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| Incheon City Government officials organize boxes of masks donated by the Chinese city of Weihai in eastern Shandong Province, Wednesday/ Courtesy of Incheon Metropolitan City |
By Kim Se-jeong
Many Koreans are reacting cynically to a series of face mask donations from China, blaming the Moon Jae-in administration for allowing a situation to develop where the country now needs to receive help from the very place the coronavirus originated. Korea has been grappling with a mask shortage as the number of infections has soared over the past two weeks.
In early February, the government donated masks to China to help it fight the coronavirus outbreak, but Korea now needs masks more than China does.
"China thinks I would feel thankful? Quite the contrary! If the Korean government blocked the Chinese at the airport when the outbreak was still new, we would not need this help," a Naver user with the ID g3x3**** wrote. "Still, it's not too late. The government should consider shutting down the border against the Chinese."
Others raised an issue with the quality of the donated product.
"I am not sure if I should be thankful for them. What Incheon city sent was FK94 (a quality product), while what it received was simply masks without any enhanced functions. I wonder if the Chinese masks even passed a quality test in China," another Naver use with the ID forc*** wrote.
Another with the ID saji**** wrote, "They are felt masks _ they're so thin that they can't even filter out the virus."
On Tuesday, 500,000 masks ― 100,000 for medical service providers and 400,000 for the public ― arrived from Shanghai at the port of Busan. On Wednesday, the city of Incheon said it received 200,000 masks from its sister city, Weihai, in eastern Shangdong Province ― Incheon sent 20,000 masks to the Chinese city last month.
Analysts say the negative reactions represent the public's frustration with the worsening shortages of face masks here.
On Feb. 26, the government promised an increase in production and faster distribution through public organizations to address the shortage. However, the demand for masks, driven by fear, was much bigger than the government's calculation, and production hasn't yet been able to meet the inflated demand.
Lines were long outside post offices, NongHyup Bank's Hanaro marts ― the government designated sales outlets ― and pharmacies across the country but still many went home without any masks.
President Moon Jae-in lashed out at officials responsible for mask supply Tuesday, and formally apologized to citizens.
On Thursday, the government decided to stop mask exports temporarily to ensure the local supply. This will go into effect from Friday. It also placed a quota on mask purchases ― two masks per week, per person.
A mask shortage first occurred in China when the new coronavirus outbreak started. The government donated masks and Chinese traders imported Korean-made masks. However, from mid-February, a mask shortage in Korea emerged, as the number of confirmed patients here grew exponentially in Daegu.
