Let's not shame the infected

By Jacco Zwetsloot

The government and citizens of South Korea have performed admirably fighting the COVID-19 outbreak, or at least the first wave of it. What we must do now is resist the urge to blame those who seem to be spoiling this good record by getting caught up in secondary spikes.

Remember when delivery companies like Coupang and Market Kurly were the heroes of the pandemic? Their drivers were on the front line bringing groceries and other necessities to our houses which allowed us to avoid crowded markets and shopping centers. And now both companies have temporarily shut down some logistics centers as a result of new coronavirus cases and one, Coupang, is suffering a backlash.

Korea in the 21st century can tend towards blaming and shaming. This might seem appropriate in cases of overt criminal acts, such as the recent arrests of suspects in the Nth Room case, whose identities were revealed to the angry public. But it is harder to justify in cases of accidents and misadventure. And yet we often see, when something goes wrong, a desire within the public-media attention cycle to find someone responsible and punish them. Sometimes this leads to the creation of more victims.

The world has praised Korea for its handling of the virus. The country's strategy has become a global benchmark with its rapid tracking and contact tracing, high rates of testing and fast results, the use of new technology to alert people to possible intersections with the paths of people who have the virus, and the ability to flatten the curve without flattening the economy through its use of guidelines and suggestions, rather than forcing people to stay home under threat of criminal prosecution.

President Trump has even invited President Moon to attend an expanded G-7 meeting later this year, a move that some see as recognition of Korea's success in tamping down the pandemic domestically.

But we must be careful not to let this praise go to our head, precisely because it can make the backlash against sources and sites of further spikes of infection all the more savage.

Recall the public fury against Shincheonji Church members, already a controversial group for its heterodox doctrines and alleged practice of “sheep stealing” from other churches. Of course, it did itself no favors by initially being unhelpful, supplying incomplete lists of members and catechumens to government officials trying to track and trace the spread of the infection.

Then recall the Itaewon mini spike, centered around a number of gay-friendly nightclubs. This caused public anger because young people were deemed irresponsible for congregating in clubs when social distancing was still being advised; because many of the clubgoers scribbled down false, or illegible, phone numbers which meant public health officials were not able to contact them; and, frankly, because Korea still has a high level of prejudice against sexual minorities. There was also a touch of xenophobia, as Itaewon has long been a place where foreigners gather, and something about human nature wants to associate the spread of disease with aliens in our midst.

Of course, to a certain extent it's easy to justify the anger at the two clusters, because neither worshipping nor nightclubbing are considered “essential” activities.

But the backlash against Market Kurly and particularly Coupang is harder to understand. These two companies are startups that have seemingly grown to the size and status of mini chaebol in a few short years. Their rapid growth means they are still adjusting to newfound responsibilities. Market Kurly has gone public, but Coupang is still privately held, and not yet accustomed to communicating with the public about internal matters. It was taken by surprise by the suddenness of the spikes at its logistics centers in Bucheon and Goyang, and perhaps didn't react as swiftly as it should have in raising the alarm and taking measures.

But the level of anger and calls for retribution are surprising. There have even been calls for prosecutors to investigate. Is this reaction a consequence of having put them too high on the pedestal beforehand? And are we now doubly disappointed? If so, we should be criticizing ourselves. Or is it simply that a lot of people don't like business and look at any opportunity to pull them down?

Whatever the explanation, a more measured reaction is called for. Until a vaccine is readily available or a state of “herd immunity” ― however that is defined ― is reached, clusters and spikes of COVID-19 infection will continue to occur. Accidents will happen and mistakes will be made.

We all need to adjust to new habits of constant hand-washing, mask wearing (and that means over the nostrils too, not just the mouth) and keeping a safe distance from people, but at the same time we are social creatures. Humans cannot eradicate disease from our midst as long as we don't live in germ-free isolation bubbles. All we can do is try our hardest to minimize the spread, learn from mistakes, and avoid the punitive culture of blaming and shaming.

Jacco Zwetsloot hosts the weekly NK News Podcast and appears regularly on KBS World Radio's Korea24 program.