TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Show must go on: Virus-hit South Korea not stopping K-pop fans from visiting
The alarming spread of the coronavirus in South Korea is not dissuading some Indonesian K-pop fans from visiting the country.
Change Size
People wait in line to buy face masks in front of a store at Dongseongro shopping district in Daegu on February 27, 2020. - South Korea reported 334 new coronavirus cases on February 27, taking its total to 1,595, still the largest in the world outside China, where the disease first emerged. (AFP/Jung Yeon-je)
T
iffani Afifa is a K-pop fan and influencer, and even the alarming spread of the novel coronavirus in South Korea has not dissuaded her from visiting the country.
Last Saturday, one day before South Korea’s government announced the highest possible alert level over the virus, Tiffani flew to Seoul with her friends for a one-week vacation.
“Before I went, I was told by a lot of people about the possibility of quarantine as soon as I arrived at the airport. Turns out, it was just business as usual at the airport as well as within Seoul,” Tiffani told The Jakarta Post via instant messaging.
As a K-Pop enthusiast, the 30-year-old goes to South Korea two to five times a year. “The difference now is that I think almost 95 percent of the people [in Seoul] are wearing masks, and some places are less crowded than usual, for example Hongdae,” she said.
“Compared to Sunday [when the alert was raised], some places are becoming more crowded. So, it is not as eerie as [suggested by stories] circulating in the news.”
Tiffani said she was not really concerned about the raised alert level, yet she tried to remain vigilant during her trip. “I wear masks and carry hand sanitizer, so that I can spray my hands after holding stuff in public places.
