Asia-Pacific, Coronavirus, Public Health, International Relations South Korea’s response to COVID-19: Lessons for the next pandemic

Former South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, in an appearance at Perry World House, outlined how his nation swiftly contained COVID -19 at the start of the pandemic with the “K-Quarantine” strategy, and offered his thoughts on how the world might better respond when the next pandemic hits.

“We are not safe as humans unless everybody is safe,” said Chung, speaking in Korean and interpreted for the audience by James Y. Victory. “What we learned from the pandemic is that just because a few countries are doing well does not mean everybody will survive.”

Chung, a Distinguished Global Leader at Perry World House and Moon Family Distinguished Lecturer at the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies this academic year, was the featured speaker of last week’s Moon Family Distinguished Lecture, co-sponsored by both centers.

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