Page 28 - 영자신문최종

Society

Is it a cultural difference to think of a

mask as a gag?

10212 You, Ji-hye
10214 Lee, Eun-ji
10215 Jang, Yejin

Currently, people around the world are exposed to the dangers of COVID-19. Since the
first patient was checked in on January 8, 2020, the virus has been spreading around
the world. The pandemic started in China. The virus spreads through droplet
11
infection . When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or breathes out.
Another person close to the infected person can be infected by breathing
in the virus droplets or touching the eyes, nose, or mouth with infected
hands. To prevent this, it has become obligatory to wear a mask. As
COVID-19's is getting more serious, the government has strictly
regulated the wearing the masks and avoiding physical contact. As
wearing masks is essential, sales and purchases of masks have
increased, and awareness has changed so much that people
can’t move around without masks. In this process, I came to
think about whether the idea of wearing being oppresseive
was culturally influenced or individually thought up.

Citizens informing the government that Demonstrators being interviewed
they view masks as oppressive on the news

First, there is cultural influence. In our country, everyone is
required to wear a mask. Places with many people, such as
subways and buses, can be unsafe without the use of masks, and
there are rules to protect people. In addition to Korea, other countries
in Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan, have
criticized foreign peoples and tourists for not wearing masks in shops and
public spaces. They encourage everyone to wear masks and people in Wuhan,
China, the place of COVID-19's origin, are arrested if they are caught without one.
In closely populated Southeast Asian cities, many people use masks on the streets due
to air pollution. However, it is more natural to walk bare-faced in many other parts of the
world. Countries like Great Britain, the U.S., Australia, and Singapore asked the public not to

28 + Eunoia