SNA (Seoul) — Seoul has been transformed by the Covid-19 coronavirus, or, more accurately, by the social response it has engendered. Close to 90% of the Koreans on the street now wearing white masks, and other visible changes are manifest.

Indeed, hundreds of Koreans stood in a zigzag line leading up the stairs to the entrance of Seoul Station waiting for a chance to purchase white masks, which they hoped would protect them from the coronavirus. Although it risks being treated as a social outcast these days by not wearing one, convenience stores and pharmacies are completely sold out, and the government does not have any way to distribute them to citizens directly.

In the 1970s, South Korea had local health clinics and teams of women trained to go door to door to inform citizens about hygiene and health issues. The massive privatization of the medical field over the last twenty years, however, has ended all of that. If anything, students at medical school dream of being specialists in plastic surgery, which they hope will assure them high paying positions. The government encouraged such thinking, promoting “medical tourism” as a promising future industry for South Korea.

The masks are not free at Seoul Station, and the people distributing them have no medical expertise. The entire project was the brainchild of a consortium of for-profit companies under the name “K Brand” (described as a “shared brand representing the Republic of Korea” in their materials) in cooperation with Korail and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

China, too, has donated 500,000 masks as a goodwill gesture.

News broadcasts suggest that citizens avoid large crowds, or public gatherings—going so far as to suggest keeping a distance from those one meets on a daily basis. These orders are everywhere: on television, in posters at every corner, and in every public building. If you enter the post office, or the airport, you must have your temperature taken and see your image appear on a monitor linked to a thermal detector.

This incredible effort shows both the positive habit of Koreans to rally together for a cause quickly, and their tendency to do so without careful understanding of the problem.

The wearing of masks and the avoidance of public meetings has serious implications for both economics and politics. Many Koreans now do not go out at all. They stay home and order food through various delivery services like Baedal Minzoku (Home Delivery Tribe), a company that has done well within the mood of impending doom. Classes, political debate, music, and art has come to a complete stop. Leftist politicians who established themselves in the Candlelight Revolution protests against former President Park Geun-Hye did not blink an eye when public demonstrations were made illegal in response to the coronavirus.

The television news these days is almost entirely about the coronavirus. Moreover, relatively little of that reporting concerns the scientific nature of infection, but rather it is mainly a sensational day-by-day update on the number of people diagnosed with the infection.

The dominant story the last few days has been the repeated apologies of Lee Man-Hee, the head of the Shincheonji Church, which is supposedly the source of the large outbreak in Daegu.

Many restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other businesses that rely on customers are on the verge of bankruptcy as a result of the government and the media encouraging people to stay at home. The Gangnam District is now a virtual ghost town. Some restaurants have no customers at all, and others are closing up shop. Trash has piled up in the back streets of what are known as being wealthy neighborhoods.

Missing from the countermeasures is proper discussion of means to encourage people to improve their immune systems, such as restful sleep, exercise, a stress-free environment, and a healthy diet. If anything, these critical matters have been undermined by the coronavirus media campaign. Most people are working longer hours, or they are at home, worried about whether they will have work again and uncertain about whether they can pay their bills.

For breaking news, follow on Twitter @ShingetsuNews