Coronavirus started in Wuhan, China in December 2019. It has spread in over 40 nations worldwide, causing over 2000 deaths in China. South Korea has the most patients of coronavirus throughout the world, counting over 3000 patients and 13 deaths as of March 1, 2020. What has caused this massive growth of patient tolls in South Korea? 

First, the big religious community in South Korea, called Shincheonji, is to be blamed. Shincheonji is a mysterious 'cult' church that roots in South Korea. Thousands of positive cases have been found in South Korea, which is possibly linked to Shincheonji Church. Recently, the leader of Shincheonji Church, Lee Man Hee, apologized for their role in the outbreak. They are recently being blamed by not being cooperative enough with authorities, with some members who refuse to be tested for coronavirus.

Second, the government's mild intervention of foreigners entering the country is a problem. Various countries banned Chinese tourists and flights from coming to their countries since the coronavirus has begun. Countries such as the US, Australia, and the Czech Republic banned people who are from China or who have visited China recently from coming into their countries. South Korea's policies regarding this issue seem to be very mild. South Korea has banned Chinese tourists who have visited Wuhan in the last two weeks. However, various news reports in and out of China reported that countless people in Wuhan province escaped from their cities before China banned Wuhan citizens from coming out of their city.

▲ Coronavirus spread across the world.

There are many other reasons why the coronavirus epidemic spread in South Korea so quickly, but these are the two main reasons for the quick coronavirus spread in South Korea. Nowadays, people around the world are in need of their countries' attention and care towards their citizens to minimize the damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

By Minsu Chung