade received the same punishment for drinking in a bar on March 20 in Dongducheon.

A sergeant first class with the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade had to forfeit pay and received a written reprimand for visiting an off-post bar in Songtan, the area outside Osan Air Base, on March 31.

Abrams clamped down on civilians after a contractor who works at Eighth Army headquarters tested positive after he continued to go to restaurants in the local community despite restrictions on nonessential activities off base.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.