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Kim Se-jeong

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.

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Health

All arrivals from Europe to get coronavirus test from Sunday

Incheon International Airport looks empty as the new coronavirus epidemic discourages overseas travels./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong All arrivals from Europe will have to undergo a COVID-19 infection test at the country's airports and ports, starting Sunday, in enhanced screening to contain the new coronavirus pandemic, the government announced Friday.A 14-day self-quarantine period will also be mandatory for foreigners planning to stay in Korea for more than 90 days. The enhanced virus screening is a move to detect infected patients who don't show symptoms at the airport of departure. In recent days, several cases have been reported involving patients passing initial screening but getting confirmed a few days later.“We expanded the virus screening earlier this week, but realized that it was not enough,” Yoon Tae-ho, the senior health ministry official in charge of containment measures, said during a daily press briefing Friday. “We assume foreigners who are coming to Korea to stay for a long time have a place to stay, so self-quarantining will not be a problem. But those

Mar 20, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
All arrivals from Europe to get coronavirus test from Sunday
  • New cases fall below 100 again, but concerns persist over new cluster infections
  • Korea, Japan, China FMs hold teleconference
Health

New virus cases climb as new infection clusters emerge

Police in Daegu set up a barricade in front of Hansarang Hospital for the elderly which saw dozens of new coronavirus cases, in Daegu, Thursday. / YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongKorea continued to see a daily increase in new COVID-19 cases as cluster infections appeared in Daegu, the epicenter of the outbreak here, and other regions, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Thursday.There were 152 new cases reported Wednesday, a number back up to three-digit figures after infections had been tallied in double-digits for three days, bringing the total number of infections to 8,565, with 91 fatalities, the KCDC said.Daegu alone added 97 new cases involving people staying in 11 elderly care centers including Hansarang in Suseong District. The Daegu Metropolitan Government said the count is likely to go up as its search for suspected patients in these facilities is ongoing. Daegu has 330 such care centers with 33,628 patients and medical service providers.The government said more than 80 percent of infections occurred in small groups, which were similar to the Shin

Mar 19, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
New virus cases climb as new infection clusters emerge
Health

Consumers inundated with misinformation about coronavirus

The World Health Organization states on its website that eating garlic will not prevent coronavirus infection./ Screen capture from www.who.intBy Kim Se-jeongThe coronavirus pandemic is seeing health-conscious people fall for inaccurate information on social media and the internet. One popular message that went viral on Kakao Talk encourages people to eat more curry powder: “The reason why not many Indians have contracted the coronavirus is that they eat curry powder a lot. Don't rely on government guidelines alone but try to eat more curry to protect yourself.”Spraying salt water was another popular piece of information that is inaccurate; and an outbreak at a local church proved this.A non-denominational church in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province sprayed salt water in the mouths of each arriving member on March 1 and 8 and saw tens of its members contract the virus later in the month. So far, 54 people ― church members, their families and acquaintances ― have been infected. “What happened in the non-denominational church is a good example of how wrong information can i

Mar 18, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Consumers inundated with misinformation about coronavirus
Health

WHO to join Korea's clinical research on COVID-19

President Moon Jae-in takes off his mask at a meeting with his cabinet members on the new coronavirus in Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong The World Health Organization (WHO) will participate in clinical research being conducted in Korea on COVID-19, which is spreading rapidly around the world, the government said Wednesday.According to the Ministry of Health, WHO officials will join new working-level coronavirus research headed by the National Institute of Health. “The joint research will be focused on data collection and analysis as well as information use,” a health ministry official said during a press briefing. Reportedly, the WHO has shown an interest in patients' response to exploratory treatment, case studies of patients in a critical condition and observations by medical service providers in the field. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, Korea saw 93 additional COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of cases to 8,413 with 91 fatalities, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Among the 93 was a 23-year-old woman from B

Mar 18, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Health

All people arriving in Korea subject to screening from Thursday

Travelers from France go through special screening at Incheon International Airport, Monday. / YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongKorea is expanding its special screening at airports and ports to all overseas travelers starting from Thursday, in an effort to contain COVID-19 which is spreading in Korea and around the world, the government said Tuesday.Currently, travelers, both Koreans and non-Koreans, arriving from China, Japan and all European countries are subject to special screening at entry points.“Given that the new coronavirus pandemic is spreading all over the world and that more people coming from abroad show symptoms or are infected, Korea will expand a special screening procedure to all entrants,” Kim Gang-lip, the vice health minister, said during a press conference held in Sejong, Tuesday.Kim said six recent coronavirus cases involved people with records of traveling abroad. “We feel an increasing need for stricter border control.” According to the government, as of March 15, a total of 44 coronavirus patients had a record of traveling outside ― 16 visiting Eu

