Many Koreans aren’t ready to take off their masks indoors.
According to a survey by polling institution Real Research Korea from Dec. 5 to 9, 44.3 percent of the 3,800 people surveyed said they would “keep their masks on” no matter what.
Korea is the only OECD member nation still requiring masks be worn in all indoor spaces, a regulation it has kept since October 2020.
For politicians, the fear motivating them has to do with public backlash. The public has been miseducated to focus on "confirmed infected" statistics instead of on mortality—and in South Korea, COVID mortality has always been ridiculously low. So while politicians might have better access to the real science behind the pandemic, the public has been brainwashed into fearing the alleviation of restrictions. Are there other reasons that normal citizens might keep their masks on? Sure. Social pressure is a huge factor, but in my view, it is inextricably linked with fear: fear is one of the causes of social pressure. The two can't really be separated. I suspect that Koreans won't change their behavior until they're absolutely sure that nothing untoward is happening in the rest of the world. It's very much a "you first" mentality here, which is nothing to be proud of.
Actually, when I first moved to Korea way back in 2005, one of the things that really stood out to me was seeing people wearing masks--especially on the subway. Nothing like the current situation, of course, but there seems to have always been a mindset among many Koreans that masks will protect them from the unseen.
ReplyDeleteBelieve you me, the day they announce that masks are no longer required indoors, I am going to be flaunting my bare face for all to see.
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