‘I shake out everything’: Anxious Koreans share their bedbug fears

Social Affairs

Published: 16 Nov. 2023, 15:14 Updated: 16 Nov. 2023, 15:23

‘I shake out everything’: Anxious Koreans share their bedbug fears

Koreans on the streets of Seoul speak with the Korea JoongAng Daily about the arrival of bedbugs in the country. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Bedbugs have returned to Korea for the first time since the 1970s, and some Koreans are taking a cautious approach to their reemergence.

What has particularly startled people is the toughness of the critters, which can “survive even when dumped in a bottle of insecticide.”

The Korea JoongAng Daily hit the streets of Seoul to see how worried Koreans were about the unwelcome arrival of the sheet-hogging bloodsuckers.

“I shake out everything before entering the house. Honestly, I get hesitant to sit down on random benches,” said one interviewee, while another concerned citizen said, “These days, I try not to put my clothes directly on the bed.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Government rolled out plans to combat bedbugs on public transportation, with fabric seats on subways regularly hot-steamed and disinfected.

Despite this, another person said, “When I'm on the subway, I try to stand up when there's a lot of people rather than sit down. I wash my bedsheets often, [perhaps] once a week?”

Interviewees told the Korea JoongAng Daily about the various precautions they are taking to stop the spread of budbugs. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

“I clean more frequently and tend to avoid the crowd,” said another interviewee.

However, not everyone was so concerned, with one person commenting: “I heard there were problems among tourists visiting other countries. Living in Korea, I don't think I've ever given it a thought,” she said.

BY TREVOR TREHARNE, KIM DONG-EUN [trevor.treharne@joongang.co.kr]