"Please rescue our children from the lockdown in Shanghai, China."
This article was posted on the bulletin board of the Blue House National Petition on the 11th.
As the Shanghai lockdown is prolonged, groceries are running out and it is difficult to buy online, so Korean students are having a hard time.
There is also a passage saying "It hurts my heart that I can't do anything as a parent."
As of the morning of the 22nd, more than 5,200 people have participated in the petition.
There is also an article criticizing the Shanghai Consulate General on the bulletin board of the Blue House petition.
It is said that they did not receive any help during the process of being forcibly transferred to an isolation facility.
The city was suddenly blocked, and even the staff of the consulate general at the time had to quarantine at home, so it would not have been easy for the consulate general to deal with it properly.
But I wonder if this article would have been posted if it had been really hard.
"I last a week with cereal"... Shanghai Korean students in pain
The lockdown in Shanghai, which started on the 28th of last month, has no promise when it will be lifted.
It has been a long time since the authorities announced that they would divide the city into east and west and block it for only four days.
Citizens who believed only the words of the authorities and prepared only four days' worth of food and daily necessities were in trouble.
"I need something to eat right now," he appeals.
Although home isolation has recently been lifted for residential complexes where there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 for 14 days, even this can only be moved within the residential complexes.
Most of our 35,000 Korean residents are still unable to get out of their homes.
Although it is said that each residential complex purchases groceries and distributes them to each household, it is not easy to group purchases in small residential complexes.
Recently, controversy has arisen over the government's support for low-quality food.
The difficulties of our international students are greater.
Since they have just arrived in China, there are many students who are unfamiliar with life in China and do not have good communication skills.
Recently, with the support of the Shanghai Consulate General, students have started to return to their home countries, but most of the international students, estimated at 2,000, are living in dormitories or poor housing outside of the school.
Some international students live in places that do not have cooking facilities.
Being alone, I couldn't prepare enough groceries and daily necessities.
Articles such as "I survived a week with cereal" and "I wish I had water" are appearing on the bulletin boards of Korean residents.
Toilet paper and feminine products are inevitably in short supply.
The longer the blockade, the more painful it is.
'Man to Man support room' appeared... Continuing support by connecting Koreans and international students
A Korean citizen living in Shanghai is also living in lockdown for a long time.
An office worker in his 40s, he has been living in China since 2003, so he is living a relatively stable life.
After hearing about the plight of the international students, I made a donation to the Korean Association to see if it would be of any help.
It was not only difficult to secure materials, but also because there was not enough manpower to sort and transport them.
Currently, only people and vehicles who have received a pass from the authorities in Shanghai are allowed to travel through the city.
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Mr. A came up with an idea.
It is not easy to transport goods all at once, but we took the idea that individual delivery is possible through a courier company that can pass through.
We decided to provide one-on-one support by pairing international students and Korean residents.
We have decided to take care of one or two international students from a family of Korean residents who have relatively more money than international students and continue to send groceries and daily necessities.
3 people including Mr. A started on the 14th.
We named it 'Man to Man Support Room' and connected international students and Korean families through SNS.
The apartment in which Mr. A lives was relatively large, so joint purchase was possible.
My family bought far more groceries and necessities than needed.
We bought water, ramen, instant rice, kimchi, and instant side dishes, and sent them individually to international students in need.
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When he said he wanted to eat home-cooked food, he wrapped his own lunch and delivered it.
Like Mr. A, Koreans who can buy together have gathered in the 'Man to Man support room' one after another.
Koreans who have stockpiled supplies in preparation for the lockdown are also willing to lend a helping hand.
They also have a full-time job, but have been laid off due to the lockdown.
They were all tough people.
However, with the heart of 'my child' and 'my younger brother', I volunteered to help international students.
In just 8 days, about 190 people gathered.
The number of international students who received assistance reached 360.
One Korean resident even sent a packed lunch by hand when an international student said he wanted home-cooked food.
Some Koreans also enclosed a handwritten letter of support.
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International students are simply grateful.
In particular, the psychological and physical pain was greatly reduced in that the support is continuous rather than a one-time event.
Thank you by phone, text, and letter.
"Thank you so much for taking care of me, who I don't know, just because I am a Korean."
"I will also become a warm adult to someone," he vowed.
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Just because I'm Korean... "Reply 2022 in Shanghai"
The 190 people gathered in the 'Man to Man Support Room' are mostly people who don't even know each other.
There are different age groups and different occupations.
There are only two things in common.
The fact that we live in the same city is that we are the same Korean.
Person A said, “I have never done anything like this before.
He said he did not know that so many people would participate.
He said that he felt a lot that 'it's still worth living'.
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Mr. A said that he likes the drama 'Reply 1988'.
He said that the township helping each other and sharing even in poor circumstances resonated.
'Reply 2022' is being made in Shanghai right now, Mr. A says.
In the end, Mr. A did not want her name to be revealed.