"Youth Are Really Too Much" Social Distancing Lost... Is the 'Halloween-Originated COVID' About to Explode?

Halloween Festival Crowds in Seoul's Youth Scene 'Packed Together' for Nightlife
Small Business Owners Complain "It's Too Much"
COVID-19 Prevention Measures Face New Test

The scene of Itaewon Street in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Halloween Day, the 31st of last month. Social distancing, one of the COVID-19 prevention measures, has completely disappeared.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 31st, as young people eager to enjoy the Halloween festival flocked to downtown bustling areas such as Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, social distancing was completely disregarded, raising concerns that COVID-19 might spread further.

As a result, self-employed business owners are voicing complaints such as "Young people are really too much" and "We really can't endure anymore." There is growing worry that a mass infection originating from Itaewon, similar to the one in May, might recur.

The Itaewon area, celebrating Halloween Day (October 31), was filled with young people in their 20s and 30s eager to enjoy the day. None of the COVID-19 preventive guidelines?△ social distancing △ covering mouth and nose with sleeves when coughing or sneezing △ avoiding crowded places?were observed.

Although social distancing should be maintained at an arm's length, the young people who gathered to enjoy the festival paid no attention to this and celebrated Halloween. Some young people expressed the view that there would be no significant problem despite concerns about COVID-19 spread.

A man in his 30s, Lee, who said he enjoyed Halloween in a busy area of Seoul, emphasized, "There were many people, but since we wore masks, I think it will be okay."

Park, a college student in his 20s, said, "Isn't the stage where COVID-19 spreads explosively like before already over? Also, since we are young, I don't worry much."

The scene of Itaewon Street in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Halloween Day, October 31st.

The feelings of self-employed business owners watching these young people are burning with anxiety. There is concern that the mass infection originating from Itaewon in May might recur.

Kim, a man in his 40s who runs a barbecue restaurant in Seoul, said, "During the adjustments of social distancing levels 1 and 2, I endured day by day with a heart that felt like it was bleeding," and expressed frustration, "It is so frustrating and infuriating that all of this seems to collapse because of the 'excitement' of young people."

Another self-employed man in his 40s, Lee, said, "Seeing the young people gathered in Itaewon, it seems they completely ignore the suffering of self-employed people and citizens like us who have been hurt by COVID-19," and pleaded, "I understand that young people want to have fun, but I wish they would exercise a little restraint. For people like us, if COVID-19 spreads again, the damage will be severe."

The sighs of self-employed business owners amid the COVID-19 situation are also reflected in statistics. The average debt per self-employed person (financial institution loans) has reached 160 million KRW. Considering the COVID-19 situation, it is estimated that the debt of self-employed people this year is much higher than the 2018 figures.

According to the 'Job Administration Statistics on Individual Business Owner Debt' released by Statistics Korea on the 29th, as of the end of December 2018, the average loan for self-employed people was 164.28 million KRW. This was an increase of 7.42 million KRW (4.7%) compared to the same period a year earlier.

The median loan amount for self-employed people with outstanding loans was 84.54 million KRW, an increase of 5.54 million KRW (7.0%) from a year earlier. The delinquency rate based on outstanding loan balances was 0.32%, which is 0.05 percentage points higher than a year ago.

On Halloween Day, the 31st, Hongdae Street in Seoul is bustling with crowds.

Furthermore, the difficulties faced by self-employed business owners have increased since the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the '2020 First Half Business Performance and Second Half Outlook' for 22 major neighborhood business sectors announced by the Federation of Korean Industries on September 10, sales in 22 sectors including furniture stores, lodging, bakeries, cafes, and dining out fell by an average of 27.2% compared to the same period last year. Net profit, after deducting various costs such as rent and labor, decreased by 32.9%.

Especially, as self-employed business owners lament, no one knows when COVID-19 will spread again.

As of the 1st, there were 124 new confirmed cases domestically. Of these, 101 were domestic transmissions. With small-scale cluster infections continuing mainly in schools in the metropolitan area, 80% of domestic cases were confirmed in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

The COVID-19 spread trend in Seoul is also serious. Related to a high school in Jongno-gu, Seoul, 16 additional people including students and a vocal music instructor tested positive. Also, in clusters where cases had previously been confirmed, such as a nursing facility in Dongdaemun-gu, a hospital in Songpa-gu, and a sauna in Gangnam-gu, the number of confirmed cases continues to rise.

In Gyeonggi Province, additional confirmed cases were reported at Bundang Middle School in Seongnam City, a welfare facility for the disabled in Yeoju City, and a nursing home in Namyangju City. Also, in a family gathering in Changwon, Gyeongnam Province, two more cases were added, bringing the total confirmed cases to 16.

Meanwhile, quarantine authorities plan to subdivide social distancing from level 3 to level 5 starting on the 7th. Park Neung-hoo, the first deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), explained at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 1st, "The main focus of the newly announced social distancing reform plan is to balance quarantine and the economy, in other words, daily life and quarantine."

He added, "This does not mean neglecting quarantine or that the public can pay less attention to quarantine rules. Rather, it means that the primary actors in quarantine behavior are shifting to the public."

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