Despite Korea ending the outdoor mask mandate, I’d say nearly everyone still wearing theirs. Middle-aged men still lowering their below the nose. Only saw 3 people not wearing a mask at all … all women.
“All women” is interesting. On my walks from the Gangnam area to Bundang along the Tan Creek bike trail, whenever I see unmasked people, it’s almost always men. I silently cheer whenever I see a woman brave enough to take her mask off. You go, girl! (Wish you’d done it sooner!)
I never wear my mask when distance walking. It’s been that way since the beginning. I only wear my mask when I have to be somewhere to receive a service—a convenience store, a restaurant, a taxi, a subway, etc. No mask, no service, so no choice. For me, the mask is merely a passport and nothing more. If the virus can get in through your eyes, the mask isn’t really protecting you. It might offer some small protection for other people whenever you sneeze or cough, but even that is arguable (aerosolized microparticles).
Of course, I suspect that a lot of Koreans never looked up the actual mask policy before the recent change. I hadn’t looked it up, either, but a friend told me about it and gave me the government URL (here). Basically, there’s NEVER been a need to wear the mask while outside except in cases where social distancing is impossible. Now, you’d never know this if, for example, you were strolling along the Han River, and you saw one of the dozens of “Mask up!” signs on display. It’s almost as if the government didn’t want to market its own policy, almost as if it wanted the people to remain cowed and superstitious about the mysteriously miasmic powers of the virus.
Something to think about.
Anyway, I was glad to know that I hadn’t been a rebel this entire time: by being maskless outside, I’ve been in compliance with actual policy! The abovementioned friend points out that, with so many people acting like sheep, they might or might not know the real mask policy, but they don’t want to be different from anyone else, so they keep wearing their masks. In their feverish brains, no one wants to be first to be infected the moment the talismanic mask comes off.
This psychology is not unique to Korea, unfortunately. In the States, we have people who style themselves “rebels” and refuse to remove their masks even after the mask policy has been dropped in their respective states. Idiots.
It’s going to take a while before the local people let go of their fear.
Kevin Kim
2 years ago
The link I gave doesn’t seem to be working. Try this one, then click on the second question down in the Q&A.
“All women” is interesting. On my walks from the Gangnam area to Bundang along the Tan Creek bike trail, whenever I see unmasked people, it’s almost always men. I silently cheer whenever I see a woman brave enough to take her mask off. You go, girl! (Wish you’d done it sooner!)
I never wear my mask when distance walking. It’s been that way since the beginning. I only wear my mask when I have to be somewhere to receive a service—a convenience store, a restaurant, a taxi, a subway, etc. No mask, no service, so no choice. For me, the mask is merely a passport and nothing more. If the virus can get in through your eyes, the mask isn’t really protecting you. It might offer some small protection for other people whenever you sneeze or cough, but even that is arguable (aerosolized microparticles).
Of course, I suspect that a lot of Koreans never looked up the actual mask policy before the recent change. I hadn’t looked it up, either, but a friend told me about it and gave me the government URL (here). Basically, there’s NEVER been a need to wear the mask while outside except in cases where social distancing is impossible. Now, you’d never know this if, for example, you were strolling along the Han River, and you saw one of the dozens of “Mask up!” signs on display. It’s almost as if the government didn’t want to market its own policy, almost as if it wanted the people to remain cowed and superstitious about the mysteriously miasmic powers of the virus.
Something to think about.
Anyway, I was glad to know that I hadn’t been a rebel this entire time: by being maskless outside, I’ve been in compliance with actual policy! The abovementioned friend points out that, with so many people acting like sheep, they might or might not know the real mask policy, but they don’t want to be different from anyone else, so they keep wearing their masks. In their feverish brains, no one wants to be first to be infected the moment the talismanic mask comes off.
This psychology is not unique to Korea, unfortunately. In the States, we have people who style themselves “rebels” and refuse to remove their masks even after the mask policy has been dropped in their respective states. Idiots.
It’s going to take a while before the local people let go of their fear.
The link I gave doesn’t seem to be working. Try this one, then click on the second question down in the Q&A.