After record-long rainy days and their damage plus the disastrous effects of the COVID-19 resurgence, one would wonder if there's any end to the tunnel anywhere.
President Moon Jae-in is largely surrounded by criticism that comes with the second half of his mandate. and a growing number of people have begun to voice the opinion that he can't seem to do anything right. Understandably, the patience of Koreans is beginning to run thin.
Yet all is not negative. Among the better news that has transpired over the past few days is that Doctors Without Borders was able to secure a six-month moratorium on restrictions on TB diagnostic and treatment supplies to be shipped to North Korea.
While many might think that it's probably wrong to focus on people outside of South Korea at this time, we must remember our dreadful days of a developing nation just a few decades ago.
We must build solidarity with those who do not have the wherewithal to defend themselves from the pandemic. So it's great the South Korean government announced a $50 million package to make COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics available to poorer nations early in the pandemic as well as $100 million worth of support at the 73rd World Health Assembly in May.
I hope our government can build on these steps and, overall, allocate 1 percent of the budget it is dedicating to the pandemic, for countries of the developing world. This could create the positive response that the world is thirsting for and make the difference in saving lives everywhere.
Sunnie Kim
Gangbuk-gu, Seoul
President Moon Jae-in is largely surrounded by criticism that comes with the second half of his mandate. and a growing number of people have begun to voice the opinion that he can't seem to do anything right. Understandably, the patience of Koreans is beginning to run thin.
Yet all is not negative. Among the better news that has transpired over the past few days is that Doctors Without Borders was able to secure a six-month moratorium on restrictions on TB diagnostic and treatment supplies to be shipped to North Korea.
While many might think that it's probably wrong to focus on people outside of South Korea at this time, we must remember our dreadful days of a developing nation just a few decades ago.
We must build solidarity with those who do not have the wherewithal to defend themselves from the pandemic. So it's great the South Korean government announced a $50 million package to make COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics available to poorer nations early in the pandemic as well as $100 million worth of support at the 73rd World Health Assembly in May.
I hope our government can build on these steps and, overall, allocate 1 percent of the budget it is dedicating to the pandemic, for countries of the developing world. This could create the positive response that the world is thirsting for and make the difference in saving lives everywhere.
Sunnie Kim
Gangbuk-gu, Seoul
