Seoul Survivor

We’ve had two Greystonians tell us their faraway tales of keeping one step ahead of Covid-19, Karl’s experience in China being strikingly different to Lesley Ann’s in Peru.

Today, we got back in touch with our Seoul brother no.1, Neil Smith, who has somehow managed to become something of a rock god in South Korea.

Despite the fact that he’s a bollox.

Luckily, Neil is also very healthy and very happy right now, South Korea having been here and conquered that a few times before.

Just what life is like in a country that seems to have Covid-19 well under control almost from the start, well, that’s exactly what we asked young Mr Smith to tell all us self-isolating yokels back home…

Things are not too bad over here now as it stands. Today, April 2nd, there have been 9,976 (5,500 fully recovered) and 169 dead. The infection rates have slowed to about 100 per day.

Schools are still closed in Korea and major gatherings, like church and music festivals, have been cancelled, but there’s still a huge amount of outdoor activity. There’s plenty of people going walking and cycling in parks around Seoul city centre as the weather is really great now. It’s sunny and 20 degrees most days. However, I take the subway (while not standing near anyone) a couple of times of week to work, and there’s an alarming amount of elderly people on the trains. I gaze in wonder at what is necessitating a journey that puts them under such serious risk.

At first, over a month ago, when the first outbreak hit Korea in a ridiculous cult church in a city in the south of the country called Daegu, I was really skeptical about the effect of using a mask. But all of the experts in Korea are now saying that part of the reason Korea has contained the virus so well is because most people are wearing masks when they go out. I just can’t believe that the World Health Organisation are claiming the opposite. The Korean doctor in this video explains it well. The hospital is just a few mins from my home. 

A month ago there was a shortage of masks, but the Korean government has really gotten into action, and stepped up the manufacturing process. Everyone is allowed buy two per week now.

Korea has had to deal with SARS, swine flu and MERS over the years, so the public are used to the protocol. Generally, everyone is so well behaved in here. There’s little or no street crime, drugs are almost non-existent, so people are obeying the advice of the government, which has prevented the necessity of a full lockdown. Throughout the whole outbreak, my girlfriend and I been completely free to go anywhere we please, and people aren’t hoarding in the shops – which is nice. They’ve learned from past experiences that it’s feckin’ stupid to buy too much food just to watch it go off and then have to throw it all away.

I work in education and the music industry, so the majority of my work is in hibernation for now, but this weekend, I’ll be performing on a new TV show where foreigners sing old Korean songs. There’ll be some kind of studio audience, but with adequate spacing. I feel lucky to have had this much to work on over the past few weeks to keep my sanity in check.

About a month ago, I was shocked at how the outbreak occurred in Korea and I felt unlucky to be here, but now after a month, I realise that I’m in great hands while staying in Seoul, as the whole population is really putting in a huge effort to contain the virus, just like they have in the past. The threat of attack from the north over the years has meant that a high amount of surveillance and communication has always been present, which I think is another factor in the country being well-prepared for an epidemic. Government updates are regularly sent to everybody’s mobile phone.

I believe the virus would be under much better control if not for the arrogance and stupidity of the Shincheonji cult church in Daegu. Not enough bad things can be written about it’s leader online, so I’m going to add some more. He ignored advice from the government to stop having large ceremonies and also told his followers that “Jesus won’t let them catch corona”. Thousands of people attend his ceremonies, and one of them happened to be the first infected person in Korea. Naturally, she spread it on and Daegu became the centre of the virus in Korea. This kind of church is part of a dark side to Korea which it can’t seem to get rid of. Hopefully, now things will begin to change.

In Seoul, where I live, there’s still only about 1,000 infections, which is amazing for a city of 10 million people. Once the shocking humidity arrives in July, I can see an end to the virus, but I do worry about it returning in autumn. I hope that’s not the case.

Things are working out over here just fine with people being allowed more mobility.

In the short term, I hope everyone back home in Ireland gets some more freedom soon while obeying the protocol. And that The Cliff Walk is a free man once again!

You can explore Karl Long’s Covid-19 adventures in China here, and Lesley Ann Devereux Covid-19 misadventures in Peru right here. Oh, and Neil playing host to three fellow Greystonians visiting Seoul here.