[Year-End Scenes in the COVID Era] "Let's Meet with a Negative Test Certificate"... New Year-End Party Trends in the Second 'Corona Year-End'

On the afternoon of the 23rd, two days before Christmas, citizens strolling the streets of Myeongdong, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] "Let's at least check for a negative COVID-19 test result before meeting."

Office worker Baek Sang-hyun (32) planned to have a year-end gathering with friends at his home on the 31st. Due to COVID-19, it had been difficult to even see his friends’ faces, so he invited them over. However, he set one condition: everyone had to get a COVID-19 test beforehand. Baek said, "Since we are all office workers, if someone gets infected with COVID-19, it could harm family or people around us, so (year-end gatherings) are something to be cautious about," adding, "I came up with this ‘last resort’ as a minimum safety measure." Baek planned to get tested that afternoon.

The year-end culture is changing for the second time this year since the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the challenges of with-COVID (gradual recovery measures) and the second ‘COVID year-end,’ there is a growing atmosphere of continuing gatherings. People are getting booster shots and taking COVID-19 tests, saying, "Let’s meet while following all the precautions." Since restaurants, cafes, and entertainment bars are only allowed to operate until 9 p.m., some are renting accommodations or going on short trips for year-end gatherings.

As the number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) reached the 7,000 range daily, signaling the limits of quarantine measures, the government announced the strengthening of social distancing measures again. On the afternoon of the 16th, citizens who visited the screening clinic set up at Sinchon Station Plaza in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, lined up under the Christmas and year-end symbolic tree lights to get tested for COVID-19.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Seoul’s resident population data, on the first weekend after strengthened quarantine measures on the 18th and 19th of this month, the ‘maximum daily movement population’ in Seoul averaged 4,536,874 people. This is a 12.4% increase compared to the first weekend after the ban on private gatherings of five or more people in the metropolitan area on December 26-27 last year (average 4,035,351 people). It is also 9.8% higher than the weekend before the quarantine regulations were strengthened last year (December 19-20, average 4,132,593 people). These figures are calculated based on public transportation usage statistics and telecom base station connection data.

‘Non-face-to-face home parties,’ where many people video call together while creating a party atmosphere at home, continue to be popular this year as well. This year, various social networking services (SNS) are used to exchange New Year messages and communicate online, showcasing a new trend of non-face-to-face interactions. Office worker Park Jae-ho (36) said, "Since my second child was born recently, I am refraining from year-end gatherings as much as possible," adding, "I plan to watch the New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak with friends online and exchange well-wishes." This year’s Bosingak bell-ringing event in Seoul can be experienced through metaverse platforms and virtual reality (VR).

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