[Center for Asian Urban Societies / Jin-tae Hwang (Research Fellow)]

President Moon Jae-in introduced South Korea’s COVID-19 quarantine experiences ― including a novel test kit, drive-through testing and mobile apps for self-quarantine ― to world leaders during a videoconferencing summit of the G20 last month.

In a similar vein, before the summit, governments had already been focusing on the role of the state and technology. However, since then, they have paid scant attention to the fact that in South Korea, COVID-19 has not only stimulated the government and the people’s creative adaptation, but also provided an opportunity for experimenting with cosmopolitanism against social stigmatization.