Gripped by the rapid spike in coronavirus cases here, international exchange programs are being cut short and overseas students are returning home. 　 Breanna Morgan, a 19-year-old student at the University of Alabama, arrived in Seoul just five days ago when she found out she had to leave. Last week, her US-based program provider, International Studies Abroad, notified her and some 70 Americans that their semester abroad program at Korea University was suspended due to concerns about the COVID

Social Affairs March 2, 2020

The Foreign Ministry said Sunday it is in talks with Vietnamese authorities concerning over 200 citizens placed in isolation upon arrival there without prior notice. 　 According to the South Korean Embassy in Vietnam, there are 127 nationals quarantined in northern parts of the country including Hanoi, 75 in Ho Chi Minh City and 21 in Danang, spread across military facilities, hospitals and some at the airport. 　 The Korean travelers were removed to separate facilities without prior notice, d

Foreign Affairs March 1, 2020

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (US time) said it was “not the right time” for the US to restrict travelers from South Korea, though it may do so in the future. 　 “At a right time, we may do that. Right now, it’s not the right time,” he told a press conference on the novel coronavirus in Washington, adding the US was checking people arriving from infected areas. 　 “They are working on their countries, and we are working on our country, since, so far

Foreign Affairs Feb. 27, 2020

Gripped by COVID-19 fears, more than two dozen countries have barred entry to or tightened restrictions on travelers from South Korea, with neighboring Japan becoming the latest to do so.  　 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said from Thursday it will deny entry to foreign nationals who have visited the Korean city of Daegu and the neighboring county of Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, the areas hit hardest by the coronavirus here. 　 Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Tokyo had inf

Foreign Affairs Feb. 26, 2020

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry is urging partner countries to refrain from imposing rigorous entry restrictions against Korean nationals, amid concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak here. 　 The ministry explained Korea’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus and request the countries refrain from taking excessive measures in a briefing session on Tuesday afternoon.  　  Kim Gunn, deputy foreign minister for political affairs, head the session held at the ministry in Seou

Foreign Affairs Feb. 25, 2020

Following the rapid spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in South Korea, a growing number of countries are denying entry to Koreans and others who have traveled here. 　 Jordan on Sunday announced an entry ban for Koreans and foreigners who have traveled via Korea within the past two weeks, becoming the sixth country to do so. The Middle Eastern country also barred people from China and Iran. 　 As of Monday, six countries or territories have slapped entry restrictions on Koreans. They are Jo

Social Affairs Feb. 24, 2020

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has requested the UN exempt sanctions on Pyongyang to help prevent a coronavirus outbreak, a US radio station reported Friday.  The world’s largest humanitarian organization made the request Thursday, quoting the IFRC’s permanent observer to the UN, Richard Blewitt, Radio Free Asia reported. The UN’s decision will be announced by Wednesday at the latest, he added.  The sanction waiver was reques

North Korea Feb. 21, 2020

A hospital in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, could emerge as the new cluster of COVID-19 outbreak here, after a total of 15 people, including a man who died Wednesday, were confirmed to have contracted the virus.  The deceased was in his 60s and had been under treatment at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital for 20 years. He died the previous day, according to health officials. The patient suffered pneumonia-like illness before death and was confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 throug

Social Affairs Feb. 20, 2020

With a surge in COVID-19 cases here this week, concern is rising over the capacity of the country’s health care system to cope with the infectious disease.  In the southern city of Daegu and nearby North Gyeongsang Province, where the newest cases are concentrated, there are fewer than 90 available beds in quarantine facilities, according to local authorities. 　 Patients infected with the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 require a negative pressure isolation chamber, designed to

Social Affairs Feb. 20, 2020

South Korea will deny entry to foreign nationals who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has seen over 540 COVID-19 cases so far, officials here said Wednesday as passengers began to disembark in Japan. 　 “There are possibilities that the passengers could enter Korea (en route to their home countries). In such cases, foreign nationals will be denied entry here. Korean nationals will be required to observe self-quarantine,” said Noh Hong-in, an official at the govern

Foreign Affairs Feb. 19, 2020

　 A 10-year-old girl was confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the first case of COVID-19 among children here. 　 　 The child is the daughter of a 41-year old woman in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, the country’s 20th patient who was confirmed with the virus on Feb. 5, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mother became infected after coming into contact with her brother-in-law, the country’s 15th patient, who had traveled

Social Affairs Feb. 19, 2020

A South Korean government jet left Tuesday to evacuate Koreans aboard the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship in Japan, amid concerns of rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 onboard. 　 The VCN-235 Air Force plane left Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at noon, and landed in Japan’s Haneda Airport, 20 minutes away from the Yokohama port where the cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked. 　 The plane is scheduled to leave Japan on Wednesday and arrive at Gimpo Airport at around 8 a.m.

Foreign Affairs Feb. 18, 2020

South Koreans aboard a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship off the coast of Japan will face an additional two-week quarantine period back in Korea, if they wish to return, according to public health authorities on Monday. 　 Earlier on Sunday, Seoul announced it would repatriate Korean passengers and crew members from the Diamond Princess ship being held under quarantine at the Yokohama port, where 355 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been confirmed, in the largest cluster of virus cases outside o

Foreign Affairs Feb. 17, 2020

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday and agreed to cooperate to combat COVID-19 and proceed with preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Seoul in the first half of the year. “I and Minister Wang reaffirmed that there are no changes in our plans for Xi’s visit to Korea,” Kang told reporters after the bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference. “As w

Foreign Affairs Feb. 16, 2020

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marked the birthday of his late father at a national mausoleum in Pyongyang, in his first public appearance in 22 days amid the coronavirus outbreak, the North’s state media reported Sunday. 　 Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of his father, former leader Kim Jong-il, and his grandfather, founding leader Kim Il-sung, lie, according to the Korean Central News Agency. 　 “Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of th

North Korea Feb. 16, 2020