By L R
Went out to neighbouring clubbing district Hongdae tonight, after taking a dance class near Gangnam. Clubs are shut, but bars are open. Both the dance academy and the bars take your temperature and make you sign and put down your contact details on a form. Cafes are open. Restaurants are open. Shops are open and fully stocked. Handsanitisers everywhere. 99% of the population wears masks. Metros are full enough to sometimes have to stand. Information and advice is given over the intercoms. People are relaxed. “Take care of yourself. Just be careful.” My student housemates get their lectures online, and my friends with kids have the kids driving them nuts and up the walls. With the pretty spring weather they try to head outside as much as possible.
We watch the world on social media going crazy with self-isolation policies, as our phones ring maybe ten times a day with a corona-virus related update. We know where the confirmed cases have been. We know what is happening. We know the follow-up is in place. We know the healthcare facilities have things under control. We are safe. We are happy. And, unlike so many of you, we are mostly free and in business. Welcome to the world of modern medicine and tech. As a newly graduated Dr. in disease genetics and epidemiology, it almost feels like I saw this coming when I moved here in November. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.