Crowded and Tense 'Seoul Night'... COVID-19 Prevention Takes a Backseat (Comprehensive)

First Day of Easing from Level 2.5 to Level 2
9 PM Business Curfew Lifted
Uljilo and Gangnam Entertainment Districts Bustling at Night
Business Owners Breathe a Sigh of Relief After a Long Time

Removing Masks, Small Groups Smoking Together
Hugging and Linking Arms
Risks of Cluster Infections Lurk Everywhere

Around 10 p.m. on the 14th, Euljiro Nogari Alley in Jung-gu, Seoul, was filled with citizens drinking alcohol. Most of them were enjoying their drinks with their masks pulled down halfway or not wearing them at all.

[Asia Economy reporters Byungdon Yoo and Jeongyun Lee] On the night of the 14th, past 10 p.m., Nogari Alley in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul regained its liveliness after a long time. The outdoor tables lined up in front of the stores were almost fully occupied. This place, where glasses of draft beer clinked until late at night, had seen fewer customers since the implementation of social distancing level 2.5, which restricted business hours to 9 p.m. On the first night after the downgrade to level 2, office worker Mr. Kim, who came out to enjoy the evening, said, "I heard that from today we can drink alcohol, so I came with my colleagues for a drink after a long time," adding, "Since we are drinking outdoors, I think the risk of COVID-19 infection is not high." As Mr. Kim said, stores eagerly set up outdoor tables, and due to the narrow alley’s characteristics, the tables were placed close together, with customers taking off their masks and chatting loudly, enjoying the late summer night.

The nightlife scenes near Gangnam Station and Hongdae Entrance Station were not much different. Mr. A, who runs a bar near Gangnam Station, said, "Although the number of customers is far less than usual foot traffic, many customers have come since the news that late-night operations would resume from today," adding, "We suffered a big blow from not being able to operate for two weeks, so this gives us some relief." From this day, the restriction that only takeout and delivery were allowed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day at all general restaurants, cafes, and bakeries in the metropolitan area was lifted.

However, as crowds gathered mainly in entertainment districts, the risk of cluster infections was observed in many places. The government adjusted the restrictions by setting conditions such as ▲spacing seats to secure distance between customers inside stores ▲limiting the number of customers per store seat ▲mandatory mask-wearing, but it was difficult to find establishments strictly adhering to these rules. Most bars that reopened after two weeks outwardly tried to comply with quarantine guidelines. They encouraged visitors to fill out entry logs, and relatively complied with temperature checks and providing hand sanitizers. Most also gave brief explanations about maintaining 1-2 meter distancing when guiding customers to their seats.

However, once drinking started and customers became intoxicated, controlling them seemed realistically difficult. The distance between people gradually decreased over time, and busy staff could not keep up with additional disinfection for customers coming in and out for restroom use or smoking. Most establishments had visitors fill out logs manually rather than using QR code scanning, and few places checked whether the logs were properly filled out.

Around 10 p.m. on the 14th, a bar in Gangnam-gu, Seoul was filled with people drinking, both inside and at the outdoor tables. Most of them were enjoying their drinks with their masks pulled down halfway or not wearing them at all.

Around 11 p.m. at a bar near Gangnam Station, both indoors and about ten outdoor tables were packed with patrons. Staff wore masks, but among the drinking customers, no one was observed following distancing or mask-wearing guidelines. Staff member Mr. B said, "We can’t tell customers what to do one by one," adding, "At least they comply without much complaint when it comes to QR code scanning or filling out visitor logs, so that’s a relief."

At the same time, a pojangmacha-style bar near Hongdae Entrance in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, was the same. This bar, usually frequented by young men and women and often having wait times over an hour, was crowded with people wanting to enjoy drinking late into the night after a long time. Visitors had to fill out entry logs at the entrance, but there was no separate verification such as ID checks. Some customers drinking left their masks on the table and went outside, gathering in groups of three to five to smoke and spit on the ground, but no one stopped them. Behind the scenes of people intoxicated, putting their arms around each other or hugging, Seoul’s night, regained after two weeks, was precariously deepening.

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