Humiliating turn for Korean travellers

With a surge of infections of the novel coronavirus disease Covid-19, South Korea has reached the pitiful state where it is treated as a ‘‘second Wuhan’’ in the international community. Israel has denied entry to visitors from Korea, and Hong Kong has barred non-resident travellers from Korea. In a nutshell, Korea-phobia is spreading.

The root cause of Koreans being shunned is that the government did not stop the influx of the virus from China. China was so desperate to contain the virus that it imposed draconian restrictions on the domestic movement of about half of its population. On the other hand, it lets people unaffected by the measure go abroad, and Korea accepts them. Until only about a week ago, the Moon administration had shown confidence of overcoming the disease and expressed willingness to help China. Then the tables were turned.

On Sunday, an airport in Yanji, China, began to require passengers on flights from Korea to use a separate corridor. Some apartment buildings in Beijing have reportedly insisted that Koreans quarantine themselves for 14 days before entering.

It is humiliating. The virus was transmitted from China to Korea, but now Beijing treats Seoul as a new source of infection. What a state Korea is in!