Mask becomes daily necessity amid worsening air quality

By Lee Kyung-min

Wearing a mask has long been associated with chronic, serious infectious diseases. But no more will that be the dominant perception. An increasing number of people are wearing the once stigma-bearing masks to cover their mouths and noses as fine dust levels continue to spike in the country.

According to the Air Quality Forecasting Center under the National Institute of Environmental Research, an environment ministry-supervised institution, eight days were declared “bad air quality” days between January and March last year, twice that of a year earlier at four days. “The number of bad air quality days has risen over the past decade, and will continue to rise over the next few years,” an official from the center said. About half of the dust originates from China, with coal-fired power plants and motor vehicle exhaust gases cited as other culprits.

“I think it’s a daily necessity as I walk over an hour to get to work every day,” said an office worker surnamed Kim. "Honestly, I had long thought wearing a mask to protect me from fine dust was important, but actually wearing one was not as easy because I didn’t want to look over the top, you know. But I see many people wearing them, so I do not care about that anymore.”

A mother of two boys aged seven and 11, surnamed Yoon said she always tells them to wear it, especially since she is conscious of respiratory diseases. “My little one has had asthma since he was a baby,” she said. “I heard fine dust and ultra fine dust easily travels into the lungs as they are smaller in diameter than a single hair. They are invisible, which worries me even more, but taking precautions is always a better choice.”

The negative public perception on wearing masks largely changed after the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) led a nationwide campaign following the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015 that killed 39 people. Wearing a mask has since been seen as a courtesy to others and to better protect against other air-borne diseases. “It’s positive that people are more infection-conscious and care more about health in general,” a KCDC official said.

Wearing masks approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is recommended, as they are confirmed to protect against at least 80 percent and up to 94 percent of the fine dust.

According to major retailers, e-commerce firms and convenience stores including GMarket and 11st, the sales of masks, home air treatment systems and dryers spiked up to 300 percent over the past two weeks compared to a year earlier. The sales of Nosk, nasal filters that are slipped into the nostrils to help block fine particles, quadrupled compared to a year earlier.