Mask freedom day becomes mask confusion day in Korea

Social Affairs

Published: 30 Jan. 2023, 18:03 Updated: 30 Jan. 2023, 19:37

Mask freedom day becomes mask confusion day in Korea

Some of the elementary students in Daegu attending class without mask, which is the first in more than two years after the government made mask wearing mandatory indoors due to the global Covid-19 outbreak. [YONHAP]

Freedom met with confusion in Korea on the first day in which the indoor mask mandate was lifted, with limited exceptions.

Many people were unsure of exactly where the line was being drawn for the exceptions and just erred on the side of caution.

“I was able to enjoy the fresh air in the morning and felt free as I was no longer obligated to wear masks,” Noh Hyeon-ji, 23-year-old, told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “I only wore my mask on the subway and took it off immediately after leaving the platform.”

According to Noh, the confusing exceptions threw her for a loop, it was unclear to her whether the rule requiring the use on public transportation meant that this means the train or bus only, and not the station, or the platform.

“I was not perfectly aware of where I should wear a mask,” she said. The requirement to wear masks at pharmacies in discount marts and the fact that I could take off my mask at subway platforms were all new to me today.

“All my friends are confused as well.”

The rule has been lifted after about two years and three months, allowing people in Korea to remove their masks indoors, in offices, cafes, discount marts, subway platforms and schools.

But people are still required to put their masks on in public transportation, including subways, buses, trains, planes and taxis, and in medical facilities such as hospitals and pharmacies.

Despite department stores, shopping malls and discount marts not requiring people to wear masks, customers still need to wear their masks at pharmacies even if they are located in a discount mart.

Masks are not compulsory in classrooms at schools, kindergartens and hagwons (private cram schools), but students and children need to put their masks back on when they travel on school buses.

Putting on masks in elevators is not a requirement, but highly recommended.

Despite being allowed to take off their masks at subway platforms, not a single person was found without a mask at Sindorim Station in Guro District, western Seoul at around 7:50 a.m. on Monday, according to the JoongAng Ilbo.

“It is quite inconvenient to take our masks on and off when getting on and off the train, but I feel it is the least safety measure for those in a high-risk group for the coronavirus and in old age from getting infected with the virus,” said 32-year-old Kim Joon-hee at Sindorim Station.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters highly recommended those at high risk of Covid-19 infections and those over the age of 60 still wear their masks in places that do not require masks.

“Those in the high-risk groups, older than the age of 60 and even those who are younger than 60 but have chronic diseases are highly recommended to wear masks even at places that masks are not required,” said Jung Ki-suck, head of an advisory committee to the government on the pandemic Monday.

“People infected with Covid-19 and with suspected symptoms should wear their masks for the sake of others.”

Some said it is yet too early to let go of their mask-wearing habits.

“I am aware that the indoor mask mandate has been lifted, but I am planning to continue wearing it,” Kim Ji-hyun, a 27-year-old in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“Wearing a mask feels more comfortable now.”

Others raised concerns over the partial lifting of the mandate.

“I will be wearing a mask for a while even when watching a baseball outdoors since I have not been infected yet,” said a 30-year-old office worker in Songpa District, southern Seoul, who goes to watch baseball matches regularly.

Masks are also no longer required in concert venues, cinemas and indoor sports facilities. But the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stressed wearing masks voluntarily is still significant.

“The ministry thanks those in concert halls, cinemas and sports facilities for complying with the Covid-19 regulations,” said a spokesperson for the ministry. “Audiences are still highly recommended to wear masks so that the hard efforts made so far will be maintained.”

Anyone defying the rule of wearing a mask at places that are required could be fined up to 100,000 won ($80). Required facilities found to be not enforcing the regulation could be fined up to 3 million won.

A total of 7,416 new cases of Covid-19 were reported as of Monday 12 a.m., the lowest figure in about seven months, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, CHAE HYE-SON [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]