ABSTRACT
South Korea took a ʼno shutdown, no lockdown’ approach to ensure the least disruption to the lives of its public. Notably, not only did the country take measures to combat COVID-19 by implementing drive-through testing, but also public put efforts to voluntarily wear masks. From a communications perspective, the government immediately responded by quickly forming the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) to carry out consistent and transparent communications twice a day. However, the message from the government was not always consistent such as in the example of the type of mask that should be worn. Nevertheless, the government’s real-time notification on the status of confirmed cases and tracking the movement of those people through smartphones, by utilising apps that were developed in private and public sectors, played a major role in preventing a more dramatic spread of COVID-19. Despite that it may be too soon to pass judgement on the success of South Korea’s early stage response to COVID-19, South Korea paved the way in combatting COVID-19 through novel test procedures, the utilisation of technology to monitor the spread of the contagion within the country and the public’s drive to fight as one. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Darren Lilleker, Ioana A. Coman, Miloš Gregor and Edoardo Novelli.