Locals’ small acts of kindness warm South Korean hearts

Letters sent to South Korean residents under home quarantine are written in both Korean and Chinese. Courtesy of the interviewees

With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea increasing, some people have begun to look at South Koreans in a different way, sometimes even in an unfriendly way. However, there are always more kindhearted people in this world than the others. The same is true in China.

Ms. Kim from South Korea, who has been living in Shenzhen for 20 years, is in South Korea now. Ms. Kim told Shenzhen Daily on Friday that her South Korean friends who live in Shekou have been touched by the acts of kindness of some Chinese and what the Shenzhen government has done for them.

“Shenzhen is a very inclusive city. Many South Korean friends have received a letter in both Chinese and Korean and gifts from the Shenzhen government, something that I didn’t see in other cities. China and South Korea support each other. We are going through a tough time. We should work together and stay strong,” said Ms. Kim.

Ms. A from South Korea, who declined to disclose her name, returned to Shenzhen on Feb. 28 and shared her travel experience with Shenzhen Daily.

“We came back to Shenzhen from Incheon on Feb. 28. They checked our temperature when we were still on the plane, and we were kept in quarantine at Shenzhen Airport Hotel after we arrived that day. They conducted nucleic acid tests at the hotel. The results came out on the morning of Feb. 29 and were all negative,” said Ms. A.

After the test results confirmed there was no COVID-19 among them, they were ready to undergo a 14-day home quarantine. But they could only get home by taking a bus dispatched by their community.

The bus Ms. A took arrived at the hotel after 8:30 p.m., and they reached home around 10 p.m. Feb. 29. Because some residents misunderstood them and said they deliberately sneaked to their neighborhood at night, Ms. A said she wanted to explain that they reached home late “only because the buses sent by the community didn’t arrive early.”

Apart from misunderstandings by some residents, Ms. A’s heart is warmed by the people who have helped them and taken care of them.

She must self-quarantine until March 13. During this time, community workers frequently take her temperature and medics come to conduct further nucleic acid tests.

Staffers of the property management company and cleaning workers do their best to make their life as convenient as possible. “They work very hard to make our life convenient. We do everything no-contact.”

More and more Chinese people understand their situation and offer them help.

Local communities where most South Koreans live are also working hard to fight against the virus.

Recently, Xiangmihu Subdistrict Office worked with the publicity department of Futian District and local South Koreans to produce a video dedicated to COVID-19 prevention and control.

The song was adapted by South Korean residents and sung by a South Korean girl.

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