COVID-19 Becoming an 'Anger Virus'... Fear Growing by Feeding on Public Anxiety

Discrimination Against Origin Wuhan, China and Joseonjok Now Spreading to Daegu and Gyeongbuk
Anger Toward Shincheonji Accelerating Spread... Public Opinion for 'Forced Dissolution'

On the third day of the continued spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), commuters near Gwanghwamun in Seoul hurried along wearing masks on their way to work. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) accelerates, various forms of hatred and anger caused by it are emerging throughout society.

At the beginning of the outbreak, discrimination against ethnic Koreans from China (Joseonjok) and Chinese residents in Korea started as Wuhan, China was identified as the virus's origin. At that time, since COVID-19 was reported to have originated from the consumption of wild animals such as bats, opinions criticizing Chinese food culture also followed. Online, posts featuring foods containing bats and wild animal menus from Wuhan restaurants were continuously uploaded with comments like "Chinese people are uncivilized." A petition on the Blue House website requesting a ban on Chinese entry gained 200,000 signatures in just three days, and voices calling for a complete ban on Chinese entry still persist.

This kind of regional discrimination shifted toward the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, where the highest number of confirmed cases occurred domestically. The trigger was the "Daegu-Gyeongbuk lockdown remarks" made during the briefing of the ruling Democratic Party's policy meeting on the 25th of last month. Prior to that, it was revealed that Jeju Island had requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to temporarily suspend the Daegu-Jeju air route to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which caused controversy. Both incidents ended as misunderstandings, but they serve as examples of the current perception toward the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

Lee Man-hee, the president of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), is performing a deep bow at a press conference related to the COVID-19 situation held at the Shincheonji Palace of Peace in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do on the 2nd. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Public anger toward Shincheonji, identified as the main culprit amplifying the domestic spread of COVID-19, is also growing. In particular, criticism against patient number 31 and Lee Man-hee, the leader of Shincheonji, is intensifying. This escalated after it was revealed that patient number 31, a Shincheonji member, attended worship services at the Daegu Shincheonji Church twice, each attended by about 1,000 people. Anxiety about COVID-19 infection increased nationwide, and a petition to forcibly disband the Shincheonji Church gathered 1,219,619 signatures in less than two weeks.

The government is also not free from criticism for its inadequate response to issues such as mask supply. There was no analysis of mask supply by domestic manufacturers, and the failure to accurately predict supply and demand caused confusion. Consequently, President Moon Jae-in personally apologized officially for the mask shortage crisis on the 3rd.

Looking at the results of a national COVID-19 risk perception survey conducted on 1,000 people by Korea Research, commissioned by Korea Health Communication on the 4th, this atmosphere is clear. Respondents reported emotions evoked when encountering COVID-19 related news as follows: anxiety 48.8%, anger 21.6%, shock 12.6%, fear 11.6%, sadness 3.7%, and hatred 1.7%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.