Mar 17, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
All people arriving in Korea subject to screening from Thursday
Health

Small churches become coronavirus hotbed

Local quarantine officials spray disinfectant at the entrance of the Christian church in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which saw 46 confirmed new coronavirus patients, Monday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong A Christian church is becoming another hotbed of COVID-19 infections in the Seoul metropolitan area, as 46 members, including the pastor and his wife, have been confirmed infected, Monday.The latest development gave critics excuses to be vocal against Protestant churches in Korea, many of which dismissed the quarantine authorities' recommendation for social distancing.According to the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the non-denominational church, called River of Grace, located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was the biggest religious group infected outside of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.The pastor and his wife were the first to be confirmed last week, followed by 40 members who were confirmed, Sunday. The government recommended religious groups cancel in-person gatherings last month. Yet, the pastor in the Seongnam church went ahead with holding Sunday ser

Mar 16, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Small churches become coronavirus hotbed
Health

Soldier on quarantine mission

A soldier cleans a locker in a cram school for civil servants in Daegu, Sunday, as part of measure to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Daegu had 41 new infections reported Saturday. / Yonhap

Mar 15, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Health

Gov't under pressure to delay school opening again

A classroom at Semyeong Elementary School in Seoul is empty, Sunday. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongThe Ministry of Education is under mounting pressure to postpone school openings until the beginning of April because new cases of coronavirus infections are still occurring.The schools ― from kindergartens to universities ― are scheduled to open March 23. The Korean Federation of Teachers' Association said over the weekend: “An additional school delay will be inevitable if group infections on a smaller scale continue. The educational authorities must be aware that schools are vulnerable to infection because young children spend hours together and eat together.”Parents' groups also called on the government to postpone the opening.“With the given quarantine schedule, we can't protect children from the new coronavirus. The authorities should delay it again,” a spokesman for one group said.One parent filed a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website making the same request and rece

Mar 15, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Gov't under pressure to delay school opening again
Health

Rural Korea hit by exodus of foreign workers

Undocumented foreigners line up to make voluntary departure reports at the Seoul Immigration Office located in Yangcheon District, southwestern Seoul on March 6. / Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongThe worsening coronavirus epidemic here is hitting rural areas hard as a growing number of foreign workers, who have become the backbone of Korea's agriculture and fisheries industries, are returning to their home countries.According to the Ministry of Justice, Thursday, the number of migrant workers, including those overstaying their visas, leaving Korea has been increasing since the highly-contagious virus wreaked havoc on Asia's fourth-largest economy a month ago.The ministry said 5,000 undocumented foreigners left Korea in the last week of February alone ― the week the number of the coronavirus patients skyrocketed due to the spread among Shincheonji Church of Jesus followers. Between December and that time, the number was around 1,000 per week. The number of departing legal immi

Mar 12, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Rural Korea hit by exodus of foreign workers
Health

PC rooms a hotbed of virus infection

A quarantine staff from the Seongdong District office in Seoul disinfect a local PC room, Thursday./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong PC rooms are rising as new infection clusters, as some customers have been identified among recently confirmed COVID-19 patients.On Thursday, Dongdaemun District in Seoul said four new patients, all in their 20s, have been confirmed to have been at a local PC room in the district.Earlier this week, an insurance call center became the first infection cluster case in Seoul involving almost 100 confirmed patients. Previously, churches, hospitals and nursing homes also saw many coronavirus cases confirmed. The government warned about community infection, saying that it is the cause of more than 80 percent of new coronavirus cases.Earlier this month, Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province saw a coronavirus case in a 17-year-old teenager who had a PC room on his itinerary. A 16-year-old girl in Busan also showed symptoms after she had visited a PC room.Popular among young adults and teenagers, PC rooms are common and often near schools and residential areas.Education e

Mar 12, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
PC rooms a hotbed of virus infection
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