…back in 1989-90, helping keep electronics focused on the DPRK for a year. One of the things I noticed setting Korean culture apart, was a seemingly singular focus on societal unity. I guess it makes sense, after having your country overrun by hostile invaders. This feature of Korean life became dramatically, visually apparent to me without even realizing it, the 1st time I descended into the Seoul subway. Being 5’9″ made me an average of 6 inches taller than most everybody else. Seeing a sea of dark-haired heads flowing mostly in liquefied unison was an oddly interesting phenomenon.
Moving efficiently through the subways was not the only thing Koreans did well as a group. Earlier this year, South Korea was one of the few success stories at the outset of the Covid Pandemic. They quickly employed successful testing and tracing programs to quash the virus spread with minimal health or economic impact. But humans have short memories, peppered with ingrained stupidity.
“the problem has been aggravated, medical experts say, by the government’s haste in relaxing restrictions after the second wave, and hesitation to ramp up restrictions at the start of the third wave.”
I haven’t seen anything to indicate the U.S. is not approaching the peak of the 1st wave here in this country.
“The capital area is now a COVID-19 war zone,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo warned Monday at a government meeting.”
What happens in places bungled at the outset, just now approaching collapse under the 1st wave? We’re gonna get to find out…
