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On the 30th, when social distancing step 2.5 was implemented to prevent the spread of Corona 19, a control line was put in place prohibiting sitting in a Starbucks store in Jung-gu, Seoul. All chairs and tables were removed as only the sale of packages was allowed. A customer leaves with a drink in hand. Reporter Shin Kyung-hoon [email protected]
A Haejangguk restaurant in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul at 1:30 pm on the 30th. There was only one person eating. There were fewer customers than employees (two). The owner in his 50s said: “We did not make deliveries, but the sales in the room were sufficient.” There were few tables with customers in the nearby cafeteria. The owner of a cafe said: “The customer is only one-tenth of the usual level” and “it seems that the city has stopped.”
Starting at 0 o’clock on this day, the sighs of the self-employed deepen as the government has implemented steps 2.5 of social distancing to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) in the metropolitan area. The area around Yeonnam-dong, which is called the “hot spot” for young people, was slow. A franchise cafe, which was usually full of customers, was closed. The franchise cafe, which opened at 9 a.m., only visited 30 people until 12 p.m. One cafe employee said, “I usually work with two people, and today alone is enough.”
The bar owners, whose main income is ‘Bam Market’, were most devastated. Kim Mo, who runs a pub in Bangbae-dong, said: “2 weeks ago, when Corona 19 proliferated again, the business district near Sadang Station quickly became depressed.”
As the operation of the study cafe in the academy reading room was suspended from 0 o’clock on the 31st, the nearby shopping centers are also concerned. Hong Mo, who owns a bar in the Daechi-dong academy district, said: “Since last week when the big academies were closed, sales have dropped to less than half, so we are looking for loans.”
There is a growing voice that special measures should be taken for the self-employed who are in crisis. An official from the Federation of Small Entrepreneurs said: “We must take all measures, such as providing funds for emergency management and secondary support in cases of disaster.”
The hunting cart, which used to reach 50 m, closed its doors in the early afternoon, ‘slowly’
Seoul City Declared ’10 Million Citizens Stop Week’ … Call for a week of suffering
Itaewon World Food Street in Seoul is very busy on the 30th, when phase 2.5 of social distancing began in the metropolitan area. Due to the reappearance of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), general restaurants in the Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi areas can only order packaging and deliveries from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day. Reporter Huh Moon-chan [email protected]
Hongdae Club Street in Mapo-gu, Seoul, at 11 p.m. on the 29th, one day before the implementation of the 2.5-step social distancing measures. The four nearby “hunting bars (instant meet)” were already off and there were no people. Earlier this month, before the reproliferation of Corona 19, the waiting line was lined up at 50 m. The other bar posted a notice saying ‘all menus can be packed’, including snacks, and only take orders for delivery and packing. All 30 tables were empty and only one packaged food was placed. Mr A, who runs a Japanese-style pub (Izakaya) on Hongdae Club Street, said: “The original business hours are until 3 am, but today it closes at 12 pm. I’m wondering if I’ll stop the business at all. “
On the 30th, when the 2.5 steps to social distancing began, the main entertainment streets in Seoul, such as the entrance to Hongik University in Nonhyeon, Gangnam, Seoul, were as deserted as an abandoned city. At 0 o’clock that day, most of the 24-hour pubs and restaurants were closed in accordance with government quarantine measures. The freelancers who met this day said: “I think it would be better to close the door for now because home sales are less than 10%.” Experts feared that the real economy as a whole would collapse if social distancing rose to the level of “lockdown” in three stages.
Hongdae Pocha Street is closed
At 0:05 on this day, all bars and restaurants located 250m between Sinnonhyeon Station and Gangnam Station were closed. Even in Nonhyeon-dong Food Alley, customers immediately left when the bars were closed at 12:00 pm on the 29th. Some walked down the alley saying, “Let’s find the open bar.” In front of a nearby store, 10 people gathered at an outdoor table to drink. Seongmo, a 30-year-old office worker, said, “I went around the bar for 30 minutes, but I closed everything and came to the store.”
Not only the bars, but also the 24-hour restaurants have been closed at once. A store manager who runs a 24-hour potato soup restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong said, “Most of the customers come here to eat or drink more alcohol at dawn, so if other bars close after 9 pm, we will have to close. “
Some stores secretly opened their businesses amid group closures. Six of the 24 pubs on the first floor near Nonhyeon-dong Food Alley continued to have patrons staying after 0 o’clock that day. Four of them have not received orders after 0:00, but two have continued to operate. A raw fish restaurant that I visited around 12:20 was full with all three outdoor tables and about half the indoor seating for drinking. Kim Mo, who runs a chicken restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong, said: “I received my last order at 11 pm and closed at 12 pm Burjaburya, but the shops around me are open. On this day, the city of Seoul declared ’10 Million Citizen Parade Week’ and imposed restrictions on gatherings and banned gatherings of food trucks and stalls.
Store owners, “I will give employees leave without pay”
On the day of the holiday, vehicles and pedestrians declined markedly in central Seoul. Many people stayed home after eating out with their families and canceling acquaintances. At the entrance of a franchise coffee shop in Jongno 5-ga, Seoul, there was a large phrase “‘Only possible to carry (pack and sell’)”. One employee said, “Due to the few clients, only half of us went to work.” Most of the restaurants that were open were also busy. Famous restaurants, which were generally crammed with customers, received limited customers to maintain social distancing.
With the application of 2.5 steps at a distance, the appeal of freelancers continued in online cafes. Articles such as “I’m going to open the door two hours earlier than usual” and “I plan to rest for a week” were posted in the autonomous café with more than 500,000 members. In a vote of a netizen, 48% (86 people) of the respondents answered that “employees will take a leave without pay” after step 2.5. 30% (55 people) also said “I will reduce wages by reducing working hours”.
Journalist Kim Nam-young / Yang Gil-seong / Min Kyung-jin / Ha Su-jeong [email protected]
