COVID Attitudes
The most startling thing I saw the second I stepped off the plane from South Korea and into the bustling L.A. airport last week was the total absence of masks. Almost nobody was wearing them, save my family and a few lone figures buried in the corners of the airport, and I immediately shivered, almost nervous to be around them. I had heard that most people in the U.S. preferred not to wear masks and some of my cousins and friends had even texted me to let me know that masks were not considered normal. Despite this, I had not really thought about what life would really be like with the coronavirus in America until I was thrown right into it.
I moved to South Korea in December of 2019, about two months before the coronavirus pandemic was thrust over Korea. I have never experienced a COVID-wraught America, nor the complete indifference the people have towards it. In fact, most of my relatives in the U.S. and those I have talked to this summer so far seem to pretend as if it doesn’t really exist anymore, despite the many obstacles they went through in the beginning.
I’m sure most of us remember how many people in America fought against having to wear masks. For me, it seemed a silly issue. A mask was hardly bothersome, so why did it matter? And it seemed most people in South Korea agreed because everyone in Korea wore masks, a stark contrast to America, especially nowadays, with people trying their best to just go back to normal life.
America also went into a panic when COVID first began, with people fighting over toilet paper and basic essentials. It was as if they believed the world was ending, and many of my friends seemed concerned it was. They faced a loss of high school dances, get-togethers with friends, and the fun activities they normally partook in. I think part of the reason the U.S. is so indifferent toward corona, especially now, is because they just want a return to normalcy and their fun activities.
Not to mention, public schools are normally pretty underfunded and awful, and with corona, they just became all the worse. Most of my friends in the U.S. complained profusely about school, saying that it was so terrible and that they learned absolutely nothing. On my end, though, I thought I was still learning things, and still able to participate in school, though Zoom was a little more awkward.
So, is America’s attitude towards the coronavirus good? In some ways, I think it could be. I, for one, often forgot about corona in the past week I’ve been in the United States, which has allowed me to feel that blessed sense of normalcy we had all taken for granted before the pandemic. On the other hand, this opens me up to a range of risks, the worst of which being the infection of my family with the virus.
South Korea was definitely more strict towards the virus, and I also think that in some ways that was good. Wearing masks kept me and my family mostly safe for almost a full year, and it was inspiring to see so many people try to work together to try to find solutions, unlike America, where many people were fighting and arguing. But with this stricter attitude comes other consequences–most senses of normal life were eradicated for a much longer period of time, and even now people continue to be very, very cautious, which means a loss of fun activities we could all have in high school.
I think it’s very interesting how the two countries have differed in their responses and attitudes towards the coronavirus. It truly highlights both the good and bad responses to terrible situations, and I think we could definitely learn from both countries in order to come up with a better way to respond to pandemics. I am sure we will continue to see world-wide emergencies like this in the future, so learning from this experience could be very beneficial for our futures.