"'Sunrise Hotspot' KTX Sold Out... Petition to Blue House Demanding 'Stop Gangneung-bound KTX'"

"Shortage of Isolation Facilities on the East Coast, Is It Right to Visit?" Criticism
Donghae-si, Gangwon-do, Recent Cluster Infection... Over 70 Confirmed Cases

On the 21st, a petition was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board requesting the suspension of KTX operations heading to sunrise viewing tourist spots on January 1st next year. / Photo by National Petition Board capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues, a national petition has been posted requesting the suspension of New Year's sunrise tourist train operations.

On the 21st, a petition titled 'Please stop the sunrise-bound Gangneung KTX' was posted on the Blue House National Petition website. In the post, the petitioner appealed, "I lost my job due to COVID-19. I do not want to lose my livelihood as well," adding, "If the KTX is not stopped, social distancing level 3 will be implemented and our economy will come to a halt."

They further urged, "Please prevent people from coming to the East Coast to watch the sunrise."

The petitioner explained, "Currently, all KTX tickets from Seoul to Gangneung on January 1st next year are sold out," and added, "It is expected that places on the East Coast such as Gangneung, Jeongdongjin, and Pohang, which are famous for sunrise views, will be crowded. Compared to the metropolitan area, in rural areas, if one or two people get infected with the virus, the transmission rate is higher due to the narrow neighborhoods."

They criticized, "Even Donghae City, a neighboring area once called a clean zone, saw confirmed cases jump from just 2-3 to over 70 in a single day due to cluster infections," and questioned, "Is it right to come to the East Coast to watch the sunrise during such an emergency when quarantine facilities are insufficient?"

Most KTX seats for Seoul-Donghae and Seoul-Gangneung routes on the 31st are sold out. / Photo by Korail capture

In fact, Donghae City in Gangwon Province had maintained a single-digit cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases at 7 until the 16th, but the number of confirmed cases has been rapidly increasing due to cluster infections at elementary schools and hospitals. In particular, on the 19th, 55 confirmed cases were reported, marking the highest number of daily confirmed cases to date, and as of the 21st, 79 people have tested positive.

As hospital beds became scarce due to the surge in confirmed cases, the city urgently converted tourist facilities into residential treatment centers, raised social distancing to level 2.5, and is conducting tests for all citizens using drive-thru methods, among other measures, to focus on quarantine efforts.

Meanwhile, according to Korail on the afternoon of the same day, most seats on the Seoul-Gangneung and Seoul-Donghae KTX trains on December 31st, the day before the New Year, are sold out.

On the other hand, the East Coast, including Gangneung and Donghae, is known for many New Year's sunrise tourist attractions. According to Gangneung City, on the morning of January 1st last year, approximately 200,000 tourists visited Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung, 70,000 visited Jeongdongjin Beach, totaling 300,000 New Year's visitors to Gangneung.

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