they're all still scared

As noted before, according to the government, the mask mandate is being partially lifted as of today. This sort of thing was always more likely to happen under a conservative administration. Korea's still not where it needs to be, but it's a baby-step closer.

I was halfway down the 14th-floor hallway to the elevator when I realized: I don't have to wear a mask! So I pulled my mask off and got on the elevator. The elevator was initially empty, but as the car descended, it stopped at what felt like every other floor, and soon, we were full up. Everyone else on the elevator was wearing a mask, which wasn't a surprise. I got off at the lobby level and walked, maskless, down a hallway to my building's side entrance. As I walked, I saw that, with the exception of one guy, everyone was masked up. For these folks, it was business as usual, government largesse be damned. 

Then, because I was taking a taxi to work, I put my mask on as I stepped outside—something I don't otherwise do when outdoors. A taxi pulled up soon enough, and luckily for me, the ajeossi was a chatty guy who started off by noting that the weather seemed to be warming up a tiny bit. I asked him about the specifics of the lifting of the mask mandate, including whether we still had to mask up in taxis. He said yes, you had to mask up in taxis, as well as in other forms of public transportation (buses, subways). You also still had to mask up in hospitals and pharmacies, he said. I knew about hospitals, but I didn't know the thing about pharmacies.

Still testing out this no-mask-needed mandate, I took my mask off upon leaving the taxi and headed toward the Mido building's convenience store. I noticed with satisfaction that the sign on the door telling us all to mask up had been taken down. As I entered, I noted that the guy at the register was also maskless, which was a good sign. I bought some omija-cha (naturally low carb) and walked out. No one said a thing. As I walked through the building's interior to the staircase leading up to my company's offices, I continued noting who was masked up and who wasn't. Everyone was masked except for people sitting at a first-floor coffee shop, but that sort of behavior has been going on pretty much since the beginning.* So barring a few exceptions, people were clinging to their masks. I plan to be maskless all day today. 

As much as possible, I plan to be maskless period.

So far, I've avoided getting jabbed. I've avoided using masks when outside (except when I'm taking a taxi). Lockdowns haven't been a serious problem in Korea, although freedom of assembly has been curtailed in patchy ways over the past three-ish years. I admit that walking maskless through buildings has put a smile on my face and feels a bit brazen even to me, but I imagine I'll get used to the new reality pretty quickly.

As for everyone else, well, they're still gripped by fear. It's either the fear that comes from social pressure (no one wants to stand out; being "outcast" is a kind of social death in Korea), or it's the superstitious fear that comes from still not understanding the science behind the disease despite three years' exposure to all sorts of information and statistics.

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*There are at least two pandemic-era superstitions regarding masks in South Korea. First: you're more likely to catch the virus if you're without a mask, and you're more likely to spread the virus to others if you're without a mask. Second: when you find yourself at a coffee shop or restaurant, you cannot be infected by the coronavirus while you're seated and eating with your face exposed. The virus will go on vacation while you are seated. How people hold these two contradictory superstitions in their heads at the same time is utterly beyond my ken.