Tag: Seoul

The U.S. embassy’s virtue signaling didn’t last very long:

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul took down a “Black Lives Matter” banner from its mission building Monday, only two days after the banner was unfurled in solidarity with “the fight against racial injustice and police brutality” in the United States.

In a statement sent to The Korea Times Tuesday, an embassy spokeswoman said Ambassador Harry Harris removed the banner to avoid misapprehension that he supports any specific groups leading the protests.

“The ambassador’s intent was not to support or encourage donations to any specific organization,” the spokeswoman said. “To avoid the misperception that American taxpayer dollars were spent to benefit such organizations, he directed that the banner be removed.

“This in no way lessens the principles and ideals expressed by raising the banner, and the embassy will look for other ways to convey fundamental American values in these times of difficulty at home.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it does seem strange that the State Department would be advocating for an organization that supports illegal immigration and defunding police departments.

It looks like the churches in the Seoul region are being given a warning before they will likely be shutdown like the clubs in Seoul were:

Cluster infections at churches are again putting health authorities on edge Monday following a series of mass infections tied to clubs and a distribution center after the country eased social distancing and millions of students went back to schools.

South Korea reported 35 additional cases of the new coronavirus, including 30 local infections, raising the total caseload to 11,503, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Monday’s tally marked a slight rise from 27 identified the previous day. But the daily number of new cases appears to be on a downward trend after hitting a nearly two-month high of 75 on Thursday.

In yet another alarming sign of further spread in the Seoul metropolitan area, 23 cases have been traced to 13 small churches in Incheon, west of Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

For people in the Seoul area, here is something to do in the coming weeks:

 The popular nighttime tours of royal palaces in South Korea will resume next week, months after their suspension due to novel coronavirus fears, the cultural heritage authority said Saturday.

The Gyeongbokgung Starlight Tour will start on Wednesday and go through June 8, while the Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour will open from Thursday until June 21, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA).

Tickets for the nocturnal programs are available for purchase at the e-commerce website Auction (ticket.auction.co.kr).

A special program named Gyeongbokgung Saenggwabang, which provides tourists a chance to experience a traditional tea ceremony and enjoy dessert, will start its one-month run on Wednesday.

Music concerts will be also held at the royal palace of Gyeongbok every weekend from May 30 to July 12.

At the same time, the changing of the royal guard ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace already restarted on Wednesday, the administration added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It seems just about anything that is not ventilated and cleaned could end up being closed:

In its latest effort to contain the new coronavirus, the Seoul city government on Friday ordered all coin-operated karaoke rooms in the city to suspend business ahead of the weekend.

Under the administrative order which has taken effect, 569 “coin noraebang” will be banned from hosting guests until further notice.

The city government said businesses and visitors that breach the order may face fines of up to 3 million won (US$2,420). It also plans to file compensation suits against them for treatment and quarantine costs.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is likely going to be the new normal in South Korea, dealing with periodic cluster infections:

 South Korean health authorities were put on edge again on Tuesday as yet another cluster case looms, at a major hospital in Seoul, following mass infections tied to nightclubs and bars in the nightlife district of Itaewon.

Four nurses working at Samsung Medical Center, one of the country’s five major general hospitals, were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19, and more related cases are likely to come as transmission routes are unknown, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears that the ROK Army Staff Sergeant largely blamed for the current cluster infection in Seoul may not have been the only one spreading the coronavirus in Itaewon:

Aggressive testing and contact tracing are back in full swing in South Korea, as new chains of coronavirus infections continue to pop up sequentially after an outbreak linked to nightclubs and bars in Itaewon, central Seoul. 

Health authorities added four new clubs and bars — MADE, Pink Elephant, The Fountain and Pistil — to the list of locations where mass transmissions are believed to have occurred. That raises the number of establishments in Seoul’s popular nightlife spot under the scrutiny of quarantine officials to nine, with the previous five being King Club, Trunk Club, Club Queen, Soho and H.I.M. The mass transmissions are thought to have occurred April 24 through May 6. 

The scaled-up investigation comes as authorities say the nightclub cluster probably has multiple epicenters. Cases have been detected with no apparent correlation to the cluster’s first identified patient or anyone in that chain of contacts. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but I don’t see how bars and nightclubs are going to be able to reopen any time soon considering how wide this cluster infection has grown.

I think South Korea is providing a good example for other parts of the world to be prepared for cluster infections as people get back to work and their some what normal routines:

The number of new coronavirus infections connected to bars and clubs in Seoul’s popular nightlife district of Itaewon climbed to 94 on Monday, health authorities and local governments said amid growing concerns over a high risk of community spread.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that 86 cases, including 63 club visitors and 23 family members and friends who came in contact with the clubbers, were confirmed as of noon on Monday. 

Later in the day, the Seoul city government reported eight more cases to take the total infections to 94.

By region, Seoul has reported 59 confirmed cases, with 21 in Gyeonggi Province, seven in Incheon, five in North Chungcheong Province and one each in Busan and Jeju Island.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.