"There is no rice, and there is now one ramen left. The toilet paper is almost gone."
A Korean student in Shanghai, China, sent me a picture with these words.
He received the first government aid in a week after the quarantine began on the 1st, and what returned to him was a carrot, a cabbage, and a cabbage each.
"I heard that Shanghai's 'Fushi' area will be closed until the 4th. As
a student, I prepared only ramen noodles because there were very few seasonings and cooking utensils. I did not know that the lockdown would be extended like this. I am in a share house shared by several people. is based on household, not occupancy.
I barely managed to make a joint purchase through a roommate, but I'm worried about when it will come."
Shanghai, China's 'economic capital', went into lockdown on the 28th of last month from 'Pudong' in the east.
The promise of a four-day lockdown in the east and west for four days of COVID-19 infection, which is rapidly increasing as the number of tests is carried out, has been in vain, and 25 million residents have been unable to leave their homes for 14 days until the 10th.
People's living standards are rapidly deteriorating and their patience is running out as food and medical assistance are not adequately provided amidst the ever-longer lockdown.
Residents of some parts of Shanghai, such as Songjiang, are protesting collectively, saying, "Give me something to eat," and "I have never received any supplies."
"I've been looking for groceries all day... I can't even find a diaper"
There are an estimated 30,000 Korean residents in Shanghai, including expatriates and international students.
The 10 or so Koreans I spoke to had been waking up since dawn every day.
This is because of online orders that start around 5-6 am.
You can also buy groceries and other daily necessities, but with so many people flocking at once, it's rarely been successful.
A Korean resident with a 23-month-old infant is scrambling his feet because he can't get diapers and milk.
"Even if there is no stock in the online order, or if you put diapers and milk in the shopping cart in advance and try to purchase it as soon as the sale starts the next day, there is no way. I'm wearing it because I'm friendly, and I've also changed the milk to adult milk."
However, more and more places are using 'joint purchase', where food is purchased together by residential complexes or districts.
However, for some Koreans, this is also not easy.
A Korean citizen at work in Shanghai is holding on to his cell phone all day for group purchases.
“There are a lot of people in group chat rooms where they buy together, and most of them are on a first-come, first-served basis. You have to keep an eye on whether online orders are being placed or announcements for group purchases are posted in the chat rooms. Because there is none."
International students who have just arrived in Shanghai or short-term expatriates face greater difficulties.
It is because they did not prepare because they did not hear the information, or because they were not fluent in Chinese, so they could not use group purchase properly
. I didn’t have much, so at first I lived only with the food provided by the government, but I also ate three lactobacillus drinks so far.”
said the difficult situation.
"Isolation for over a month... About 20 corona tests alone"
The city of Shanghai officially entered the lockdown on the 28th of last month, but some areas began to be locked down even before that due to the fact that there were cases of COVID-19.
South Koreans who have been self-isolating since the end of February when their spouses went to Korea have already been tested for coronavirus more than 20 times.
"I knock on the door at 12 pm and 6 am and ask them to undergo a PCR test or rapid antigen test. However, recently, people infected with Corona are coming out of the complex.
Some Koreans were worried that they would not be able to go home or return home as all transportation was cut off.
A Korean citizen was able to go home on the 28th of last month from an inbound person quarantine hotel, but movement was prohibited as the lockdown began that day.
Even the hotel tells them to go home as they run out of food ingredients, but they cannot find transportation because their residence and the hotel are located in different wards.
Koreans who have booked an outbound flight cannot find a way to the airport and are thinking about changing their reservation.
However, a decision has not been made because of prolonged lockdowns, insufficient seats on flights or the possibility of sudden cancellations.
"Corona infection and fear of intensive quarantine"
A call was made with a Korean citizen at the Shanghai Corona 19 Treatment Hospital.
This Korean citizen tested positive in the rapid antigen test kit and was transferred to the hospital at the end of last month.
The hospital environment was full of patients, and treatment, food, and water supply were not smooth, but this Korean citizen also had to worry about other things.
"The hospital situation is not good, but because there are several days, a Chinese person who was hospitalized on the same day was taken to the 'Pangchang Clinic (temporary treatment and isolation place)'. The nurse said I could go too. Shanghai has several separate quarantine facilities. They are sending asymptomatic, mildly infected, and close contacts. However, it is for management purposes rather than treatment, so I am worried because there are many poor places.”
Since last month, it is estimated that more than 300,000 people have been sent to quarantine facilities in Shanghai, including those who have been infected and who have had close contacts.
Under the 'Zero Corona' policy to eliminate even one case of corona infection, the plan is to prevent further spread by driving infected people into one place.
However, the Chinese are also complaining that it is difficult to receive proper treatment in quarantine facilities and fear that they will have to spend a long time in a poor environment.
On Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, there are claims that self-isolation is more effective than intensive quarantine.
The concerns of Koreans raising children are even greater.
As the city of Shanghai began intensive quarantine of infected people, even minors were required to separate themselves if they were infected or their parents were infected.
Although it has been partially relieved by public opinion criticizing inside China and by the French consulate in Shanghai as well, the residents are worried about whether it will be properly maintained.
"Even if the damage to companies is a snowball... Pay attention to the situation of Korean residents in Shanghai"
All businesses and shops in Shanghai have been closed due to the full lockdown.
Although production by large domestic companies such as Nongshim and Orion has been halted, the local residents who run small and medium-sized businesses and restaurants are also being hit hard.
A Korean resident who runs a factory in Shanghai said losses were rising and he had no place to complain.
"Even our factory has been out of operation for over two weeks. All of our companies are suffering from snowballing losses. The same goes for Chinese companies, but collecting the damage situation of Korean residents and sending it to the Shanghai authorities will help, even a little or later. It could be. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea said that a task force (TF) was created, but no one knows how serious the situation is."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 7th that it had formed a task force to support the residents of Shanghai and businesses around the Consulate General in Shanghai.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that it is a method of requesting the issuance of an 'emergency logistic pass' so that the suspended operations can be resumed early and logistics can flow smoothly while communicating closely with Korean residents and businesses and contacting the Shanghai authorities.
On the 9th, the city of Shanghai announced a plan to switch to a blockade system by district.
The 25 million residents are once again tested for COVID-19 and the results are analyzed. Areas with positive results within 7 days are 'control areas', areas with positive results within 7 to 14 days are 'management control areas', 14 Areas where there are no positive tests within one day are classified as 'defense areas'.
Residents of the defense area are allowed to operate within their administrative district and are permitted to operate in essential industries such as supermarkets.
Other areas will have to self-isolate or just quarantine for at least 7 days.
However, there is no specific timetable, so it is expected that it will take at least a week more.
In addition, in some areas, corona infected continue to come out despite the lockdown and quarantine measures so far.
The suffering of the Koreans is inevitably going to continue for the time being.
A Korean who has lived in China for a long time said, "I am also bartering with neighboring Chinese, and many Koreans are looking for ways to live on their own.
However, the situation is serious for international students or those who come for a short stay. It's not easy to get this.
"The consulate general in Shanghai could not open its doors, and it would be hectic to deal with various complaints, but on the evening of the 7th, purchase items and emergency A guide to using medical facilities has been posted.” The Korean people and diplomatic authorities asked the Korean people to pay more attention to the situation of the residents of Shanghai.