"Social Distancing Had a Big Effect, but 44% of Households with Children Attend Academies"

Seoul City Poll Results: Over 90% Respondents Follow "Refrain from Events, Gatherings, and Outings"
8 out of 10 Citizens Say "School Opening Delay Needed" ... 57% Concerned About 'School Cluster Infections'

As the government emphasized social distancing to prevent the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a large banner for the two-week "Pause for a Moment" campaign for social distancing was hung on the outer wall of Seoul Library in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The majority of Seoul citizens evaluated the government's 'Pause-Social Distancing' campaign as effective in preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). While 8 out of 10 preferred postponing the school opening due to concerns that infections could occur within schools when multiple students gather in cramped classrooms, voices expressing worries about learning gaps and care gaps were also raised.

According to a public opinion survey on COVID-19 conducted by Embrain Public from March 28 to 30 at the request of Seoul City, 8 out of 10 citizens recognized that "the government's strong social distancing recommendations effectively minimized the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and cluster infections (80.6%, multiple responses allowed)." Additionally, 6 out of 10 responded that the campaign had effects such as "raising awareness of the COVID-19 crisis (62.2%)" and "improving personal hygiene practice awareness (57.1%)."

Following these effects, it was also reconfirmed that the majority of citizens are practicing social distancing rules well. Over 90% of respondents answered that they are following rules such as "refraining from attending events with large gatherings (96.9%)," "avoiding meetings and encounters with others (93.9%)," "reducing dining out compared to usual (94.2%)," "avoiding unnecessary outings (93.5%)," and "limiting access to multi-use facilities (91.4%)."

Regarding opinions that fatigue from prolonged social distancing has accumulated, 4 out of 10 citizens cited "stress and psychological anxiety such as a sense of crisis about the spread of infectious diseases and frustration (42.3%)" as the cause. Other reasons included "burdens on self-employed and small business owners due to economic activity restrictions (26.5%)," "limitations on physical activities (22.5%)," and "burdens of family care (7.9%)."

Many citizens expected stronger measures than the current ones regarding restrictions on the operation of multi-use facilities with high risk of close contact.

For religious facilities (71.3%), PC rooms and karaoke rooms (53.8%), and indoor sports facilities (46.7%), the opinion that operation bans should be enforced accounted for the highest proportion. In the case of private academies, 47.7% favored "recommendations to refrain from operation as currently," while 35.4% supported "enforced operation bans."

Until the government announced the phased online school opening policy on March 31, 8 out of 10 citizens chose the opinion that the school opening originally scheduled for April 6 should be postponed.

The most appropriate school opening method was chosen as "prioritize online school opening followed by offline school opening depending on the situation" by 47.2%, showing that the government's policy was not significantly different from public opinion.

Regarding the specific timing of school opening as of April 6, the opinion that "it should be postponed by about 1 to 2 weeks" was the most common at 26.5%, while other options such as "closing for the first semester and opening in September (17.9%)," "postponing for more than a month (17.8%)," and "indefinite postponement until the situation improves (17.3%)" showed generally similar preferences.

However, concerns among citizens about postponing school opening were also high, with the order being "lack of learning opportunities for students (29.6%)," "economic problems such as work restrictions for parents due to caregiving (22.4%)," "inevitable adjustments to entrance exam plans such as postponement of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) (18.1%)," and "childcare issues at home such as care and education (15.0%)."

In a survey of 506 households with members below high school age regarding attendance at private academies, 43.5% responded that at least one family member attends a private academy. By grade, households with preschool children accounted for 20.3%, lower elementary grades 37.3%, upper elementary grades 42.7%, middle school students 64.7%, and high school students 56.2% attending private academies.

The main reason for attending private academies was "supplementary learning for college entrance preparation" at 65.9%, and 11.8% responded that it was "because care is needed."

Six out of 10 citizens were most concerned about "cluster infections occurring within schools (56.7%)" if elementary, middle, and high schools were to open as scheduled. There were also worries about "increased movement leading to spread of infection to family and local communities (24.5%)" and "academic confusion such as re-closure of schools if infections occur (11.5%)."

The school environment most vulnerable to COVID-19 spread was ranked first as "high student density in classrooms (65.2%)," followed by "non-compliance with personal hygiene recommendations such as wearing masks (18.5%)," and "droplet contact during meals (7.5%)."

Regarding Seoul City's response to the COVID-19 situation, 80.5% of all respondents evaluated that "the response is well handled," while 19.5% answered "poorly handled."

This survey was conducted online with proportional sampling by gender, age, and region, involving 1,500 Seoul citizens aged 18 and over. The sample reliability is ±2.53 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Seoul City is collecting citizens' opinions through the citizen participation platform "Democracy Seoul" until the 25th of this month on what is needed to ensure safe school life and community safety from cluster infections due to COVID-19. Anyone can participate, and if more than 1,000 people join the discussion, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will respond directly.

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