COVID-19 terrified the world at the beginning of 2020. It is a respiratory infectious disease of a new type that first occurs last December in Wuhan, China, and spreads across the world. China is, thus, the birthplace of COVID-19, which has taken away lots of lives. The country covered up the infectious character and high fatality rate at the early stage. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported that more than 6.67 million people were infected and about 394,000 died in around world as of June 6. China’s neighboring Asian countries were most impacted at the start of the pandemic, but the US and Europe are now the most infected territories. The infection figure in the US is over 10 times that of China. The number of victims in European countries is bigger than the number of deaths in China. Many Koreans have also been infected. COVID-19 not only caused many casualties, but also worsened the global economy. The domestic and foreign companies took action given the fall in revenues as recommending leave of absence to all employees, cutting the pay and restructuring. As the situation is getting worse, the closing of industries has increased.
Amid this dramatic situation, Korea has taken the most effective policy, which many foreign reporters say is a model for other countries. How did Korea fight successfully against COVID-19? The first infected person in Korea was identified in January 20. After that, the government tried to protect people from COVID-19 through tracing the movement of the infected person to prevent the spreading of the infection to others. As the number of infected people from foreign countries entered into Korea, the government required everyone coming from abroad to go into self isolation during 14 days. The government tested all members on the mega church Sincheonji Church in Daegu because group infection. And they designated Daegu as a special management area for infectious diseases. The government also implemented a five-part mask distribution system limiting the purchase of two masks per person per week and regulating the price, which rose rapidly and it had become difficult to purchase them. Despite of such efforts, COVID-19 continued to spread and the unemployment in South Korea exceeded 330,000. So, the government pushed ahead with an economic recovery policy. The first and second supplementary budget plans were passed on March 17 and April 30, and a third is in preparation. In doing so the, Korean government has consistently reflected the voice of the people and took care of its safety. In return for the government efforts, the people have shown a mature sense of democracy. It actively tried social distancing and gave donations to their neighbors. The number of infected persons has been on the rise at Seoul’s Itaewon club district last May, but many people are still actively practicing ‘social distance in daily life’, learning the lesson that one should not relax our attention before it is over.
The reason Korea could rapidly respond to COVID-19 is thanks to the excellent medical insurance system. All Koreans are covered by a national health insurance. It is a medical service that prevents the burden of medical expenses by providing insurance benefits when necessary. So, people usually pay insurance premiums. This way, Koreans could easily be examined and treated for COVID-19. A test can be ordered for 150,000 won, but if a doctor recommend that a concerned person be checked up or if a tested person turned out to be infected, the test is free or reimbursed.
Amid the worldwide suffering from COVID-19, South Korea could prevent the spread of COVID-19 rapidly thanks to the government's rapidly response, heightened consideration for the citizens’ hardship, a mature sense of democracy and an excellent medical system. And now Korea is pushing ‘the Korean version of the New Deal’ intent on being a leading country in the post-COVID-19 world. Also, Korea is exporting its solutions and donating relief goods to other countries. Korea is trying to help other countries with a view to harmonize domestic and foreign strategy to overcome COVID-19. The world must united and cooperate. If it does so, all countries will be well prepared to successfully confront another viral crisis and work toward world peace. We hope that the day will come when COVID-19 disappears.