The World On arirang

The COVID-19 virus is spreading at an alarming pace here in South Korea. The southeastern city of Daegu, which had previously been infection-free, reported its first confirmed case of the virus on Feb. 18, and soon the total number of infections in the country has swelled into the hundreds, with the first death being reported on Feb. 20. This has prompted Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun to declare that a regional outbreak has now gotten underway in the country. The COVID-19 outbreak has sown fear in South Korean society, with citizens avoiding crowded locations, while establishments such as restaurants and cinemas have taken a massive hit to their revenue. Masks and hand sanitizes have now become essential daily lives and are quickly selling out across the country, while universities have delayed the start of the new school year amid the worsening outbreak. In this week's edition of 'Foreign Correspondents', we sit down with our panel of journalists to talk about the various changes that have taken place in the daily lives of ordinary Koreans due to the COVID-19 outbreak.